CULTURE IN SOCIAL CONTEXT Week 2

2. CULTURE IN SOCIAL CONTEXTWeek 2 Matakuliah : V0052 Tahun : 2008

3. Learning Outcomes At the end of lesson, students will be able to explain the relations between social interactions and perceptions, subjectivity of perceptions, influence of cultures on perception, perception of verbal signals, non-verbal signals and interactions, and Perception Distortion Mahasiswa dapat menjelaskan hubungan antara budaya, interaksi sosial dan persepsi, subjektivitias persepsi, pengaruh budaya terhadap persepsi, persepsi terhadap sinyal-sinyal verbal dan non-verbal dan distorsi persepsi. HO 0708

4. Subjects • Concept and Definition (Konsep dan Definisi) • The Relations between Culture, Social Interactions and Perceptions (Hubungan Antara Budaya, Interaksi Sosial dan Persepsi) • Subjectivity of Perceptions (Subjektivitas Persepsi) • Types of Perceptions (Jenis-jenis Persepsi) • Influence of Cultures on Perception (Pengaruh Budaya terhadap Persepsi) • Perception of verbal signals, non-verbal signals and interactions (Persepsi terhadap Tanda-tanda Verbal, Non-Verbal dan Interaksi) • Perception Distortion (Distorsi Persepsi) HO 0708

5. Week 5Microsoft in India • When colouring in 800,000 pixels on a map of India, Microsoft coloured eight of them a different shade of green to represent the disputed Kashmiri territory. The difference in greens meant Kashmir was shown as non-Indian, and the product was promptly banned in India. Microsoft was left to recall all 200,000 copies of the offending Windows 95 operating system software to try and heal the diplomatic wounds. It cost them millions. HO 0708

6. Week 5McDonald’s in China • The fast food giant McDonald's spent thousands on a new TV ad to target the Chinese consumer. The ad showed a Chinese man kneeling before a McDonald's vendor and begging him to accept his expired discount coupon. The ad was pulled due to a lack of cultural sensitivity on McDonald's behalf. The ad caused uproar over the fact that begging is considered a shameful act in Chinese culture. HO 0708

7. Why Did Those Two Things Happen? HO 0708

8. Week 5Concept and Definitions • Perception is the process through which people see the world around themselves (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1987) • Perception referred to perceptions as the process that shape and produce what we actually experience (Mitchell, 1978) HO 0708

9. Week 5Concept and Definitions • Perception is the process by which stimuli are selected from the external environment and interpreted into meaningful internal experiences (Samovar and Porter, 1991) HO 0708

10. Week 5Subjectivity of Perceptions • Perceptions and their meanings are subjective • The meaning of the subject or an event differs depending on the perceiver • People differ in the perceptions because they have different views of the world (Krech and Crutchfield, 1948, Robertson, 1970) • Perceptions depend on people’s value orientations, expectations, experiences and interests that are culturally determined (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1987 and Cohen J.B. , 1972). HO 0708

11. Week 5Three types of Perceptions • Perceptions of other people E.g. tourist perceptions of hosts and host perceptions of tourists • Perceptions of one’s own Tourist’s perceptions of themselves and host’ perceptions of themselves • Perceptions of the perceptions (called metaperceptions) Tourist perceptions of how they are perceived by hosts. HO 0708

12. Week 5Theory of Metaperceptions • If the tourists like their hosts, tourists will perceive that their hosts like tourists and vice versa (Hargie’s, 1986) HO 0708

13. Week 5Perceptions Vs Satisfaction • Perception affects satisfaction. • Tourists usually do have knowledge about the destinations they have not previously visited. However, they hold perceptions of alternative and ideal destinations. • The smaller the differences between actual and ideal perceptions, the higher the tourist satisfaction. HO 0708

14. Week 5Factors Shaping Perceptions • External environmental factors • Economic, social, cultural, geographical • Internal environmental factors • Demographic, psychographic, behaviouristic HO 0708

15. Week 5The Influence of Culture on Perception • Culture is strongly influences the environment in which people are raised • Culture teaches people how to perceive experiences and interpret meanings • Different cultures tend to expose themselves to dissimilar experiences as people respond to different stimuli and their perceptions of the external world vary • Culture causes different nationalities to perceive differently • According to Tajfel (1969), perceptions are influenced by cultural similarity and familiarity. • Robinson and Nemetz (1988) stated that cultural similarities bring people together and dissimilarities separate people. HO 0708

16. Week 5Perception of Verbal and Non-verbal Signal • The non-verbal signals such as space, gesture, use of time and expression of emotion may be perceived positively or negatively, depending on culture. • E.g. In some cultures such as the US or France, gifts should be opened and shown, in other cultures such as Japan or China, gifts should be acknowledged and put away. HO 0708

17. Week 5Perception of Interaction Patterns • Interaction patterns can be perceived differently in various cultures. For example, the formality of Japanese social behavior may be perceived negatively by Australians, because for the Australians it has negative value and informality has positive value. HO 0708

18. Week 5Perception Distortion • Perceptions can be distorted by biased sources of information, stereotypes, ethnocentrism, physical appearance, quick jumping to a conclusion or “hallo effect”. HO 0708

19. QUESTIONS? HO 0708

20. Review Questions 5 • Explain the ways culture influences perceptions • Name factors shaping perceptions • Give examples for: • Perception of verbal signals • Perception of non-verbal signals • Perception of interaction patterns • Name perception distortion. HO 0708