Module 10.3 –
Cultural Differences, Backgrounds, and Frames of Reference
Module Introduction
Before we can explore cultural differences and frames of reference—and how they affect our communication, we need to look at the nature of culture itself.
Culture involves have shared beliefs, values, and norms, which means that members of the culture have a similar way of thinking about how the world operates and how people should behave in it.
Perception provides the way we receive information about the world around us. Our perceptions form the reality of what we see around us. Perception is active, ongoing, complex, concurrent and simultaneous; our perception of the world is based in large part on our cultural background. We see the world the way our culture teaches us to.
1. Defining
Culture
Before we
can explore cultural differences and frames of reference—and how they affect our
communication, we need to look at the nature of culture itself. Communication scholars Myron Lustig and Jolene
Koester define culture as “a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs,
values, and norms, which affect the behaviors of a relatively large set of
people.”
This definition implies that culture creates a perceptual frame of reference that forms the basis for the way people interact with one another through language and nonverbal behavior. Having shared beliefs, values, and norms means that members of the culture have a similar way of thinking about how the world operates and how people should behave in it.
Beliefs provide us with a way of gauging what is logical, true, and correct about the world. They give us a sense of what we know about the world and how the world ought to operate.
Values give us a way to evaluate what is occurring in our world. They provide us with a sense of right and wrong, good and bad, positive and negative. Values allow us to judge what we perceive in the world.
Norms flow out of our beliefs and values. Having a certain way of thinking about how the world should operate and what is acceptable or not, creates a set of socially acceptable behaviors. Norms represent the “right way” of behaving in that culture. A simple example of such norms has to do with making noise while eating. The Japanese consider it polite to slurp noodles while eating them; many other cultures consider this behavior rude and impolite.
2. Defining
Culture (Continued)
The sharing of perceptual frameworks does not mean that all members of a culture see things the same way. Each person still has individual experiences that make each person’s framework different. The more homogeneous the culture, the more similar the frameworks are; the more homogeneous the culture the less similar the frameworks are.
This sharing of perceptual frameworks does mean that members of the culture have some common expectation about what is considered acceptable and appropriate behavior. The way they see the world and the way they behave and interact with one another is often assumed or taken for granted. As a member of a culture, we receive ongoing reinforcement for the assumptions we hold and the ways we should behave.
The beliefs, attitudes, values, and norms are part of our cultural framework are taught to us as part of growing up in a culture. This cultural way of thinking is passed on from generation to generation by parents, teachers, religious leaders, and others.
A culture is often, though not always, a geographical unit. A distinction needs to be made about culture, though, between culture and nation. Although we often think of the two as being the same, that is not always the case.
We do think, rightly at times, of nations being cultures. We can identify the French culture or the Japanese
culture, or even the American culture. Not all
countries contain a single culture. There are
many different cultural groups in the
3. Characteristics
of Culture
Our knowledge about a culture often comes from a variety of characteristics we can observe about that culture. Following are a number of characteristics of any culture. The list is neither inclusive nor exhaustive. Also included are some representative questions you can ask yourself about any culture. There are many, many more such questions you might want to ask when thinking about culture in general or any particular culture.
· Communication and Language: What language or languages are spoken in the culture? Is cultural identity tied to language? How do people communicate with one another—are they direct or indirect?
· Dress and Appearance: What is considered appropriate dress at a project/programme purpose meeting? At a social gathering? What are the standards of attractiveness?
· Food and Feeding Habits: What foods are considered taboo?
· Time and Time Consciousness: How important is it to be on time for a project/programme purpose meeting. For a social engagement?
· Relationships: How are friendship relationships defined and negotiated? What is appropriate concerning dating and mating relationships?
· Customs: Do people in the culture respect tradition or do they feel that change and progress are more important? How are elders treated in the culture? How does the culture look on power and the use of power? How tolerant are members of the culture toward outsiders?
· Cultural Rules: What are the rules of proper behavior in the culture, both explicit and tacit? How are these rules enforced?
4. Characteristics of Culture (Continued)
· The Sense of Self: Do people in the culture feel that the individual or the group is more important? How is personal success viewed? Do individuals in the culture seek immediate gratification or are they willing to delay gratification to achieve other goals?
· Personal Space and Territory: How close do people in the culture stand or sit to each other when they are interacting? What is considered community property and what is considered personal property?
· Mental Processes and Learning: Does the culture value analytic thinking? How does the culture view creative thinking?
· Myths: What are the stories that are told about the heroes of the culture? What lessons are drawn from those stories?
