American cultural values- individualism, competition, equality
1. American Values and Assumptions
-Gary Althen, USA
In “American Values and Assumptions”, Gary
Althen clarifies the American cultural values and
assumptions that intersect and how they work together.
Americans place an emphasis on individualism, believing
they should take responsibility for themselves. In
addition, they are inclined to be competitive with others;
they believe that goals can be attained through hard work.
Americans are usually more open and prefer to be direct.
Those particular American values and assumptions that
make Americans different from people of other countries
are:
Individualism:
The most important thing to understand about
Americans is probably their devotion to individualism.
They are trained from early age in their views to consider
themselves as separate individuals who are responsible
for their own situations in life and their own destinies.
Competition:
Individualistic Americans neutrally see themselves
as beings in competition with others. Competitiveness
pervades the society. It is obvious in the attention given to
2. athletic events and star athletes who are praised for being
real competitors.
Privacy:
Privacy is also closely associated with the major
American value i.e. individualism. Americans assume that
people “need some time to themselves” or “some time
alone” to think about things or recover their spent
psychological energy.
Equality:
Americans are also instinctive in the degree to
which they believe in the ideal as stated in their
declaration of independence that all men are created
equal.
Informality:
The sense of equality makes the Americans to be
informal. They use slang to address each other. They
attend the publicceremonies even in casual dress.
The future, change and progress:
The Americans ignore the past and focus on future.
Look ahead is their main slogan. They never regret for the
past but see the future. Besides, they believe in changed
through the effort of the people. They believe that time is
underthe controlof human beings.
Time:
For the American “motion is progress and labor is
money. They appreciate the people who make well use of
time and well organized people get social respect. They
3. believe that time is resource and money. They never
waste their time.
Achievement, action, work and materialism:
Americans are hardworking people who believe in
their action to achieve their goal. They are materialistic
peoplewho work hard for materialistic prosperity.
Directness and assertiveness:
The Americans are open minded and they speak
directly to others. Besides they are clever and devoted to
their works.
