This document outlines the objectives and content of a unit on culture. It introduces key concepts like culture, identity, cultural variability, and acculturation. It defines culture, discusses how it varies over time and between groups, and introduces dimensions of cultural variability proposed by Geert Hofstede. These dimensions include individualism/collectivism, power distance, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long/short-term orientation. The document also discusses acculturation strategies like integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization that groups use to adapt in multicultural societies. Activities are included to help apply these concepts to Aruba's multicultural context.

2. Objectives unit 6
1. Introduce the concept of culture
2. Relate the concept of identity to culture
3. Introduce the concept of cultural variability and
operationalize this in different cultural
dimensions (Hofstede)
4. Present the concept of acculturation, how this
relates to cultural identity and multicultural
societies
5. Apply abovementioned concepts/theories
(point 1-4) to Aruba’s context

3. Census Aruba 2010:
Aruba is multicultural and has always been
“Aruba tin 96 diferente nacionalidad di 133
diferente pais”
Aruba has 96 different nationalities from 133
different countries

5. Activity 1:
• In your own words, what does culture mean
to you and what associations do you get when
thinking about culture?

6. “A way of life”
• The full range of learned human behavior
patterns
• Everything that people create or develop:
• Values, norms, goals, and culture in general
develop as people interact with each other over
time;
• It includes beliefs, values, behaviors and physical
objects that create a people’s way of life
• People create their culture, and this culture in
turn shapes their behavior

7. The concept of culture
• Definition of culture as a concept has implications
for our categorization processes, the way we
describe, evaluate, understand and communicate
about cultures (ours and theirs)
• Difference between static and dynamic
approaches of the concept culture
– A statically entity, block, unchanging, monolithic
– A dynamic entity, changeable, contextual and with
internal variations
• Stereotypes are often related with statically views
of culture (unchanging, generalizations, “they all
are the same”)

8. Defining Culture:
Culture as
“ processes of continuing shifting and changing
systems of meaning” *. There are “shared
systems of values, norms, ideas, attitudes,
behaviours, means of communication and the
products of these” ** that are continuingly
created in the interaction with their particular
environment. [Systems of meaning] that play
an important role in shaping the behaviour of
the individual.***
*Bartels en Brouwer, 1999:16
**Van Oudenhoven, 2002: 14
*** Berry, 1997

9. A more practical definition of culture
• The full range of learned human behaviour
patterns. It refers to everything that people
create or develop. Values, norms, goals and
culture in general develop as people interact
with one another over time. It includes
beliefs, values, behaviours and physical
objects that create a people’s way of life
• People create their culture and this culture in
turn shapes their behaviour

11. Characteristics of Culture
1. Culture is learnt (socialization, see unit 5)
2. Culture is dynamic: ongoing process shaping
and re-shaping itself, variable over time and
place
3. Culture is shared (negotiated agreements: conventions)
4. Culture is transmittable (from one generation to the
other one)
5. Culture is adaptive: in order to survive, it must
adapt to changes in society
6. Culture is symbolic

12. Activity 2:
• Compare the culture of your grandparents
with yours:
• Culture is variable over time and place!

13. 2 types of culture
Material culture
Part of the culture that is
concrete and tangible, the
material things that a society
creates and uses for survival;
Physical and technological
aspects of our daily lives,
including: food, houses,
clothing, paintings, books etc…
Non-material culture
All intangible components of
our ways of life: language,
norms, ideas, believes, it
includes: religion, techniques,
philosophies etc…shared by
members of the society

14. Activity 3:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
State whether the examples below represent material or
non-material culture:
Food
Norms
Monuments
Values
Religious beliefs
Clothing
Ideas
Church buildings
Beliefs
Art

15. Activity 4:
Arubansare/or my specific cultural group, is...
• Imagine you are living abroad, and you have
to explain to your new friends what it means
to be ‘Aruban’ or your specific cultural group?
• How would you describe the Aruban culture
or your specific cultural group to your new
friends?

16. Stereotyping
• To stereotype someone is to attribute to that
person some characteristics which are seen to
be shared by all or most of his or her fellow
group members (Brown, 1995)
• Stereotypes can lead to prejudice

18. StereotypesPrejudice
• Prejudice: the holding of derogatory social
attitudes or cognitive beliefs, the expression
of negative affect or display of hostile or
discriminatory behaviour towards members of
a group on account of their membership of
that group (Brown, 1995)

19. Cultural variability: dimensions

20. “Culture is like a mental software”
Culture is always a collective
phenomenon, shared by
individuals that live in the
same social environment.
Culture is composed of the
unwritten rules of the social
game.
It is the collective mental
programming of the members of
a group or categories of people
that distinguish themselves from
other groups/categories
Geert Hofstede
The foundation for most cross-cultural
interpretation is the work of Geert
Hofstede.

21. 5 dimensions (Hofstede)
• The foundation for most cross-cultural interpretation is
the work of Geert Hofstede. He studied the value
dimensions that vary across cultures
• Hofstede developed with the help of large-scale (+/- 50
countries) samples starting in the 1970s cultural index
scores for five constructs:
1. Power distance,
2. Uncertainty avoidance,
3. Individualism/Collectivism,
4. Masculinity/Feminity and
5. Long term/Short term orientation.

