environmental factors that influence our cultural identity
In this chapter, were going to explore culture and its impact on interpersonal communication. There is a juxtaposition that exists within us, almost an internal struggle, that seeks to override our sensory experiences and numb ourselves to our surroundings, alongside a deeply rooted impulse to acknowledge our identity through our connection to our environment. Some gestures can mean wildly different things in different parts of the world. As such, there is a focus on both persistence and thrift. _____1. However, this is not a Mexican holiday. Experts in the new area of evidence-based design have identified five environmental factors that can have a large impact on health outcomes. Over the years, there have been numerous definitions of the word culture. Perhaps you live in a dorm that is allegedly haunted. Probably one of the best books you can read to know more about how to communicate in another culture is Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaways book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More than 60 Countries.47. Interpersonal Communication by Jason S. Wrench; Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter; and Katherine S. Thweatt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. However, previous research has not focused on the role of college marching band participation in student development. The Chicago Policy Review is committed to advancing policy research and scholarship. The basic sources of personality development are heredity and environment. While research suggests that genetics play an important role in personality, it is also important to recognize that other factors do have an influence. In fact, within the latest edition of the book examining these characteristics, Hofstede and his colleagues title the chapter on uncertainty avoidance as What is Different is Dangerous, calling out the threat factor people in high uncertainty avoidance cultures feel.31 Cultures at the high end of uncertainty avoidance include Greece, Portugal, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Belgium Flemish; whereas, cultures at the low end of uncertainty avoidance include Singapore, Jamaica, Denmark, Sweden, and Hong Kong. Countries are deemed eco-efficient if they use as much or fewer pollutants than countries with equal or higher GDP per capita levels. However, if the person comes back and says, I really dont care. Every one of us has grown up in a unique cultural environment, and this culture has impacted how we communicate. In 1952, A. L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions for the word culture. Culture is often described as the way we do things.1 In their book, the authors noted, Considering that concept [of culture] has had a name for less than 80 years, it is not surprising that full agreement and precision has not yet been attained.2 Kroeber and Kluckhohn predicted that eventually, science would land on a singular definition of culture as it was refined through the scientific process over time. Try this exercise: picture someone named Mel. First, when it comes to engaging with people from other cultures, we need to be fully in the moment and not think about previous interactions with people from a culture or possible future interactions with people from a culture. People in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance can view this ambiguity and lack of knowledge as threatening, which is one reason why people in these cultures tend to have higher levels of anxiety and neuroticism as a whole. His interests ultimately culminated in his 1980 publication Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values where he explained some basic cultural differences.22 Over the years, Geert has fine-tuned his theory of culture, and the most recent update to his theory occurred in 2010.23 In Geerts research examining thousands of workers from around the globe, he has noticed a series of six cultural differences: low vs. high power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, low vs. high uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint. The cuisine of southern India is largely rice based, while the north is wheat based. In HCC, on the other hand, intention or meaning can best be conveyed through implicit contexts, including gestures, social customs, silence, nuance, or tone of voice.20 Table 6.1 further explores the differences between low-context and high-context cultures. In terms of two interacting parties, face is the reciprocated compliance, respect, and/or deference that each party expects from, and extends to, the other party.43. Affectionate communication is conceptualized as a persons use of intentional and overt communicative behaviors to convey feelings of closeness, care, and fondness in the form of verbal statements, nonverbal behaviors, and social support.35. Thinking about your college or university, how would you explain your microculture to someone unfamiliar with your culture? Small/large power distance shapes members preferences for horizontal-based facework versus vertical-based facework. Admittedly, this episode aired in July 2001, so we were just a few short months before 9-11 and the public awakening to a whole range of issues occurring in the Middle East. When faced with a decision, individuals use cultural values to determine the appropriate course of action. Wexler points . 1. The purpose of this study was to examine the psycho-social factors (attitudes, identity, and perceptions) affecting pre-service teacher education majors in a cross-cultural pedagogical environment (African American professors and white students). _____10. For example, when you travel to a new country (or even a state within your own country), you expect to encounter different clothing, languages, foods, rituals, etc. The word culture is a hotly debated term among academics. So, within these cultures, martyrdom is something that is valued. Impact of environment upon gender identity and sexual orientation: a lesson for parents of children with intersex or gender confusion Authors Peter A Lee 1 , Christopher P Houk Affiliation 1 Department of Pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine, The Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA. When do you think ethnocentrism helps you have collective self-esteem, and when do you think it leads to prejudice? . Listed below are the environmental factors that influence our cultural identity. Rules, on the other hand, are the explicit guidelines (generally written down) that govern acceptable or proper social behavior within a specific culture. As you can imagine, depending on the type of culture you live in, you will have wildly different social interactions with other people. 