· The Arts: What are the artistic, musical, dance, and dramatic traditions of the culture? Who pays for the arts in the culture, is it the state or private individuals?
Another aspect of cultural characteristics is the type of institutions
that are important. Here are some of
the institutions that can give you an idea of what they culture is like:
· Kinship: What is the typical family unit? Is it the nuclear family or the extended family?
· Educational: What is the educational system like? Is there universal education? What is the typical level of education that members of the culture achieve? Is education government supported?
· Economic: How is the economy structured? How much does the government regulate the economy?
5. Characteristics of Culture (Continued)
· Political: What is the political system like? Is it a one party system? A two party system? Doe it have multiple parties? Is it a democracy, an oligarchy, a monarchy? Does it have a republican form of government or a parliamentary form?
· National: Does the culture coincide with national boundaries or does it span national boundaries? Is the culture one of many within national boundaries?
· Religious: Is it a secular culture? Is the culture based on a particular religious faith?
· Health: How is the health care system structured? Is there government support for health care? How technological is the health care system? Is alternative medicine accepted?
· Legal: What is the legal system like? Are alleged criminals considered innocent or guilty before they are tried? Are they tried before a judge or a jury of their peers? How litigious is the culture?
· Recreational: Are people more interested in individual or group activities? Which sports are popular? Do people engage more as participants or spectators in sports and recreation?
These aspects and institutions can give you an idea about what a culture deems important, how people interact with one another, and how one culture compares to others. They also provide information about the frames or reference that culture has and how those frames of reference influence they way members of that culture perceive the world.
6. Cultural
Perceptual Frameworks
Perception provides the way we receive information about the world around us. Our perceptions form the reality of what we see around us. Perception is active, ongoing, complex, concurrent and simultaneous.
Perception is the process by which we select, organize, and interpret the stimuli that are assaulting us from our environment into a meaningful and coherent representation of the world. It is through our five senses—touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell—that we take in our environment, attempt to make sense our of it, and in turn evaluate and make decisions about the world.
There are literally too many stimuli in our environment that are coming at us. Neither psychologically nor physically are we able to attend to all that we are being barraged with. We can only perceive a limited number of stimuli in our world. The process of selection, organization, and interpretation gives us a way to deal with the complexity.
Because no two people have exactly the same sensory receiving mechanisms as any other person, no two people will perceive the world exactly the same. We look at the world, not necessarily through “rose-colored” glasses, but through whatever colored glasses our past experience has taught us to look at the world through.
We selectively perceive the world based on our individual experiences, our education, our religious upbringing, our work experience, and so forth; in sum, we perceive the world from out past experience. In short our perception of the world is based in large part on our cultural background. We see the world the way our culture teaches us to.
7. Cultural Perceptual Frameworks (Continued)
The French author and philosopher, Francois de la Rochefoucauld, put our tendency to perceive based on our cultural background fittingly and succinctly in the Maxims when he stated: “The accent of one’s birthplace persists in the mind and the heard as much as in speech.”
Our cultural background creates our frame of reference. Our frame of reference or attitude set is that unique set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and past experiences that create a set way of looking and perceiving the world. And it is our frame of reference which forms the basis for how we interpret messages that we receive.
Closure is one way we try to organize our perceptions. Closure involves filling in information that is missing. We don’t like things incomplete so we fill in what’s not there so it makes sense to us. Closure is a natural tendency and one we are not often aware we are doing.
Sometimes we will hear a message, but not pay very much attention to it. We may have been busy or perhaps thought the information was not that important. At some later time someone asks us about the information and we pass along what we thought we heard, often filling in what we believe to be the information, even if what we fill in is inaccurate. We are not trying to mislead intentionally; we are just applying closure. The information we fill in comes from our cultural knowledge.
Grouping is another part of the process of organizing messages. It is the perceptual process of putting common elements together in our mind. We usually group by proximity or similarity. Grouping allows us to move from one situation to another without having to learn everything about the new situation.
8. Cultural Perceptual Frameworks (Continued)
Grouping, however, can
lead to stereotyping and prejudice. This
occurs when we start treating the individuals as if they have only characteristics of the
group. When we start thinking that all
Arabs and Muslims are terrorists or that all Americans are loud and obnoxious, we are
carry grouping to an illogical extreme. We
then find it very difficult to communicate with people from those groups. It is important to be aware of how you group
things, especially people, so that you do not stereotype them to the point that you have
trouble interacting with them.
Stimuli
are often ambiguous, so we interpret the ones we perceive to decide what they mean to us. Interpretation not only helps us make sense of the
world around us, but also to make evaluations about it and to come to conclusions about
how to behave in it.
