Habitus

A sociological concept that refers to the social contexts and orientations that characterize individual social groups as formed through life experiences. The concept of habitus has a lot in common with the sociological meaning of culture, although stronger emphasis is given to the day-to-day interpretation of reality. The idea of habitus runs counter to notions about freedom of choice as it implies that human activities are dictated by deeply-rooted societal structures. Habitus postulates that human responses are rooted in social structures. The concept of habitus is present in the works of many philosophers and sociologists, including Aristotle, Marcel Mauss, Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu.