Cultural dimensions of behaviour

1. Cultural NORms Cultural dimensions of behaviour

2. CULTURE • Explain emic and etic concepts using examples

3. What is culture? • “surface culture” • “deep culture”

4. Hoefstede (2002) • Culture is a “mental software”

5. Emic and Etic Concepts Etic Emic Emphasizes differences between cultures Behavior patterns unique to a culture Insider perspective ‘Subjective’ Example: Etoro boys participate in rituals that turn them into men and give them the life force they need to be successful Using emic concept that their ritual is unique • Emphasizes similarities between cultures • Assumes behavior patterns are universal • Outsider perspective • ‘Objective’ • Example: Etoro boys are sexually abused when they are taught to fellate elders • Using etic concept of sexual abuse

6. Etic and Emic Food and Beverage Services Starbucks - Etic McDonalds - Emic Menu changes depending on country Considers the native’s perspective (tastes) • Menu doesn’t adapt to other countries

7. McDonald’s Considers the Natives

8. Emic and Etic Concepts • Cross-cultural research can be used to test if theories are universal • Do theories apply to all cultures? • Researchers can take an emic or etic approach when studying other cultures • Emic approaches challenge traditional (Western) views of behavior (especially norms) • Etic approaches tend to impose Western views onto other cultures’ behavior

9. Emic and Etic Concepts • Gender development in tribes (Mead, 1935) in New Guinea • Munugumor – masculine characteristics • Both men and women were aggressive • Arapesh – feminine characteristics • Both Men and women were sensitive and not aggressive • Tchambuli – gender reversal • Men ran the household • Women ran the village

10. Emic and Etic Concepts • Gender development in different tribes (Mead, 1935) • Gender roles can be culturally determined • Etic because she imposed her etic • Imposed etic – theory/idea embedded in culture of the researcher which is used to study other cultures • Mead had idea of masculinity and femininity embedded in her • She used Western ideas of masculine and feminine (her etic) to characterize gender roles in the new cultures • Emic would have emphasized why the gender roles differed according to the natives • Native perspective

11. Emic and Etic Concepts • Other areas of psychology where etics are imposed • Western idea of intelligence • IQ tests are usually culturally biased • Intelligence can be interpreted differently by other cultures (patterns don’t matter as much etc) • They can emphasize different types of intelligence • Social, emotional • Normal and abnormal behavior based on Western norms • Clinical diagnosis based on APA DSM-V and European ICD-10 • Assessment tools based on symptoms • If you have enough symptoms you have the disorder • Remember Etoro boys who perform oral sex

12. Exam question • Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior

13. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior • Hoefstedegave questionnaires to IBM employees in 50 countries about morale in their workplace • Discovered cultural dimensions • Understanding cultural dimensions will help facilitate communication between cultures!!! • Important for the diplomacy and international business.

14. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior • Power Distance • Long Term Orientation • Masculinity • Uncertainty Avoidance • Individualism/Collectivism • Individualists are more independent (expected to take care of yourself and your immediate family) • Collectivist cultures rely more on support from extended family

15. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Individualism/Collectivism • Individuals in collective societies that do not live up to the cultural norms can be ostracized/punished • Markus & Kitayama (1991) • ‘In America the squeaky wheel gets the grease’ • ‘In Japan the nail that stands out gets pounded down’ • Individualist societies allow a boundary between the individual and society • People can do what they want as long as they don’t hurt others • Collectivist societies emphasize connectedness – no boundaries

16. Individualism/Collectivism • http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CW7aWKXB5J4

17. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index • Higher PDI means more inequality • People in high PDI cultures are more likely to accept their inequality I accept inequality I used to be powerful… Saudi Arabia (80) I reject inequality Austria (11)

18. Power Distance Index (PDI) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sqaa42gbqhA

19. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • PDI has several effects • Attitude towards authority • Respect for authority • High PDI respect authority a lot and fear it • High PDI individuals less likely to confront authority • High PDI individuals use mitigating language and indirectly express concerns to authority figures • Do you think it rains more in this area? (Korea – High PDI) • I think we should decrease speed to combat the rain conditions (Low PDI)

20. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • Korean Air • Attitude towards authority • High respect for authority • Flight 801 – Landing the plane in rain • First Officer – Do you think it rains more in this area? (hinting rain might affect our landing) • Captain – Silence • Flight Engineer – Captain, the weather radar has helped us a lot (hinting we should use it to land the plane) • Captain – Yes. They are very useful.

21. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • Korean Air Flight 801 • Captain resorted to a visual landing • The First Officer and Flight Engineer did not say ‘don’t do a visual landing, the weather is too harsh’ • First Officer and Flight Engineer feared the authority of the captain • Didn’t want to upset the captain who is higher up in the hierarchy • Plane crashed 

22. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • South Korea – PDI 60 • Korean Air – 7 crashes 1977–1994 • Korea – hierarchy very important • Korea uses ex-military pilots • respond to authority • Interventions taken to improve communication despite their PDI and cultural background • No crashes since 1999

23. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • US – PDI 40 • Columbia – PDI 67 • Avianca Flight 052 • From Columbia to US • How is communication (behavior) affected by the cultural dimension of PDI?

24. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • Captain: Advise ATC we don’t have fuel • Not interpreted as we have actually run out of fuel • Planes normally are low on fuel during landing • First officer: Climb and maintain 3 thousand and, ah, we’re running out of fuel sir • Did not say it’s an emergency! • Air Traffic Control: I’m gonna bring you about fifteen miles northeast and then turn you back onto the approach. Is that OK with you and your fuel? • New Yorker snappy attitude intimidates Colombian pilots • First officer: I guess so. Thank you very much • Columbian respects ATC’s authority, doesn’t express concern about low fuel because low PDI doesn’t want to upset high PDI US controller

25. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • Columbia – PDI 67 • US – PDI 40 • Aviancaflight crashed • Flight crew ran into trouble • Intimidated by low PDI US flight controllers communication • Flight crew implies suggestions about what to do – not said directly and explicitly • Low PDI (US) cultures do not take hints well • Prefer to be told explicitly what the flight crew’s wants

26. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Power Distance Index – Plane Crashes • Mitigated speech from subordinates plays a role in plane crashes • Reducing mitigated speech • Call superiors by first name • Communicate clearly – be assertive and explicit • Train pilots to act as facilitators and negotiators instead of commanders • Subordinates can then feel more at ease correcting pilot’s mistakes • Aim to remove hierarchy so communication lines are clear

27. Power Distance and Terrorism • Muslims in Arab World • Overall PDI – 91 • Pakistan PDI – 97 • Explains obedience of followers to extremist leaders? • Followers less likely to dissent (disagree) against the leader?

28. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Uncertainty Avoidance • Refers to a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity • Some cultures (via media, politicians) program their people to feel (un)comfortable when faced with uncertainty • Unstructured situations can cause this uncertainty • They are novel (new), unknown and surprising • 9/11 • Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to reduce the possibility of unstructured situations through laws • They also tend to focus on absolute truth through religion

29. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Uncertainty Avoidance

30. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Uncertainty Avoidance • China has replaced uncertainty-avoidance with Confucian dynamism (Bond, 1988) • Confucian Dynasty related to virtue • Instead of absolute truth they focus on virtue and honor like other Asian countries • Samurai Code – Bushido • Seppuku

33. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Long Term Orientation • Long-Term Orientation is the fifth dimension of Hofstede which was added after the original four to try to distinguish the difference in thinking between the East and West. From the original IBM studies, this difference was something that could not be deduced. Therefore, Hofstede created a Chinese value survey which was distributed across 23 countries. From these results, and with an understanding of the influence of the teaching of Confucius on the East, long term vs. short term orientation became the fifth cultural dimension.

34. Confucian work dynamism • Bond (1988) Some cultures focus on virtue. • Asian countries tend to have a long-term orientation • Value persistence, loyalty and trustworthiness • Relationships are based on social status • Need to protect collective identity and respect tradition “saving face” • Instead of bringing disgrace to the family, perform seppuku :-/

35. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Long Term Orientation • US, Finland, France and Germany have a short-term orientation • Value personal steadiness and stability • Focus on the future instead of the past • Innovation is highly valued • Efficiency!

36. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Proxemic Theory (Hall, 1966) Intimate For whispering, embracing, hugging, kissing 15-46cm Personal Space Family and friends can interact with you 46-120cm Social Space Acquaintances should stay out here 1.2-3.7m Public Space Rest of public can be here Upwards of 3.7m

37. Role of Cultural Dimensions on Behavior: Proxemic Theory (Hall, 1966) • The amount of personal space we are comfortable with differs across cultures • Only let people we are close to into our personal space • US conversations • 10-45cm away from each other • European conversation distance • Roughly half of US • Americans feel uncomfortable when they go to Europe and try to back away from our comfort zone

38. Hall’s Time consciousness Monochronic cultures Polychronic cultures Many things happen at once Relationships and interactions are valued No frustration when things are late • Focus on one thing at a time • Schedules • Deadlines • Frustration is high when deadlines are not met

39. Hall’s Proxemic Theory • How Halls two cultural norms would affect doing business cross-culturally? • With regard to time consciousness, is one of these cultures HEALTHIER than the other?

40. What’s learned? • Define culture and be able to identify the important components of the definition. • Explain what is meant by ethnocentrism. • Distinguish between an emic and an etic approach to studying culture. • Be able to describe two cultural dimensions.  We have looked at the following: individualism/collectivism; power distance; long-term orientation (Confucius dynamism); masculinity/femininity; uncertainty avoidance

41. SPEC/3/PSYCH/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX PSYCHOLOGY HIGHER LEVEL AND STANDARD LEVEL PAPER 1 • Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior [8 marks] • Explain emic and etic concepts using examples [8 marks] SECTION A