Chapter 4 The Deep Structure of Culture: Roots of Reality By Weiwei Li

Cultural Diversity in Perception: Alternative views of reality  Understanding perception

Cultural Values  Values fundamentally influence our behaviors in society  A value sysytem represents what is expected or hoped for, required or fobidden.

Quiz  1 all staff in the company should enjoy equal rights.  2 personal choice should be made before consulting seniors.

 3 one’s success mainly comes from own ability  4 achievement is for the benefit of group

 5 both husband and wife should share housework and earn money for the family.  6 men should be in more important position.

 7 taking risk is more important than being safe.  8 To be the protective parent is responsible for children.

Cultural Dimensions  Geert Hofstede  international authority on intercultural social psychology.  a large database of employee values scores collected by IBM covering more than 70 countries.

 1 Power distance  2 Individualism vs Collectivism  3 Masculinity vs Femininity  4 Uncertainty Avoidance

Power distance  The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country, expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

low power distance culture  values horizontal relationships where everyone is on a level playing field.  inequality in society should be minimized(a hierarchy is an inequality of roles established for convenience) 

 Low-power-distance  Inequality in society should be minimized.  They are close to power and should have access to that power  A hierarchy is an inequality of roles established for convenience.

 People in power often interact with their constituents and try to look less powerful than they really are.

high power distance culture  emphasizes the unequal distribution of power in institutions and organizations in a hierarchy of privilege  communication is superior-centered

 -power and authority are facts of life  -these cultures teach their members that people are not equal in this world  -everybody has a rightful place

 -social hierarchy is prevalent and institutionalized inequality.  -children seldom interrupt the teacher  show great reverence and respect for authority and ask very few questions

Language, dressing, ways of addressing, personal relations, attitude towards mistakes

 In organizations, a greater centralization of power, a large proportion of supervisory personnel, a rigid value system that determines the worth of each job

 Countries of high power distance  India, Brazil, Singapore, Greece, Venezuela, Mexica, the Philippines  Low power distance  Austria, Finland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Israel

Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: Everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family.

 prefer self-sufficiency  Self-emphasis is important  People are supposed to take care of themselves and remian emotionally independent of groups, organizations or other collectives.

Collectivism Emphasizes the ingroup, such as the organization or the extended family. Value harmony and avoid direct confrontation Emphasizes building relationships with others through rituals and politeness and task accomplishment becomes and indirect or secondary goal.

I” consciousness prevails  “Compertition rather than cooperation is encouraged.  Personal goals take precedence over group over group goals.  People tend not to be emotionally dependent on organizations and institutions

 Every individual has the right to his or her private property, thoughts, and opinions.  Stress individual initiative and achievement, value individual decision making.

 At the negotiating table, difference in this dimension can clearly cause serious conflict.  Individual responsibility for making decision is easy in individualistic cultures

 Americans – Japanese  Expecting Japanese to make decisions right at the negotiating table,  Constantly surprised to find individual members of the American team promoting their own positions, decisions, and ideas.

Features of Collectivism  People count on their in-group to look after them, and in exchange for that they believe they owe absolute loyalty to the group.

 The views, needs, and goals of the in- group rather than oneself  Social norms and duty defined by the in- group rather than behavior to get pleasure

 Briefs shared with the in-group rather than beliefs that distinguish self from in-group  Great readiness to cooperate with in- group members.

“we” consciousness prevails  Identity is based on the social system  The individual is emotionally dependent on organization and institutions  The culture emphasizes belonging to organizations

 Organizations invade private life and the clans to which individuals belong.  Individuals trust group decisions  Confucius: “If one wants to establish himself, he should help others to establish themselves at first.

Individualism-collectivism  A high score means the country can be classified as collective;  A lower score is associated with cultures that promote individualism.

