6. Continuum of Human Behavior
Universal Cultural Personal
Speak a language
Americans:
English
monolinguals
Americans: 20%
speak a language
other than English
at home (Language Use &
Ability 2007)
food Americans eat fast
food
“weekday”
vegetarian
7. Culture:
What we see & what we don’t
Behaviors
Senses
Cultural artifacts
Opinions
Viewpoints
Attitudes
Philosophies
Values
Convictions
Obsessed with schedules
Blue jeans
Fast food
First names
Smiling a lot
Notions of time
Communication style
Motivations in daily life
How people fit into society
Modified from Cultural Intelligence – Brooks Peterson (Intercultural Press, 2004, pp. 19-22)
Culture: What we see and what we don’t
8. American Culture: Key Values
• Individualism
• Privacy
• Equality
• Time is precious & focus on future
• Achievement and work
Caution!
• Mainstream cultural values drive a society’s central institutions
• Experts don’t agree on crucial values to define US
9. Individualism
• Independence and personal responsibility
• Grown children typically don’t live with
parents
• Self-reliant
• Individual freedom
10. Privacy
• Assumption that most people need time
alone
• A person’s possessions belong to him/her
• A person’s thoughts belong to him/her
(confidentiality)
• Many unspoken boundaries
11. Equality
• Men and women are equal
• Every person is valuable and deserves respect
• Every person’s opinion is valuable
• Inequalities exist but are signaled subtly
(indirectly)
• Everyone has the possibility to achieve high
standing
12. Achievement and Work
• High value on “getting things done”
• Ideal person is a hard worker, works
efficiently
• Belief that one should be “doing
something” most of the time
• Many define themselves by their job
• Achievement is good
• Competitiveness is a way to advance
13. Attitude towards Time
• Linear (complete one task at a time)
• Task oriented
• Highly value punctuality
• Keep to schedules, agendas, timetables
• Meet deadlines
• Focus on future, change, progress
14. Communication
• Need for explicit statements
• Low reliance on context or assumptions
• “Tennis” style of communicating
• Importance placed on written vs. spoken
agreements
• Lack of emotionality valued
15. “Hot Sockets”Points of frustration for you if you are
communicating with a majority culture
American
Points of frustration for many Americans when
communicating with others who are not
People may not give you enoughTIME People take too muchTIME
People may not give enough HELP. People
may expect you to find out what you need.
People act too DEPENDENT
People may seem COLD, INSINCERE, and
TOO RATIONAL or ARTIFICIAL and
UNCARING.
People seem too EMOTIONAL
People may want you to stand TOO FAR AWAY People seem to want to standTOO CLOSE
People seem to come rudelyTOTHE POINT (blunt)
People may refuse by saying NO directly
People seem UNABLETO COMETOTHE POINT.
People may SAYYES but MEAN NO.
People may seem AGGRESSIVE or CONTROLLING. People seem to act as if they have NO CONTROL
overWHAT HAPPENSTOTHEM
People may call you by your FIRST NAME, even
strangers. People may seem PATRONIZING or
DISRESPECTFUL of your STATUS
People useTITLES and LAST NAMES and expect to
be treated in a special way because of their status
People expect you to look them DIRECTLY INTHE
EYES and will LOOK DIRECTLY INYOURS
People will NOT LOOKYOU INTHE EYE when
speaking to you
People may expect you to do everything by
YOURSELF
People may seem unable to MAKE DECISIONS or to
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for themselves
16. Cultural Adjustment: 3 Stages
• Honeymoon stage
– Excitement, curiosity
• Culture Shock
– Disorientation, longing for the familiar,
frustration, depression, hostility
• Cultural Adjustment
– Competency in new culture, comfort,
acceptance, feelings of accomplishment
17. Some Helpful Ideas
• D-I-E
– Describe, Interpret, Evaluate
– Quick, judgmental reactions = misunderstandings
• Ask questions
• Talk with experienced expatriates or those
who have spent time abroad
• Keep a journal
• View yourself as a teacher
18. Resources
Althen, Gary. 2011. American Ways – A
Cultural Guide to the United States 3rd
edition. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Editor's Notes
Thinking about culture as an iceberg is useful analogy because….In all societies, cultural aspects you see and those you don’t. When going to new culture, usually most eager to learn about the “tip” of the iceberg “What’s the food like?” What do people wear? What’s the weather look like? What do campus apartments look like?But like iceberg where 80% below water……most, perhaps 80%, of important aspects about culture are invisible. We are not conscious of them. These include things like Notions of timeRules about relationships Attitudes about work Men’s & women’s roles Tolerance for changeRoles of adults and children in a family (and many more) These things are driven by READ ICEBERG. Deeper you go toward bottom of iceberg, more importantEX: May be easy to change an opinion about a cultural belief, much harder if a conviction. (better to have a long lunch vs. men and women having inherently different roles in society)
Do any of these hot sockets sound familiar? Do any of them push your buttons? What cultural assumptions do you have that have pushed your buttons?What might you do when one of these sensitive areas come up?
