Alternate Views of Reality: Cultural Values

Alternate Views of Reality:Cultural Values Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny. –(author?)

In chapter 5 we’ll look at… • How culture shapes our perception • How culture inculcates (instills) a set of values • How these values differ across cultures.

PERCEPTION Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data in a way that enables us to make sense of our world.—Gamble and Gamble What you think and do about something is in part based on the beliefs and values that have been instilled in you by your culture. Do the testThe detective

Perceptions Differ The Moon V sign Baseball game vs Bull fight

Taiwan—Blinking while talking with someone is considered to be impolite. U.S.—Looking away while someone is talking is perceived as not paying attention. Looking elsewhere while you are talking=may be lying. How the elderly are perceived: • US values youth. • Africa says the older one gets, the wiser one becomes.

Personal Credibility • Personal credibility is another perceptual trait that is shaped by culture. • What kinds of people do we in U.S. consider credible? People who know what they are talking about and have good intentions. • U.S.—values people who are articulate and outspoken --direct, rational, decisive, unyielding, and confident • Japan—values quiet and spends more time listening than speaking (talking a lot = shallowness) --indirect, sympathetic, prudent, flexible, and humble

Beliefs, Values “Beliefs… are the storage system for the content of our past experiences, including thoughts, memories, and interpretations of events.” p 130 Beliefs form the basis of our values. Values… are a learned organization of rules for making choices and for resolving conflicts….shared ideas about what is true, right, and beautiful that underlie cultural patterns and guide society in response to the physical and social environment.

Obstacles in studying cultural patterns • People are very diverse within their dominant culture • Cultural patterns are interrelated; they don’t operate in isolation. Ex: a cultural pattern that stresses a spiritual life as being more important than materialism also directs values toward age, status, social relationships, and the use of time. • Cultural Patterns change • Cultural Patterns are often contradictory

Dominant U.S. Cultural Patterns • Individualism • Equality • Materialism • Science and Technology • Progress and Change • Work and Leisure • Competition

Hofstede’s 5 Value Dimensions—#1.Individualism/Collectivism (self-orientation vs collective orientation) Individualistic cultures emphasize personal rights and responsibilities, privacy, voicing one’s own opinion, freedom, innovation, and self-expression.” “Collectivistic cultures emphasize community, collaboration, shared interest, harmony, tradition, the public good, and maintaining face.” --Anderson

Individualism • The individual is the single most important unit in any social setting • Independence rather than dependence is stressed • Individual achievement is rewarded • Uniqueness of each individual is of paramount value • Competition rather than cooperation is encouraged • Personal goals more important than group goals • Negotiating with collectivist groups (Japan) is difficult U.S.A., Australia, GB, Canada, the Netherlands, NZ Personal goals take priority over allegiance to groups like family or employer. Apt to change membership as it suits them, switching churches or leaving one employer for another or even friends if it is better for us.

Collectivism • A rigid social framework that distinguishes between in-groups (relatives, clans, organization) and out-groups. • People count on their in-group to look after them, and in exchange they feel they owe loyalty to the group. • Hold strong emotional ties and feel that they belong together. Long term. Common goals. Cooperation is natural and status is determined by position within the group. • Individuals trust group decisions even at the expense of individual rights. Pakistan, Colombia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Peru, much of Africa and Asia—people are born into extended families or clans China: Confucius said, “If one wants to establish himself, he should help others to establish themselves first.”

Many co-cultures in U.S. can be classified as collective. African Americans have characteristics of collective societies. Hispanics greatly value the family, and often place the needs of the family members above the needs of individuals. • Collectivism influences a number of communication variables. For ex., in South Korean culture, traits such as indirect communication, saving face, concern for others, and group cooperation are linked to South Korea’s collective orientation.

Collectivism in…. Education: In collective classrooms such as in Mexico, harmony and cooperation in learning are stressed instead of competition. “The more we are, the faster we finish.”--Mexican proverb Medical environment: In Egypt “Even in illness, Egyptians prefer company. Relatives bring food, aspirin, and advice. Hospitals are crowded with residents and friends visiting patients. [true in most collectivist cultures] Business: Negotiations in collective cultures are often attended by a group of people and decision making takes longer.

Hofstede’s Value Dimension #2 Uncertainty Avoidance “… the extent to which people within a culture are made nervous by situations which they perceive as unstructured, unclear, or unpredictable, situations which they therefore try to avoid by maintaining strict codes of behavior and a belief in absolute truths.” -- Hofstede

High Uncertainty Avoidance(highly want to avoid uncertainty!) • These cultures seek to provide stability for their members • They establish more formal rules • They don’t tolerate deviant ideas and behaviors • They seek consensus • They believe in absolute truths • These cultures have more anxiety and stress. • Believe that life carries the potential for continuous hazards. • These cultures seek to add structure to life. • Students expect structured learning situations and right answers. Portugal, Greece, Peru, Belgium, and Japan

Low Uncertainty Avoidance(embrace uncertainty) • These cultures more easily accept the uncertainty inherent in life. • They value initiative • Dislike the structure associated with hierarchy • Willing to take risks • Flexible • Want as few rules as possible • Depend on themselves more than on experts • Generally less tense and more relaxed • Students feel comfortable in unstructured learning situations. Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, the U.S., Finland, and the Netherlands

Uncertainty Preference in Negotiations Avoid Uncertainty (Japan for one) Embrace Uncertainty (U.S.A. for one) The opposite of the other column . . . Willing to take risks Less constrained by the unknown • Move slowly • Need more detail and planning • Uncomfortable having younger members in the opposite group • Need formality • Prefer agendas and sticking to them