Ranking of forty countries or regions on individualism and collectivism  1 USA 2 Australia  3 Great Britain  4 Canada  5 Netherlands  6 New Zealand

 7 Italy  8 Belgium  9 Demark  10 Sweden  11 France  12 Ireland  13 Norway  14 Switzerland

 15 Germany  16 South Africa  17 Finland  18 Austria  19 Israel  20 Spain  21 India  22 Japan

 23 Argentina  24 Iran  25 Brazil  26 Turkey  27 Greece  28 Philippines  29 Mexico

 30 Portugal  31 Yugoslavia  32 Hong Kong  33 Chile  34 Singapore  35 Thailand  36 Taiwan

 37 Peru  38 Pakistan  39 Colombia  40 Venezuela

Masculinity and Femininity  Refer not to men and women,  --the degree to which masculine or feminine traits prevail

Masculinity  Men are expected to hold the primary jobs and women are expected to remain at home and raise families.  Power means the right to make others do what you want them to do.

 Matters of material comfort, social privilege, access to power and influence, status and prestige, and ability to consume are related to ability and that with enough opportunity any individual who wants these benefits of society can have them

 Masculinity— the dominant values in a society are male oriented and is associated with such behaviors as  --ambition, differentiated sex roles, achievement, the acquisition of money, signs of manliness.

 Men are taught to be domineering and assertaive and women nurturing.

 In Japan, most men in the role of provider, most women as home-maker and breeder

Femininity  Men are women are considered socially equal.  Expect both males and females to be cooperative and nurturing in their relationships.

 Cultures that value femininity stress caring and nurturing behavior  --men need not be assertive and that they can assume nurturing roles  promote sexual equality  people and the environment are important 

 Gender roles are more fluid  Interdependence and androgynous( 性别 差异缺少的） behavior are the ideal and people sympathize with the unfortunate.

Group Discussion China is male or female?

Uncertainty Avoidance  The lack of tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty and the need for formal rules and high-level organizational structure.

Low uncertainty avoidance  Less concern about ambiguity and uncertainty and have uncertainty and have more tolerance for a variety of opinion.

 Take life easy  Tolerate and even celebrate ambiguous situations; the more unfamiliar the challenge, the greater the adventure

High uncertainty avoidance  Low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.  Create a rule-oriented society that institutes laws, rules, regulations, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty.

 Setting up laws and rules.  Like a safe and predictable world.

Uncertainty avoidance  The core is the inescapable truism that the future is unknown.  --the extent to which a culture feels threatened by or anxious about uncertain and ambiguous situations.

 High-uncertainty-avoidance culture  avoid uncertainty and ambiguity by  providing stability for their members,  establishing more formal rules,  not tolerating deviant ideas and behaviors

 Seeking consensus  Believing in absolute truths and the attainment of expertise  A high level of anxiety and stress

 Low-uncertainty-avoidance -more easily accept the uncertainty inherent in life -tolerate the unusual -prize initiate, dislike the structure associated with hierarchy

more willing to take risks, more flexible As few rules as possible Depend not so much on experts as on themselves, generalists, and common sense

 A low score—does not like uncertainty  (high-uncertainty-avoidance)  A high score— feel comfortable with uncertainty.  (low-uncertainty-avoidance)

Ranking of forty countries or regions on uncertainty avoidance  1 Greece  2 Portugal  3 Austria  4 Japan 5 Yugoslavia 6 Chile 7 Peru

 9 Spain  10 Argentina  11 Turkey  12 Mexico  13 Israel  14 Colombia  15 Venezuela

 16 Brazil  17 Italy  18 Pakistan  19 Austria  20 Taiwan  21 Germany  22 Thailand

 23 Iran  24 Finland  25 Switzerland  26 Netherlands  27 Australia  28 Norway  29 South Africa

 30 New Zealand  31 Canada  32 USA  33 Philippines  34 India  35 UK  36 Ireland

 37 Hong Kong  38 Sweden  39 Denmark  40 Singapore

Criticism  1 Hofstede’s original study focuse on individualism and collectivism  2 survey target were middle managers in large multinational organizations

