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Enculturation is the process whereby an established culture teaches an individual by repetition its accepted norms and values, so that the individual can become an accepted member of the society and find their suitable role. Most importantly, it establishes a context of boundaries and correctness that dictates what is and is not permissible within that society's framework.

It is the process of learning that takes the person and teaches him or her the ways of life of their people or country. It is a life-long process, affecting not only the child, but the adult too. Enculturation is learned through communication in the form of speech, words, and gestures. The six things of culture that are learned are: technological, economic, political, interactive, ideological and world view.

Conrad Phillip Kottak (in Window on Humanity ) writes:


Enculturation can be conscious or unconscious. There are three ways a person learns a culture. Direct teaching of a culture is done, this is what happens when you don't pay attention, mostly by the parents , when a person is told to do something because it is right and to not do something because it is bad. For example, when children ask for something, they are constantly asked "What do you say?" and the child is expected to remember to say "please." The second conscious way a person learns a culture is to watch others around them and to emulate their behavior. An example would be using different slang with different cliques in school. Enculturation also happens unconsciously, through events and behaviors that prevail in their culture. All three kinds of culturation happen simultaneously and all the time.

Enculturation helps mold a person into an acceptable member of society. Culture influences everything that a person does, whether they are aware of it or not. Enculturation is a life-long process that helps unify people. Even as a culture changes, core beliefs, values, worldviews, and child-rearing practices stay the same. How many times has a parent said "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" when their child wanted to fit in with the crowd? Both are playing roles in the enculturation. The child wants to be included in the subculture of their peers, and the parent wants to instill individualism in the child, through direct teaching. Not only does one become encultured, but also makes someone else encultured.

Enculturation is sometimes referred to as acculturation, a word which originally referred only to exchanges of cultural features with foreign cultures.

Socialization in the study of animal and human behavior is the process by which human beings or animals learn to adopt the behavior patterns of the community in which they live.

Education is a social science that encompasses teaching and learning specific knowledge, beliefs, and skills. Modern education is a part of enculturation, but with methods and goals that attempt to be more consciously chosen, objective and practical (as opposed to, say, transmission of non-rational tradition), with ideas more likely to be shared by a majority. It may evince multi-cultural goals.

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