1. 2.Cultural Factors With the onset of globalisation, a larger proportion of the students are moving across border for international higher education. Lets look at a real stereotype that plays out. In this section, were going to examine three important luminaries that have helped shape our understanding of culture and intercultural communication: Edward T. Hall, Geert Hofsteded, and Stella Ting-Toomey. Some interesting findings associated with indulgence include experiencing higher levels of positive emotions and remembering those emotions for more extended periods. The concept of face is one that is not the easiest to define nor completely understand. On the other hand, maybe you had a bad experience with a Purple Person being lazy at work and in your mind decide all Purple People must behave like that. Notice that the U.S. does not make it into the top five or the bottom five. One kind of determinant of health is what is in our genes and our biology. _____11. You may have been forced into gang life at a very early age. The terms low-context culture (LCC) and high-context culture (HCC) were created by Hall to describe how communication styles differ across cultures. In this case, was Jalissa culturally intelligent? ), whereas face losing refers to those behaviors someone engages in that can harm their reputation or feelings of prestige (e.g., getting caught in a lie, failing, etc.). We mean cast members) who work for the Disney company quickly realize that there is more to working at Disney than a uniform and a name badge. Figure 2.4. sense of self and society. One of the latest buzz-words in the business world is cultural intelligence, which was initially introduced to the scholarly community in 2003 by P. Christopher Earley and Soon Ang.45 In the past decade, a wealth of research has been conducted examining the importance of cultural intelligence during interpersonal interactions with people from other cultures. The first of Geert Hofstedes original dimensions of national cultures was power distance, or the degree to which those people and organizations with less power within a culture accept and expect that power is unequally distributed within their culture. I enjoy reaching out and engaging in an intercultural encounter. Intrapersonal factors also impact moral development, such as cognitive changes, emotions, and even neurodevelopment. Over the years, the two graduated and went to different jobs that were close to each other. There are various factors that can affect self-concept, these include: age, sexual orientation, gender and religion. Even though Roy was White and Jalissa was African American, the two immediately felt drawn to each other. During an interpersonal interaction, individuals strive to create a positive version of their face for the other person. Your cultural identity is a critical piece of your personal identity (and worldview) that develops as you absorb, interpret, and adopt (or reject) the beliefs, values, behaviors, and norms of the communities in your life. Stereotypes are a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a social group.13 Many people immediately hear the word stereotype and cringe because its often filled with negative connotations. For example, in most of the United States, when you are talking to someone, eye contact is very important. Of course, Ellen just couldnt understand why these male villagers were throwing rocks at her. Learn how culture identity impacts early childhood development, including. Third, figure out where that stereotype came from. Many metrics exist to measure and regulate behavior that negatively impacts the environment, but perhaps the most important factors of human behavior are our own cultural attitudes. You may have even been told by someone to look at me when Im talking to you if youve ever gotten in trouble. How do you think these stereotypes would impact your interpersonal interactions with people from these different groups? We also tend to think our own culture is generally right, moral, ethical, legal, etc. Sometimes its easy to figure out where our stereotypes evolved from, but sometimes these stereotypes are so ingrained in us through our own culture that its hard to really figure out their origin. _____15. Cultural orientation where individuals focus on the past or present and not in the future. Please take a second and complete their measure: James L. Mason created a cultural competence tool for service agencies (. I can vary my rate of speech if an intercultural encounter requires it. Stereotypes are beliefs that we hold about a person because of their membership in a specific cultural group. Dont try to find evidence to support or negate these stereotypes or prejudices. For example, within the United States we commonly refer to a wide variety of different cultures: Amish culture, African American culture, Buddhist Culture, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexed, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) culture. These influence all social processes including business, education and life in general. Juans culture is marked by expensive houses, fast cars, rich food, and all the luxuries one could desire. An additional variable is used to describe the effect of a countrys greenhouse gas production on environmental valuation, placing value on a pollutant-free environment. When a culture appears to waiver from what our culture has taught is right, moral, ethical, legal, etc., we tend to judge those cultures as inferior. The fact that we view ourselves as American is even somewhat ethnocentric because technically there are three rather large countries that are all in North American and 13 in South America. Culture can be defined as a shared set of beliefs, values, experiences, and more. context of culture and its influence on the developing child. Cultural intelligence involves the degree to which an individual can communicate competently in varying cultural situations. If you are raised by Jewish or Christian parents/guardians, you will learn the creation story in the Bible. To determine power differences within a culture, Hofstede originally was able to examine