How do you define culture? Why does it matter? Culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts with which the members.

CULTURE

How do you define culture? Why does it matter?

Culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts with which the members of society use to understand their world and one another. (NCCRESt, 2012)

“Culture is the context for everything”—Saskatoon Public Schools, 2011

Cultural “Tree”

Cultural “Iceberg”

Question: What are the implications of the iceberg analogy?• Most of the iceberg

(beliefs, values) is under the surface?

• The visible part of the iceberg are behaviours?

Activity #1: What is in your cultural backpack?

How we react to people from different backgrounds is influenced by many factors:• Our own personal experiences with people from that

background.• What we've heard about people from this background from

our families, peers, the media, popular culture, school, religious institutions, and so on.

• Whether we see ourselves as sharing any values, goals, and ways of doing things with people of this background.

• Whether people from this background have any control over the things that make them different from us.

• How much power we believe people of this background have in our society and any laws or special programs we know about that affect how people of this background are treated.

Culture: Biases

Activity #2: Based on your experience, what are some of the beliefs and assumptions that you might have about the following cultures?• Brazilian• Syrian• Indigenous (Aboriginal)• American• Ukrainian• Chinese• Somalian

CULTURE: ASSUMPTIONS

Activity #3: Self-assessment

• What are your perceptions of people from different racial or ethnic groups? With language or dialects different from yours? With special needs? What are the sources of these perceptions (e.g., friends, relatives, television, movies)?

• Have you experienced others’ making assumptions about you based on your membership in a specific group? How did you feel?

• When you were in school, how often did social relationships develop among students from different racial or ethnic backgrounds in the classroom and in the school? What was the nature of these relationships?

Source: Adapted from Bromley (1998).

CULTURE: ASSUMPTIONS

DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

• Sense of Self and Space: – Distance/Touch/Formal/Informal

• Communication and Language:– Language/Dialect/Gestures/Expressions/Tone/Direct/Indirect

• Dress and Appearance: – Clothing/Hairstyle/Grooming

• Food and Eating Habits: – Food Restrictions/taboos/Utensils/Hands/Food Preferences/Manners/Rituals

• Time and Time Consciousness: – Punctuality/Promptness/Age/Status/Pace

DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

•Relationships–Family/Friends/Age/Gender/Status/Authority

•Values and Norms –Group/Individual/Independence/Conformity/Privacy/Respect/Competition/Cooperation

•Beliefs and Attitudes –Religion/Spirituality/Position of Women/Social Order

•Mental process and learning –Rational/Emotional/Holistic/Individualistic

•Work Habits and Practices –Work ethics/Renumeration/Promotions/Division of Labour/Status of type of Work

“Collectivist” vs. “Individualistic” Cultures

Hall (1976) describes societies as being either “collectivist” or “individualistic” cultures:

• Collectivist – have strong interpersonal bonds and extensive networks with members of their in-group.

• Individualist – compartmentalize their personal relationships; they prefer lots of background information.

Intercultural Communication

Collectivist Cultures: Asian, African and Natives of Canada and America

• Less focus on verbal interactions • More focus on nonverbal

interactions • Often use indirect style • More reliant on hierarchies • Implicit: Context is more

important • Silence/long pauses are valued

Individualist Cultures: Mostly Anglo-European Americans

• More focus on verbal interactions • Less focus on nonverbal interactions

• Mainly use direct style • Value equal status • Explicit: words are more important

• Silence is viewed incompetent & uncomfortable

Cultural Adjustment Curve

Step 1: Everything is new, different and exciting; a new chance and opportunity; “a gift”

Step 2: Frustration, annoyance; “culture shock”; challenges (language, food, weather, money, homesickness)

Step 3: Building skills and knowledge; Language, schools, housing, food, relationships, norms, employment. Children often adjusting quicker than parents.

Step 4: Cultural adjustments, social norms, employment, housing, engaging different communities.

Step 5: Adaptation and assimilation; bridging into the community, social engagement, language proficiency, employment, friendships,cultural mosaic.