跨文化交际第四章

Chapter 4: Cultural Diversity In Perception

?

Understanding Perception

?

Dominant American Cultural Patterns

?

Diverse Cultural Patterns

Understanding Perception

?

Culture and Perception

?

Beliefs

?

V

alues

?

Culture Patterns

?

Perception

is

an

internal

process

whereby

we

convert

the

physical

energies of the world into meaningful internal experiences. or the process

by which an individual selects, evaluates, and organizes stimuli from the

external world.

Cultural influence on perception

?

The

influence

of

culture

on

perception

is

often

reflected

in

the

attributional process. Attribution means that we interpret the meaning of

other’s behaviors based on our past experience or history.

?

Culture provides an environment for us to develop all the meanings we

possess. Thus ,people

from different cultures will perceive and interpret

others behaviors in different ways

?

The different attributional process may cause serious misunderstandings

in communication.

?

Culture and perception

?

Perception includes two

–

stage

sequence.

the second stage is the

?

The first stage is recognition or identification,

interpretation and evaluation.

?

The

result

of

this

process

is

not

the

same

for

all

people,

because

this

process is learned and therefore influenced by all of our past experiences.

This

fact

alone

would

make

communication

difficult

even

between

people with similar backgrounds.

?

In

a

word,

culture

provides

us

with

a

perceptual

lens

that

greatly

influences

how

we

interpret

and

evaluate

what

we

receive

from

the

outside world.

Examples:

?

Americans

u

sually

hold

that

expressing

one’s

opinion

as

openly

and

forcefully as possible is an admirable trait. Hence , someone is perceived

as being highly credible

if he or she is articulate and outspoken. For the

Japanese,

a

person

who

is

quiet

and

spends

more

time

listening

than

speaking

is more credible because they regard constant talking as a sign

of shallowness.

Beliefs

?

Beliefs are our convictions in the truth of something---with or without

proof.

?

We simply accept them because we “know they are true.” “ To kn

ow is

not to prove, nor to explain.”

?

In other words, as we grow up in a culture, that culture conditions us to

believe what it deems to be worthy and true.

V

alues

V

alues

are

enduring

attitudes

about

the

preference

of

one

belief

over

another.

?

V

alues

are

a

learned

organization

of

rules

for

making

choices

and

for

resolving conflicts.

?

These “rules”

are

normative

and

teach

us

what

is

useful,

good,

right,

wrong, what to strive for, how to live our life, and even what to die for.

Our values get translated into action.

Dominant American Cultural Patterns

?

Individualism

?

Equality

?

Materialism

?

Science and technology

?

Progress and change

?

Activity and Work

Individualism

?

Individualism

refers

to

the

doctrine

that

the

interests of

the

individual

are

or

ought

to

be

paramount,

and

that

all

values,

right,

and

duties

originate in individuals.

?

It

emphasizes

individual

initiative

(

“ Pull

yourself

up

by

your own

boot straps”,

?

independence( “Do your own thing”),

?

individual expression (“The squeaky wheel gets the grease”),

?

and

even privacy( “A man’s home is his castle”).

?

Anybody who is any good is different than anybody else.

?

Most Americans believe that each person has his or her own separate

identity, which should be recognized and reinforced.

Equality

?

Equality which is empha

sized in everything from government (“All men

are

created

equal”)

to

social

relationships

(

Just

call

me

by

my

first

name”). Americans believe that all people have a right to succeed in life

and

that

the

state,

through

laws

and

educational

opportunities,

should

ensure that right.

Materialism

?

For

most

Americans,

Materialism

has

always

been

an

integral

part

of

life.

They

consider

it

almost

a

right

to

be

materially

well

off

and

physically

comfortable,

and

often

judge

people

by

their

material

possessions.

Science and T

echnology

Americans

value

science

and

technology

quite

highly,

believing

that

they are the major tools for understanding and improving life, nature, and

even themselves.

?

They hold science

in great awe and believe that nothing

is impossible

when

scientists,

engineers,

and

inventors

put

their

minds

to

a

task

or

problem.

Western cultures have

long believed that

all questions can be answered

through science. Westerners tend to prize objectivity, empirical evidence,

and

concreteness,

which

,

as

we shall

see

in

later,

often

clash

with

the

values of subjectivity and intuition in other cultures.

?

Activity and Work

?

For

most

Americans

,

work

is

a

desired

and

desirable

expenditure

of

energy, a means of controlling and expressing strong affective states, and

an avenue to recognition, money, or power.

?

Americans are humanitarian and charitable to those whom they perceive

as deserving assistance, they look with displeasure and intolerance upon

anyone who can work but does not.

?

A

major

reward

of

hard

work,

and

an

important

American

value,

is

leisure. For Americans , play

is something they have earned. It is relief

from the regularity of work, it is in play that they find real joy.

Progress and Change

So strong is the belief in progress and change that Americans seldom fear

taking chances or staking out new and exciting territories. Their beliefs

and

attitudes

produce

a certain

mind-set

and

a

wide

range

of

behavior

patterns.

V

arious

aspects

of

this

orientation

are

optimism,

receptivity

to

change,

emphasis upon the future rather than the past or present, faith in an ability

to control all phases of life , and confidence in the perceptual ability of

the common person.

Diverse Cultural Patterns

Hofstede’s V

alue Dimensions

?

Hofstede has identified four value dimensions that have a significant

impact

on

behavior

in

all

cultures.

These

dimensions

are

individualism-collectivism,

uncertainty

avoidance,

power

distance,

and masculinity and femininity.

Individualism-Collectivism

?

A:

Individualism-Collectivism

?

Individualism:

Peo

ple’s personal goal take priority over their allegiance

to groups like the family or the employer. The loyalty of individualists to

a given group and are

apt to change their

membership as it suits them,

switching churches, or leaving one employer for another.

?

In

cultures

that

tend

toward

individualism,

an

“I”

consciousness

prevails: competition rather than cooperation is encouraged.

?

Collectivism:

is

characterized

by

a

rigid

social

framework

that

distinguishes

between

in-groups

and

out-groups.

People

count

on

their

in-group

(relatives,

clans,

organizations)

to

look

after

them,

and

in

exchange for that they believe they owe absolute loyalty to the group. In

collective societies, A “we” consciousness

Identity

is based on the social system; the

individual

is emotionally

dependent

on

organizations

and

institutions;

the

culture

emphasizes

belonging to organizations;

organizations

invade

private

life

and

the

clans

to

which

individuals

belong; and individuals trust group decisions.

Uncertainty Avoidance

?

Uncertainty and avoidance

indicate the extent to which a culture feels

threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations.

Uncertainty Avoidance

?

High-uncertainty- avoidance

cultures

?

a. provide greater stability

b. establish more formal rules

?

c. reject deviant

?

不正常的，离经叛道的

ideas and behaviors

d. accept possibility of absolute truth

are

also

characterized

by

a

higher

level

of

anxiety

and

stress:

?

They

people think of the uncertainty inherent in life as a continuous hazard that

must be avoided, and there is a strong need for written rules, regulations,

rituals,

and

ceremonies,

which

add

structure

to

life.(

Greece,

Peru,

Belgium, Japan)