Perhaps the
most important aspect of interpretation is the notion that we have reference points for
our perceptions. We gauge everything that
we perceive against some sort of internal, mental—perceptual—yardstick.
These reference points are
based on other aspects of our perceptual process, especially our past experience, our
frames of reference, our motive and expectations, and the patterns that we have
established in our lives. Our reference points
provide important ways for us to evaluate and give meaning to our perceptions.
The reference points against which we evaluate the messages we receive are based on our cultural background. We use the beliefs, values, and norms that our culture has taught us that to gauge the information we receive from our environment. These reference points provide us with a way to assess our environment and how we are functioning in it. However, ethnocentrism occurs when we use our cultural reference points to judge other cultures as inferior to our own.
9. Work-related Values
Every
culture has a unique way of looking at work and work-related attitudes. Based on data collected in 40 countries, Geert
Hofstede suggests that there are four dimensions of work-related values that differ
from culture to culture. Those
dimensions are:
·
Power
distance
·
Uncertainty
avoidance
·
Individualism-collectivism
·
Masculinity-femininity
Power distance explores the relative power, hierarchical, and status differences between employees and their supervisors or managers. Cultures that have a high power distance are ones where people accept that differences—inequality—between employees and supervisors is more acceptable than in cultures with a low power distance, where people feel there should be less difference and greater equality between them. People in high power distance cultures feel more comfortable with larger status disparity than people in cultures with low power distance.
The uncertainty avoidance dimension examines people’s openness to change, their willingness to take risks, and how much people feel that it is appropriate to follow rules in their organization. This element of Hofstede’s typology looks at how comfortable people feel about living in ambiguity, doubt, and a lack of clarity. People from cultures that rank low in uncertainty avoidance feel much more comfortable with the anything that is not know. People from cultures high uncertainty avoidance prefer formal rules and feel greater anxiety when there is uncertainty.
10. Work-related
Values (Continued)
Individualism-collectivism looks at whether a person prefers to take individual and independent action or prefers conformity and interdependent action. This dimension also explores how much reliance a person places on the self versus the group in the organization. Note that these are preferences and not the only ways people can interact. People from countries high in individualism tend to value their own independent accomplishments and decision-making, while people from cultures that are high in collectivism tend to value working with and conforming to the group. Cultures that are high in collectivism are likely to include Confucian teachings in their value systems. Such Confusion principles might include thrift, perseverance, a sense of shame, and following a hierarchy, and perhaps even a sense tradition and the need to save face.
Masculinity-femininity explores whether people are assertive and achievement oriented or whether they are nurturing and socially supportive. It basically refers to whether gender roles in the culture are clearly defined or not. The cultures that scored towards what Hofstede refers to as “masculine” tend to have very well-defined expectations of male and female roles in society. The more “feminine” cultures tend to have less of an expectation that people will take on more traditionally defined gender roles.
A thorough understanding of Hofstede’s four dimensions of work-related values and where any individual country falls along each dimension can give you a much better understanding and appreciation not only of the communication and managerial styles that are manifested around the world, but in any particular country where you need a greater understanding of that culture.
Matching the Columns
1. Frame of reference |
A. Are often ambiguous, so we interpret the ones we perceive to decide what they mean to us. |
|
2. Closure |
B. The perceptual process of putting common elements together in our mind. |
|
3. Grouping |
C. That unique set of beliefs, attitudes, values and past experiences that create a set way of looking and perceiving the world. |
|
4. Interpretation |
D. Helps us make sense of the world by evaluating it and coming to conclusions. It is the notion that we have reference points for our perceptions. |
|
5. Perception |
E. Is based in large part on our cultural background. |
|
6. Stimuli |
F. A way we try to organize our perceptions by filling in information that is missing. |
Answers:
1.) C
2.) F
3.) B
4.) D
5.) E
6.) A
Multiple-Choice (2)
1.
It explores the relative power,
hierarchical, and status differences between employees and their supervisors or managers.
a. Power
distance
b. Uncertainty
avoidance
c. Individualism-collectivism
d. Masculinity-femininity
2.
It explores whether people are
assertive and achievement oriented or whether they are nurturing and socially supportive.
(d)
a. Power
distance
b. Uncertainty
avoidance
c. Individualism-collectivism
d. Masculinity-femininity
3.
It looks at whether a person
prefers to take individual and independent action or prefers conformity and interdependent
action.
a. Power
distance
b. Uncertainty
avoidance
c. Individualism-collectivism
d. Masculinity-femininity
4.
