Culture
the totality of learned, shared symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group of people from another. It is a property of people.
Societies
The groups of people who share common symbols, language, values, and norms. Each of us identifies with one or more.
Distinction between in-groups and out-groups
A fundamental aspect of our human nature is to notice people's similarities and differences with respect to ourselves, so that we know which groups of people we belong to and which ones we are separate from.
In-Groups
Groups of people with which a person identifies with.
ex. Facebook friends
Out-Groups
Groups of people with which a person does not identify.
ex. Not facebook friends
Ethnicity
People's perception of ancestry or heritage
Nationality
One's status as a citizen of a particular country
Enculturation
The process of acquiring culture by learning those who raised you own symbols, languages, values, and norms.
Acquiring Culture
Culture is learned. Not based on ethnicity or nationality. It is determined by who raised you and what their symbols, language, values and norms were. Enculturation.
Co-Culture
The smaller cultures within one large culture. Groups of people who share values, customs, norms related to mutual interests or characteristics besides their national citizenship. formed by groups of people you identify with. form around shared activities
Components of Culture
symbols, languages, values, and norms
Cultures vary in their Symbols
every culture has its own symbols that stand for ideas that are vital to that culture.
ex. something is "as American as baseball and apple pie" using apple pie and baseball as symbols of America.
Cultures Vary in their Languages
6,800 languages used in the world today. more language is spoken in Queens, NY than in any other city on earth with 138. Language allows for written and spoken communication, and it also ensures that cultures and cultural ideas are passed from 1 generatio
Cultures Vary in their Values
A culture's values are the standards it uses to judge how good, desirable, or beautiful something is. Cultural ideas about what ought to be.
ex. US Values: equal opportunity, material comfort, practicality, efficiency, achievement, democracy, free enterpr
Cultures Vary in their Norms
Rules or expectations that guide people's behavior in a culture. Also relates to politeness. In some countries its rude to make eye contact.
ex. Greeting people: in North America, people shake hands and make a courteous statement. In another culture it ma
Distinctive Features of Co-Cultures
often adopt distinctive symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish their members from outsiders.
ex. a logo, action (secret handshake), jargon
Jargon
terminology used in a co-culture only understood by others in the same co-culture
6 cultural differences that influence how people communicate
1. the emphasis placed on individuals vs groups 2. the communicative context 3. power distance 4. views about masculinity and femininity and about men's and women's roles 5. orientation toward time 6. uncertainty avoidance.
Individualistic Culture
a culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to themselves
ex: "Be yourself" "You're Special" <-- messages emphasize the importance of knowing oneself, being self-sufficient, and being true to what one wants in life.
US, Canada,
Collectivistic Culture
a culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to their families, their communities, and their employers. focus on importance of taking care of the needs of the group rather than the individual. place a high value on duty and loyal
Difference between Individualistic and Collectivistic
when experiencing conflict: individualistic cultures express it and work toward resolving it. collectivistic cultures are much more indirect in the way they handle disagreements, to preserve social harmony.
experiencing comfort level and public speaking:
Low-Context Culture
a culture in which people are expected to be direct and to say what they mean. they value expressing themselves, sharing opinions, and trying to persuade others to see things their way.
ex. US, Canada, Israel, and most northern European countries
High-Context Culture
a culture in which people are taught to speak in an indirect, inexplicit way. goal is to maintain harmony and avoid offense rather than expressing one's true feelings. People speak in a more ambiguous manner and convey much more of their meaning through s
Low vs. High Context Cultures
Handling criticism and disagreements: in low context, a supervisor might reprimand an irresponsible employee openly, be direct and explicit.
in high context, the supervisor would probably not reprimand the employee publicly for fear that it would put the
Low Power Distance Culture
a culture in which people believe that no one person or group should have excessive power
High Power Distance Culture
a culture in which certain groups, such as the royal family or the members of the ruling political party, have much greater power than the average citizen
masculine culture
a culture in which people cherish traditionally masculine values, such as ambition, achievement, and the acquisition of material goods, and prefer sex-specific roles for women and men
Ex. Austria, Japan, Mexico
US has a moderately masculine culture.
Feminine Culture
a culture in which people cherish traditionally feminine qualities, such as nurturance, quality of life, and service to others, and prefer little differentiation in the roles of women and men. it is not unusual for a man to care for children or a woman to
Monochronic Cultures
A culture that views time as finite and tangible commodity.
Ex. Swiss, Germans, and most US Americans. View time as a commodity, save time, spend time, fill time, invest time, and waste time as though it were tangible. "Time is money
Polychronic Culture
a culture that views time as holistic, fluid, and infinite.
Ex. Latin America, Arab part of Middle East, and much of the sub-Saharan Africa.
"Never-ending river, flowing infinitely into the future"
-Schedules are more fluid and flexible. do not prioritize
Uncertainty Avoidance
The extent to which people try to avoid situations that are unstructured, unclear, or unpredictable; relatively unlikely to take risks, for fear of failure; also uncomfortable with differences of opinion, and tehy tend to favor rules and laws and maximize
Uncertainty-Accepting
more open to new situations and more acception fo people and ideas that are different from their own. "Live and Let Live" approach.
Ex. Hong Kong, Jamaica, New Zealand.
US Culture is now more accepting than avoidant of uncertainty, but is closer to the mi
Communicating with Cultural Awareness
be open minded about cultural differences, knowledgeable about cultural communication codes, and flexible and respectful when interacting with others.
Be Open-Minded about Cultural differences
-be mindful
-avoid ethnocentrism (judge other cultures practices)
Mindful
Aware-- as in being aware of how other cultures' behaviors and ways of thinking are likely to differ from one's own
Ex. Eye contact. In some countries eye contact is considered rude, here it is considered rude to not keep direct eye contact.
Similarity Assumption
we presume that most people think the professor thought the student was being dishonest because he assumed her lack of eye contact.
Ethnocentrism
The tendency to judge other cultures practice as inferior to one's own.
If you havent been exposed to many cultures, it's easy to think your values and traditions are the "right" ones.
must remember that being different does not necessarily mean being wro
Communication Codes
verbal and nonverbal behaviors whose meanings are often understood only by people from the same culture.
3 kinds: idioms, jargon, and gestures--> differ significantly from society to society.
idiom
a phrase whose meaning is purely figurative; that is, we cant understand its meaning by interpreting the words literally.
ex: Most Americans know that the phrase "Kicking the bucket" has nothing to do with kicking the bucket, it actually means to die.
Jargon
language whose technical meaning is understood by people within a given co-culture but not necessarily by those outside it.
ex: physicians use precise medical terminology to communicate among themselves about medical conditions and treatment.
-allows comm
code-switch
shift between using jargon and plain language, in order to be understood by others.
Gestures
movements, usually of the hand or the arm, that express ideas. The same gesture can have different meaning from society to society.
Be Flexible and Respectful when interacting with others
expect ambiguity, appreciate differences in Access to Communication Technology, adapt to others
Expect Ambiguity
we value certainty in our interactions with others. however, most of us can recall being in social situations in which we were unsure of what to do or how to act. these situations present us with ambiguity or lack of certainty.
Appreciate Differences in Access to Communication Technology
many people assume everyone has access to the internet. in fact, it varies greatly around the world, particularly between countries that are economically developed (US, Australia, France and Japan) and those that are economically developing (Bolivia, Ango
digital divide
acknowledges the cultural gap between societies that do and do not have regular internet access.
Adapt to Others
to change one's behavior to accommodate what others are doing. One of the most significant barriers to adaptation is ethnocentrism, which we examined earlier. To the extent that we judge other cultures' practices as inferior to our own, we find it difficu