 3 many important countries and cultures were not included  4 he conducts his extensive study more than twenty years ago

Klunkhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations  1 the character of human nature  2 the relation of humankind to nature  3 orientation toward time  4 the value placed on activity  5 relationship of people

Human nature orientation  Basically Evil  Mixture of Good and Evil  Basically Good

Relationship of humankind to nature  People subject to nature  People in harmony with nature  People the master of nature

Sense of time  Past oriented  Present oriented  Futrue oriented

Acitivity social relationships  Being authoritarian  Being in becoming group oriented  Doing individualistic

Hall’s theory  Hall’s high-context and low-context communication  --another effective means of examing cultural similarities and differences in both perception and communication.

High-context cultures  Very homogeneous with regard to experiences, information networks  change very little over time.  information is provided through gestures, the use of space, and even silence.

Low-context cultures population is less homogeneous and  tends to compartmentalize interpersonal contacts   the verbal message contains most of the information and very little is embeded in the context or the participants

Religion as a world view  Our world view originates in our culture.  It is transmitted via a multitude of channels.  It can take a variety of forms.  ----Religion is predominant element of culture

 黄：罗马天主教徒，（递推），新教徒， 不同教派的基督徒，传统基督教，东正教 徒， 摩门教徒，穆斯林（逊尼），穆斯林 （什叶派），犹太教徒，佛教徒，日本神 道教徒，印度教徒，锡克教徒，信封本地 宗教，没有明显占优宗教 / 不信教，无人 区。.....

Religious similarities  every human being, from the moment of birth to the time of his or her death, asks many of the same questions and faces many of the same problems.

 Sacred writings  Authority  Traditional rituals  Speculation  Ethics

 Sacred writings The Bible—Christianity The Hebrew Bibile-- Jews The Koran – Muslim The Vedas – Hinduism The Pali Canon -- Buddha

 Authority  -- an authority figure who provides guidance and counsel.  (the Son of God)

 Traditional Rituals  -- lighting of candles or incense, the wearing of certain attire, deciding whether to stand, sit, or kneel when you pray.

 Speculation  --all human beings seek answers to the great mysteries of life. --questions about life, death, suffering, the origins of the universe, and countless other events.

 Ethics  All religions say we should avoid murder, thieving, lying, and adultery. They all stress humility, charity and veracity

Five Religious Orientations  religion is but one kind of world view, all about life, death, suffering and social relationships

Christianity  1 Christians believe strongly in organized worship as a means of proclaiming God’s message.

 2 Jesus preaches a system of ethics  (commandments, right and wrong, good and evil, morals and ethics)  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 3 the Western concept of the importance of the individual can be linked partially to Christianity.

 4 Western “doing” orientation can be found in the life of Jesus.  5 a strong message is courage.

Judaism  Basic concepts  1 God is one  2 no human ever will be divine  3 humans are free  4 humans are the pinnacle of creation

 5 Jews belong to a group or nation whose goal is to serve serve God  6 Humans must be obedient to the God- given commandments in the Torah and assume personal responsibility

 Jews place on learning and the Jewish sense of justice.

Islam  Regilion is taught in school, the language is full of religious expressions, and people practice their religion openly, almost obtrusively, expressing it in numerous ways.

 Accepts and sumits to the will of Allah.  No clear separation of church and state.

 1 a feeling of dependency on God  2 the fear of God’s punishment on earth as well as the hereafter  3 a deep-seated respect for tradition and for the past.

Hinduism  Based on the fundamental assumption that the material world, the one we can touch and see, is not the only reality.

 The ultimate cause of suffering is people’s ignorance of their true nature, the Self, which is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect, and eternal.”

Buddhism  Each individual has the power to overcome suffering.  Its followers are taught to realize truth through meditation and correct life.

 Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, worry, misery, pain, distress and despair are suffering, not attaining what one desires is suffering.”  Identify the causes of their suffering.

