Culture (Terms)

We have all learnt about the the nature of culture when we discussed about the three culture and how it is transmited. Lets review it together (for more information-> go to culture part 2)

Culture: The relatively specialized lifestyle of a group of people (values, beliefs, artifacts, ways of behaving) that are passed from one generation to the next by means of communication (not genes).

Enculturation: The process through which you learn the culture into which you're born.

Acculturation: The process by which you learn the rules and norms of a culture that is different from your native culture and that modifies your original or native culture.

But it doesn't just stops there. I am sure we wonder how these cultures differ from one another and what has it got to do with us? We might even wonder how does learning these cultures might be used to be applied into our interpersonal communication skills or perhaps even be applied into our lives. How does the differences in culture affects us?

-> High-Power-Distance Cultures

Power is concentrated in the hands of a few and there is a great difference between those with and those without power.

-> Low-Power-Distance Cultures

In low power, it is more equally shared throughout the citizenry.

-> Highly Masculine Cultures

Men are viewed as strong, assertive, and focused on being successful, whereas women are viewed as modest, tender, and focused on the quality of life.

-> Highly Feminine Cultures

Men and women are viewed more similarly and equally.

-> A collectivist culture emphasizes the group and subordinates the individual's goals to those of the group.

->An individualist culture emphasizes the individual and subordinates the group's goals to the individual's.

->In high-context cultures just shows that much of the information is in the context

-> Low-context cultures tells us that the information is explicitly stated in the verbal message.

Different cultures view time very differently.

Displaced and diffused time orientations identify how accurately and specifically time is viewed and defined.

Monochronic people do one thing at a time; polychronic people do several things at the same time.