Hofstede’s Value Dimension #3Power Distance(the distance between power and members of a culture) “…in some cultures, those who hold power and those who are affected by power are significantly far apart (high power distance) in many ways… while in other cultures, the power holders and those affected by the power holders are significantly closer (low power distance).” p 146

High Power Distance • Accept power as part of society • Superiors consider their subordinates to be different from themselves and vice versa. • These cultures teach that people are not equal in this world and that everybody has a rightful place, which is clearly marked by countless vertical arrangements. • Social hierarchy is prevalent and institutionalizes inequality. • In education—teacher centered; emphasis is on the personal “wisdom” of the teacher Malaysia, India, Africa, Brazil, Singapore, Greece, Venezuela, Mexico, Philippines

Low Power Distance • Inequality in society should be minimized. • People believe they are close to power and should have ready access to that power. • Subordinates consider superiors to be the same kind of people as they are, and vice versa. (we all put our pants on the same way!) • In education: emphasis is on impersonal “truth” that can be obtained by any competent person. Austria, Finland, Denmark, Norway, the U.S., New Zealand, Israel

Hofstede’s Value Dimension #4Masculinity/Femininity The degree to which masculine or feminine traits are valued and revealed. Masculine dominated culture--the dominant values in a society are male oriented …different social roles for men and women. • Men are expected to be assertive, ambitious, and competitive, and to strive for material success, and to respect whatever is big, strong, and fast. • Women are expected to stay home and care for the family; not pursue a professional career. Assertiveness and the acquisition of money & things (materialism) are emphasized & often take precedence over interpersonal relationships. p148 Ireland, the Philippines, Greece, Venezuela, Japan, Italy, and Mexico (masculine domination varies in each culture)

Feminine dominated culture—Cultures that value femininity as a trait stress nurturing behaviors. A feminine worldview maintains that men need not be assertive and that they can assume nurturing roles; promotes sexual equality and holds that people and the environment are important. Sympathize with those less fortunate. Expect women to work and often provide the necessary social support systems. (Sweden offers maternity or paternity leave to care for the newborn) Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands

Hofstede’s Value Dimension #5Long-Term & Short-Term Orientation A society’s “time horizon,” or the importance attached to the future versus the past and present. In long-term oriented societies, people value actions and attitudes that affect the future: persistence/perseverance, thrift, and shame. They have a strong work ethic and show great respect to their employers. Value social order and long-range goals. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea In short-term oriented societies, people do not place a high priority on status, try to postpone old age, are concerned with short-term resuts, and seek quick gratification of their needs. (ex.= credit card debt!) U.S., G.B., Canada, Philippines

Hall’s High & Low Context Cultures Hall categorizes cultures as being either high or low context, depending on the degree to which meaning comes from the settings or from the words being exchanged. A high context communication or message is one in which most of the information is already in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicitly transmitted part of the message. A low context communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code [words].

High Context Low Context Native American, Latin American, Japanese, Arab, Chinese, African American, and Korean • Need fewer words • Homogeneous people • Similar experiences • Long tradition & history • information is provided through inference, gestures, and even silence. • More reliant and tuned in to nonverbal communication • Vague, indirect, and implicit • Conflict should be dealt with discreetly and subtly. • Japanese communicate by not stating things directly. Look for meaning and understanding in what is not said. German, Swiss, Scandinavian, U.S., Canada • Less homogeneous • Lack common experiences so need to convey detailed background information • Verbal message contains most of the info—very little nonverbal or inference. • Direct and explicit • Talk more, speak more rapidly, and often raise their voices. • Speak up! Say what’s on your mind. Spell it out! • High context peoples look at these verbal people as less credible • Emphasizes sending and receiving accurate messages directly, usually by being articulate with words

Face and Facework • Face--The self-image you want to project to others. • Facework is the construction and communication of face….the various actions you engage in to acquire face for yourself or give “face” to someone else. • In a job interview we want to “put on our best face.” “Put our best foot forward.” Wear best dress or suit to a job interview, arrive a little early, sit erect, maintain eye contact, avoid slang, etc. • Complementing a friend on their new haircut or swimsuit is an example of other-directed facework. • In collective cultures, maintenance of mutual and other face receives greater emphasis than self-face.

More on “Face” (Internet) • “The point is that face is distinctively human. Anyone who does not wish to declare his social bankruptcy must show a regard for face: he must claim for himself, and must extend to others, some degree of compliance, respect, and deference in order to maintain a minimum level of effective social functioning. While it is true that the conceptualization of what constitutes face and the rules governing face behavior vary considerably across cultures…the concept of face is a universal.” • (Ho, 1976:881-2)

Face in Intercultural Communication Face is central to intercultural communication. Bert Brown explains the importance of both personal and national face in international negotiations: • Among the most troublesome kinds of problems that arise in negotiation are the intangible issues related to loss of face. In some instances, protecting against loss of face becomes so central an issue that it swamps the importance of the tangible issues at stake and generates intense conflicts that can impede progress toward agreement and increase substantially the costs of conflict resolution. (1977:275) • Face-saving is generally more important in high context cultures such as China or Japan than in low-context ones such as the U.S. or Germany. (Cohen 1977)

Conclusion to Ch 5… All these cultural differences describe averages or tendencies and not necessarily characteristics of every individual. A Japanese person for example might embrace uncertainty while an American wants to avoid it, even though their 'national' cultures point strongly in a different direction. Consequently, a country's scores should not be interpreted as deterministic. Is worldwide empathy possible?

Alternate Views of Reality: Cultural Values