Discussion  1 Explain how understanding the religious aspect of a particular culture’ lifestyle might help you better communicate with a member of that culture.

Family  Importance, Functions, and Types  The family is among the oldest and most fundamenta of all human institutions

1 family is charged with transforming a biological organism into a human being who must spend the rest of his or her life around other human being.

 2 Although a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious views and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.

 3 families are important because they supply all of us with part of our identity.

Types of family  1 the family of orientation  2 the family of procreation

New definitions by Berko, Rosenfeld and Samovar  live-in couples, heterosexual or homosexua with or without child, who are married but have a binding relationship;

 single-parent family, in which the parent – married, never married, widowed, or divorced—lives with her or his biological or adopted child, and blended family, consisting of two adults and their children, all, some, or none whom of may be the offspring from their union.

Culture and family Different cultures create different families McGoldrick: “ Culture vary in everything from their definition of family, to their definition of the timing of life cycle phases and the tasks appropriate at each phase.”

Gender Roles  Teaching of appropriate gender roles  Study reveals: at 24 months children were aware that labels, such as boy, girl…  These perceptions are learned and influence how members of a culture interact with both sexes.

 China, Japan, Korea  --Confucianism made men alone the structurally relevant members of the society and relegated women to social dependence.

 Davis and Proctor: in Asian countries, Males are primarily responsible for task functions, while females attend to social and cultural tasks.

 Hendry: although the family system perceive men as being supervior to women, the duty of care within the family falls almost automatically to women.”

 The Mexican culture:  place father in the dominant role and the mother in the domestic role.  All major decisions are made by him, and he sets the disciplinary standards.

 In india: males are also considered the superior sex. Male children are thought to be entrusted to parents by the gods.

 The Arab culture: treats males as the preferred sex.  “Your wealth brings you respect, your sons bring your delight.”

Age  The family is the first institution to introduce the child to the notion of age- grading

 The dominant American culture prefer youth to old age. Most Asia culture taught children to respect the old.

Social skills  Families teach how to use the verbal and nonverbal codes necessary for survival.  (politeness, how to communicate to make friends, what subjects can be discussed, ways of expressing anger or affection)

 Western family—parents encourage, approve, reward aggressive behavior  Mexican family—highly value respect, the child is taught to avoid aggressive behavior.

 Chinese families—children learn the social skills necessary for group harmony, family togetherness, interdependence in relationships, respect for their place in the line of generations, and saving face.

 Thai family– The child quickly learns that by behaving in a way that openly demonstrates consideration for the feelings of others, obedience, humility, politeness and respect.

History  The study of history needs to be part of the study of intercultural communication.

China  Geographical separation little mobility, except for famine and war  The notion of the Chinese clan and family being more important than many other factors.

USA  English value origins  Migration culture  Violence history  --value individuality, a lack of formality, efficient use of time.

African Americans  Not willing immigrants  Stress companionship and group solidarity  Maya Angelou: In slave society Mariah became Aunt Mariah and Joe become Uncle Joe. Young girls were called Sister, Sis, or Tutta. Boys become Brother, Bubba, and Bro and Buddy.”

Jews  Long history of persecution  --Value family as a crucial means for survival  pursue and value occupations that could easily be transferred to new settings. (teacher, lawyer, doctor, writer…)

Russians  Similar to that of the Jews  Invasion, persecution and suffering  A tradition of militarized absolutism  --follow orders and accept the dictums of their leaders

Japanese  Geographical Isolation  --a strong sense of self-identity and painful self-consciousness  -- draw special attention to its foreign provenience  -- unusual degree of cultural homogeneity

Summary  World view is a culture’s orientation toward God, humanity, nature, the universe, life, death, sickness and other philosophical issue concerning existence.

 Although world view is communicated in a variety of ways, religion is the predominant element of culture that gives us our world view.

 The family, because it is the child’s first introduction to culture, influences both perception and communication.

 History, by passing on stories of the past, influences perception and teaches group identity, loyalty, and what to strive for.