24. Individualism - Collectivism
• The degree to which individuals are supposed
to look after themselves (individualism) or
remain integrated into groups (collectivism).
• All cultures have both individual and collective
dispositions

25. 1. Individualism - Collectivism
Individualism
collectivism
“I” consciousness
1. The individual is the single most
important unit in any social setting
2. independence rather than
dependence is stressed
3. individual achievement is rewarded
4. The uniqueness of each individual is
of paramount value
“We” consciousness
1. Characterized by a more rigid social
framework that distinguishes between
in in-groups and out out-groups
2. Greater emphasis on the views,
needs, and goals of the in in-group
rather than one one-self
3. Social norms and duty defined by the
in in-group rather than behavior to get
pleasure
4. Beliefs shared with the in in-group
rather than beliefs that distinguish self
from in in-group
5. Great readiness to cooperate with in
in-group members.

26. 2. Power distance
The extent to which a society prefers that power in relationships, institutions, and
organizations is distributed. Or: (rephrased) The extent to which the less powerful
members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
The classroom/ work context/family context: how is power distributed?
Large power distance
Small power distance
Believe that power and authority are facts Inequality in society should be minimized.
of life. Social hierarchy is prevalent;
The powerful and the
importance placed on status and rank
powerless try to live in harmony.

27. 3. Masculinity - Feminity
• The degree to which masculine or feminine traits are valued
and revealed. This scale refers to the distribution of emotional
roles between the genders, it opposes “tough” masculinity to
“tender” feminity.
Masculinity
Feminity
The extent to which dominant values
in society are male oriented. These
cultures are associated with such
behaviors as ambition, differentiated
sex roles, achievement, the acquisition
of money, and signs of manliness
Stress caring and nurturing behavior. A
feminine world view maintains that
people need not be aggressive and that
men and women can assume nurturing
roles; it also promotes sexual equality
and holds that people and the
environment are important. Gender
roles are more fluid. Interdependency
and androgyny are the ideal.

28. 4. Uncertainty avoidance
•
•
The future is unknown.
Uncertainty Avoidance measures the extent to which a culture programs its
members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations
and tries to control the uncontrollable. 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.
High Uncertainty Avoidance
Low uncertainty Avoidance
Try to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity by
providing stability for their members,
establishing more formal rules, not
tolerating deviant ideas and behaviors,
seeking consensus, and believing in
absolute truths and the attainment of
expertise.
More easily accept the uncertainty
inherent in life and are not as threatened
by deviance, tolerate the unusual. They
prize initiative, dislike structure associated
with hierarchy, are more wiling to take
risks, are more flexible, think there should
be as few rules as possible, depend less on
experts, more on common sense .

29. 5.Long-term vs short-term orientation
• Orientation towards time. Long-term orientation refers to the extent to
which a culture programs its members to accept delayed gratification of
their material, social and emotional needs. How do we value patience?
Long-term orientation
Short-term orientation
• Adaption of traditions to a modern
context
• Funds available for investments
• Perseverance towards slow results
• Respect for social and status
obligations within limits
• Concerns with respecting the
demands of virtue
•
•
•
•
Respect for traditions
Little money available for investment
Quick results expected
Respect for social and status
obligations regardless of costs
• Concerns with possessing the truth

30. Acculturation in plural societies

31. Plural societies
• As a result of immigration many societies
become culturally plural
• i.e. people of many cultural backgrounds
come to live together in a diverse society
• In many cases they form cultural groups that
are not equal in power (numerical, economic
or political)
• These differences give rise to terms such as
“mainstream”, “minority”, “ethnic group”

32. Acculturation
• Acculturation comprehends those phenomena which
result when groups of individuals having different
cultures come into continuous first-hand contact with
subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of
either or both groups”
• The 2 groups in this definition are 1) mainstream
society (cultural group in host country) and 2) minority
groups
• Although the concept is neutral, i.e. change may take
place in either or both groups, in practice acculturation
tends to induce more change in one or both groups

34. Acculturation strategies
• In all plural societies, cultural groups and their individual members,
in both the dominant and non-dominant situations, must deal with
the issue of how to acculturate.
• Strategies with respect to two major issues are usually worked out
by groups and individuals in their daily encounters with each other.
They resolve two important issues
• These issues are:
1. cultural maintenance: to what extent are cultural identity and
characteristics considered to be important, and their maintenance
strived for
2. contact and participation: to what extent should they become
involved in other cultural groups, or remain primarily among
themselves

35. The process:
• When these two underlying issues are considered
simultaneously, a conceptual framework (Fig. 1) is
generated which posits four acculturation
strategies.
• These two issues can be responded to on
attitudinal dimensions, represented by bipolar
arrows. For purposes of presentation, generally
positive or negative (“yes” or “no” responses) to
these issues intersect to define four acculturation
strategies

37. 1) Is it considered to be of
value to maintain one’s
identity and
yes
no
characteristics? 
2) Is it considered to be of
value to maintain
relationships with larger
society? 
yes
Assimilation
(1.yes/2.yes)
no
Integration
(1.no/2.yes)
Separation/
Segregation
Marginalization
(1.yes/2.no)
(1.no/2.no)

38. 4 acculturation strategies
(from the point of view of the non-dominant/minorities groups):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Integration: When there is an interest in both maintaining one’s
original culture, while in daily interactions with other groups,
Integration is the option; here, there is some degree of cultural
integrity maintained, while at the same time seeking to participate as
an integral part of the larger social network.
Assimilation: when individuals do not wish to maintain their cultural
identity and seek daily interaction with other cultures, the
Assimilation strategy is defined
Separation/segregation: when individuals place a value on holding
on to their original culture, and at the same time wish to avoid
interaction with others, then the Separation alternative is defined.
Marginalization: when there is little possibility or interest in cultural
maintenance (often for reasons of enforced cultural loss),and little
interest in having relations with others (often for reasons of exclusion
or discrimination) then Marginalization is defined