It examines people’s openness
to change, their willingness to take risks, and how much people feel that it is
appropriate to follow rules in their organization.
a. Power
distance
b. Uncertainty
avoidance
c. Individualism-collectivism
d. Masculinity-femininity
5.
Having these means that members of
the culture have a similar way of thinking about how the world operates and how people
should behave in it.
a. Beliefs
b. Values
c. Norms
d. All of the above
6.
It provides the way we receive
information about the world around us.
a. Frame of reference
b. Perception
c. Culture
d. None of the above
7.
It allows us to move from one
situation to another without having to learn everything about the new situation.
a. Grouping
b. Closure
c. Frame of reference
d. Perception
8.
They provide us with a way of
gauging what is logical, true and correct about the world.
a. Beliefs
b. Values
c. Norms
d. All of the above
Summary
Before we can explore cultural differences and frames of reference—and how they affect our communication, we need to look at the nature of culture itself.
Culture involves have shared beliefs, values, and norms, which means that members of the culture have a similar way of thinking about how the world operates and how people should behave in it.
Perception provides the way we receive information about the world around us. Our perceptions form the reality of what we see around us. Perception is active, ongoing, complex, concurrent and simultaneous; our perception of the world is based in large part on our cultural background. We see the world the way our culture teaches us to.
Test
1. ______
Perceptions provide us with a sense of
right and wrong, good and bad, positive and negative.
2. ______
Beliefs represent the “right way”
of behaving in that culture.
3. ______
A culture is never a geographical unit.
4. ______
Culture and nation are the same thing.
5. ______
We perceive the world based on our past
individual experiences.
6. ______
The information we fill-in to provide
closure comes from our cultural knowledge.
7. ______
Grouping can lead to stereotyping and
prejudice.
8. ______
The reference points against which we
evaluate the messages we receive are based on our cultural background.
9. ______
Cultures that have a low power distance
are ones where people accept inequality and/or difference between employees and
supervisors as being more acceptable than in cultures with a high power distance.
10. ______
Collective cultures value working with and
conforming to the group.
Answers:
1.
F – Values
2.
F – Norms
3.
F – Often
4.
F – They are not always the same.
5.
T
6.
T
7.
T
8.
T
9.
F – High power cultures are more
accepting to inequality
10. T
Bibliography
Hofstede,
G. (1980). Culture’s consequences:
International differences in work-related values.
Hofstede, G. (1998). I,
we, they. In L. Martin, T. Nakayama, & L. Flores (Eds.),
Lustig, M.W. &
Koester, J. (1999). Intercultural
Competence: interpersonal communication across cultures.
Triandis, H. (1995).
Attributes of individualism and collectivism. In H. Triandis Individualism and collectivism. (pp. 43-105).
Culture – A learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms, which affect the behaviors of a relatively large set of people.
Beliefs – Provide us with a way of gauging what is logical, true, and correct about the world. They give us a sense of what we know about the world and how the world ought to operate.
Values – Give us a way to evaluate what is occurring in our world. They provide us with a sense of right and wrong, good and bad, positive and negative allowing us to judge what we perceive in the world.
Norms – Flow out of our beliefs and values. They represent the correct way of behaving in that vulture.
Learning Objectives
·
Culture creates a perceptual frame of reference that
forms the basis for the way people interact with one another through language and
nonverbal behavior.
·
Perceptual frameworks come from our past experiences
and help us interpret, evaluate and draw conclusions about how we see the world.
Q&A
1. Name 10 characteristics we can
observe to obtain knowledge about a culture.
There are several; however here is a list: Communication and language, dress and appearance, food and eating habits, time, relationships, customs, cultural rules, sense of self, personal space and territory, mental processing and learning, myths, the arts. WE can also look at the cultures institutions, such as kinship, education, education, politics, national, religions, health, legal, and recreational.
2. Define perception and explain
what it can provide.
Perception is the process
by which we select, organize, and interpret the stimuli that are assaulting us from our
environment into a meaningful and coherent representation of the world. It provides the way we receive information about
the world around us and forms the reality of what see around us. Perception is active, ongoing, complex, concurrent
and simultaneous.
3. Explain and define the four
dimensions of work-related values that Geert Hofstede provides.
The four dimensions are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity. Power distance explores the relative power, hierarchical, and status differences between employees and their supervisors or managers. Uncertainty avoidance examines people’s openness to change, their willingness to take risks, and how mush people feel that it is appropriate to follow rules in their organization. Individualism-collectivism looks at whether a person prefers to take individual and independent action or prefers conformity and interdependent action. Masculinity-femininity explores whether people are assertive and achievement oriented or whether they are nurturing and socially supportive.