Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions

work by Kluckhohn and Kroeber

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June 25, 2026

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The work "Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions" by A.L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn critically examined numerous definitions of culture. They identified 164 different definitions, ranging from simple concepts like "learned behavior" to more abstract notions such as "ideas in the mind" or "a logical construct".1

Kroeber and Kluckhohn favored the view that culture is an abstraction derived from behavior, rather than behavior itself. This perspective aimed to distinguish culture from psychology, which studies behavior directly. The work highlights the complexity and ongoing debate surrounding the definition and understanding of culture within anthropology.1234

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Various definitions of culture
In Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions (1952), U.S. anthropologists A.L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn cited 164 definitions of culture, ranging from “learned behaviour” to “ideas in the mind,” “a logical construct,” “a statistical fiction,” “a psychic defense mechanism,” and so on. The definition—or…
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In Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions (1952), U.S. anthropologists A.L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn cited 164 definitions of culture, ranging from “learned behaviour” to “ideas in the mind,” “a logical construct,” “a statistical fiction,” “a psychic defense mechanism,” and so on. The definition—or…
Read More