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Theories of Cultural Dimensions. Emilie W. Gould RPI. Values vs. Perception. Two sets of theory; two theoretical mechanisms to explain differences between cultures: Cultural Values Perception The first set comes from anthropology and sociology
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Theories of Cultural Dimensions Emilie W. Gould RPI
Values vs. Perception Two sets of theory; two theoretical mechanisms to explain differences between cultures: • Cultural Values • Perception The first set comes from anthropology and sociology The second from psychology – the attempt of a Western social science to find universal mechanisms to explain variance
Cultural Values Based on some organizing principle: • Universal Problems • Spheres of Human Activity • Structural Analysis • Communication Styles • Nonverbal vs. Verbal Preferences • Work Dimensions
Some of the Best-Known Theories of Crosscultural Variability • Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations • Parson’s Pattern Variables • Hall’s High-Low Context Cultures • Hall’s Monochronic-Polychronic Cultures • Witkin and Berry’s Loose | Tight Sociocultural Systems • Condon and Yousef’s Spheres of Human Activity • Victor’s LESCANT model • Hofstede’s Dimensions
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations Five existential beliefs influence individual choices: • Character of Human Nature (good, evil, mixed; changeable or given) • Relationship to Nature (mastery, harmony, mastered by) • Time (past, present, future orientation) • Human Action (doing, being, becoming) • Relationships to Others (individualism, lineality, collectivity) Foundational theory (Condon & Yousef, Trompenaars)
Parson’s Pattern Variables Social context structured by various dichotomies: • Affective | Affective neutrality (immediate/ delayed gratification) • Self | Collective (relationships to others) • Universalism | Particularism (mode of characterizing people and objects) • Diffuseness | Specificity (response to others -- focus on whole or parts) • Ascription | Achievement (human qualities) • Instrumental | Expressive (interactional goals) Theory developed for society as a whole
Hall’s High/Low Context Cultures Cultures vary in the importance of context for communication. • In high-context cultures, most of the information is contained in the context; the message is not explicit • In low-context cultures, meaning must be clearly spelled out in messages High-context cultures tend to be traditional and collectivist; low-context cultures are present or future-oriented and individualistic
Hall’s Monochronic/Polychronic Cultures Cultures are further divided by their use of time: • Monochronic cultures: • Focus on one thing at a time • Reduce context by segmenting reality • Dislike interruption • Consider time as tangible (something to be saved, spent, etc.) • Like closure • Polychronic cultures like the opposite
Witkin and Berry’s Loose | Tight Sociocultural Systems Degree of hierarchical structure in society determines levels of differentiation between people: • Role Diversity • Role Relatedness Expectations are reciprocal but differ according to whether they are: • imposed and received • proposed and interpreted
Condon & Yousef’s Spheres of Human Activity Expanded Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s five relationships 24 categories Much more descriptive but less valuable in terms of identifying regularities between cultures
Victor’s LESCANT Model Based on a structural analysis of society; what mechanisms have people established to control their environment • Language • Environment and technology • Social organization • Context • Authority • Nonverbal behavior • Time
Hofstede’s Work Dimensions Hofstede studied IBMers in 40 countries and found 4 universal sociocultural dimensions: • Power Distance (degree that power in organizations is distributed unequally) • Individualism | Collectivism • Masculinity | Femininity (valuing things or relationships) • Uncertainty Avoidance (lack of tolerance for change and ambiguity)
A Fifth “Hofstede Dimension” After writing Cultures and Organizations, Hofstede persuaded to define a fifth dimension: • Long/short term orientation (degree that the culture looks ahead) Concentrated in countries with a Confucian tradition of respect for elders, focus on the past, and allegiance to family (and state)
Gundykunst’s Model of Crosscultural Comparison Recognized that multiple dimensions of cultural variability • Influence social cognitive processes • But are mediated by various factors: • Situation | Affect | Social scripts (including schema | historical experience) • To result in varying levels of understanding: • Description | Prediction | Explanation
Next Week • Perception… and • Social Categorization
Perceptual Models Depend on psychological explanations of attention to features of the physical and social environment
Perception How do people • Select • Categorize • Interpret information about the natural and social world around them? The “Onion” metaphor
Perception - Selection The first task in perception is separating an item of interest from its background… • Selective exposure • Selective attention • Selective retention Consider a four-legged creature
Perception - Categorization In the second stage of perception, we begin to develop structured categories that help us identify the same phenomenon through time • Perceptual object stored in the mind as a stable concept • Internal visualization developed in association with memory (image) The creature acquires the identity of dog
Perception - Interpretation In the third stage, we attach meaning to our categories and begin “thinking about” them • Thinking falls into embedded patterns • Relationships are elaborated and higher-level meaning assigned to perceptions • Is the dog a good companion? • Is the dog good to eat?
Perception – Symbol Systems Intepretations may vary; different groups of people will think differently about the same object • Development of complex symbol systems to record and communicate about the world • Art, music, language, mathematics, cuisine “Spot” or Dinner
Onion Metaphor To understand a problem, you sometimes have to work back from language > underlying perceptions “Figure and ground” are reciprocal • Our culture predisposes us to notice some things and not others • We cannot perceive things we have no language for Can learn to be more attentive to certain stimuli, give them names, and incorporate them into our personal and social systems
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Grammar and vocabulary of language constrain perception Different languages incline people to different world views • German (which puts verbs at the end of sentences) changes the culture’s action orientation • ASL (American Sign Language) inclines speakers to “physical”humor and puns • French (uses nominalizations) encourages abstract thinking and discussion of “ideas”
European Patterns of Reasoning • Universalistic – deductive; power to know the truth given certain premises (France) • Nominalistic/ hypothetical – emphasizes empiricism and induction (Anglo-American) • Intuitional – stresses organic unity of the whole and its parts (German/ Slavic nationalism) • Dialectical – systematic (like universalism) but focuses on naturally antagonistic forces found in “the world” (German Hegalian)