cultural value survey data that had been collected by IBM. Society Does our identity begin its cultivation from the moment we're born? Some cultures are widespread, and have a large number of people who associate themselves with those particular values, beliefs, and origins. Cultural intelligence (CQ) is defined as an individuals capability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity.46, In their original study on the topic, Earley and Ang argued that cultural intelligence is based on four distinct factors: cognitive, motivational, metacognitive, and behavioral dimensions. We often refer to microcultures as local cultures because they do tend to exist among a small segment of people within a specific geographical location. The degree to which nonmembers of a group evaluate a group and its members either positively or negatively. In either case, we have a negative stereotype about a cultural group, but how we learn these stereotypes is very different. Its not uncommon for different dorms on campus to develop their own unique cultures that are distinct from other dorms. Cultural intelligence consists of four distinct parts: knowledge, motivation, understanding, and behavior. To this end, some of the villagers in Marrakech took it upon themselves to correct Ellens nonverbal behavior by throwing rocks at her. I know the importance of paintings, literature, and other forms of art in other cultures. You may be wondering how this ultimately impacts interpersonal communication. Culture is the shared characteristics of a group of people, which encompasses , place of birth, religion, language, cuisine, social behaviors, art, literature, and music. The top 5 percent had incomes of $191,157 or more.25. Environmental factors such as biological and social-cultural can also influence a child's personality. Culture includes the social ethics, principles, or morals seen in society. Cultural identities are the distinct identities of people or groups in cultural or subcultural categories and social groups. 16-38). Finally, the researchers examined affection given and received with regards to Hofstedes work. The final part of the definition of culture, and probably the most important for our purposes, looking at interpersonal communication, is that these beliefs, values, norms, and rules will govern how people behave. _____7. Intercultural facework competence refers to the optimal integration of knowledge, mindfulness, and communication skills in managing vulnerable identity-based conflict situations appropriately, effectively, and adaptively. Please use the scale below to rate the degree to which each statement applies to you. The following are common examples of culture factors. Either of these effects can change the proteins that are made from a gene, which in turn affects traits. More simplistically, face is essentially a persons reputation and feelings of prestige within multiple spheres, including the workplace, the family, personal friends, and society at large.44 For our purposes, we can generally break face down into general categories: face gaining and face losing. 3. The degree to which an individual views the world from their own cultures perspective while evaluating other cultures according to their cultures preconceptions often accompanied by feelings of dislike, mistrust, or hate for cultures deemed inferior? The next category identified by Hofstede involves the concept of uncertainty avoidance.30 Life is full of uncertainty. An average person would score between 12-18. And owning the culture means that the person embraces all the traditions that . Co-cultures will also have their holidays and traditions. Its opposite pole, restraint, reflects a conviction that such gratification needs to be curbed and regulated by strict social norms.34 The top five on the Indulgence end are Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, and Nigeria, whereas those on the restraint end are Pakistan, Egypt, Latvia, Ukraine, and Albania. We then looked at the critical functions that culture performs in our daily lives. For example, if you compare your cultural groups as being better than other cultural groups, then you will experience more positive emotions and self-evaluations.10 However, the opposite is also true. Our culture plays a role in how we think,. Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Communication, Chapter 2: Overview of Interpersonal Communication, Chapter 4: Verbal Elements of Communication, Chapter 6: Cultural and Environmental Factors in Interpersonal Communication, Chapter 8: Building and Maintaining Relationships, Chapter 11: Family & Marriage Relationships, Chapter 12: Interpersonal Communication in Mediated Contexts, Chapter 13: Interpersonal Relationships at Work, Chapter 14: The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication. Characteristics of a culture that values being self-reliant and self-motivated, believes in personal freedom and privacy, and celebrates personal achievement. How Am I Shaped and Influenced by Culture. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you are not motivated to have successful intercultural interactions, you will not have them. Next, we discussed the intersection of culture and communication. Milagros belongs to a very distinct South American tribe. Heredity: Heredity refers to the genetic inheritance received by every individual at the time of conception. With rules, we have clearly concrete and explicitly communicated ways of behaving, whereas norms are generally not concrete, nor are they explicitly communicated. As such, narrowing down to only one definition of the term is problematic, no matter how you define culture. For our purposes, we define culture as a group of people who, through a process of learning, can share perceptions of the world, which influences their beliefs, values, norms, and rules, which eventually affect behavior. Every individual belongs to a wide range of groups, and we can evaluate these groups as either positive or negative. Environmental psychologists realize that to change behavior and attitudes towards the environment, scientists and policymakers must understand people's personalities. In essence, in LCC, meaning is expressed through explicit verbal messages, both written and oral.
Highest Paid Barstool Employees,
Raiden Shogun Quotes About Eternity,
Carolyn Bryant Donham Raleigh Nc,
Custer's Route To The Little Bighorn Map,
Robert Grant Snohomish Superior Court,
Articles E