Stephan Dahl
Communications and Culture Transformation
Cultural Diversity, Globalization and Cultural Convergence

Chapter 1: Determinants of Culture and Identity

What is Culture?

The word 'culture' stems from the Latin "colere", translatable as to build on, to cultivate, to foster. Leibnitz, Voltaire, Hegel, von Humbold, Kant, Freud, Adorno, Marcuse,... all have reflected on the meaning of the word in different versions of its use. In the early stages of the philosophical debate about what is 'culture', the term often refers to the opposite of 'nature', whereas 'culture' was referring to something constructed willingly by men, while 'nature' was given in itself.

Since the 18th century, the word 'culture' emerged more in the sense of 'products that are worthy': somewhat reduced to Dürer, Goethe and Beethoven, the term was used to describe Elite and high-culture concepts, particularly in continental Europe. This definition of culture is still vivid; Rickert, in Kulturwissenschaft und Naturwissenschaft (The science of culture and the science of nature), defines culture, following the Elitist approach, as: "Gesamtheit der realen Objekte, an denen allgemein anerkannte Werte oder durch sie konstruierte Sinngebilde haften und die mit Ruecksicht auf die Werte gepflegt werden" (The totality of real objects, to which the general values, or sense constructions of those, are related, and which are cared for with regards to the values.) (Rickert, quoted in Maletzke,1996:16).

Equally, during the mid-nineteenth century, the concept of mass culture and popular culture emerged, fueling the critical theory of the Frankfurt School and the Birmingham School. In the words of Stuart Hall, of the Birmingham School, 'culture' is "both the means and values which arise among distinctive social groups and classes, on the basis of their given historical conditions and relationship, through which they 'handle' and respond to the conditions of existence" (Hall, quoted in McQuail,1994:100).

Another view of culture, focuses of culture as a set of values and attributes of a given group, and the relation of the individual to the culture, and the individual's acquisition of those values and attributes: in the words of Geert Hofstede: "the collective programming of the mind" (quoted in Victor,1992:6). Fisher, quoted in the same work, defines culture as :"It is shared behavior, which is important because it systematizes the way people do things, thus avoiding confusion and allowing co-operation so that groups of people can accomplish what no single individual could do alone. And it is behavior imposed by sanctions, rewards and punishments for those who are part of the group" (Fisher, 1988).

In the context of this paper, we will adopt the definition of culture as the totality of the following attributes of a given group (or subgroup): shared values, believes and basic assumptions, as well as any behavior arising from those, of a given group. Culture is understood, in this context, as collectively held set of attributes, which is dynamic and changing over time.

A group can thereby be various forms of social constructions: it is not merely any nation, but also supranational and international groups are possible, and often clearly distinguishable.

The individual and the culture in which is lives is a complex set of relationships. On the one side, the individual determines its culture, on the other, it is determined by its culture. By contributing to the culture around him, the individual is part of the cultural change.

S.G. Summer introduced the concept of "Ethnocentrism" early this century: it refers to the tendency that most people see their own culture as the 'center of the world'. Often this phenomenon has been seen as a result of "naive" thinking, following from the assumption of the world in itself being like it appears to the individual: a set of 'self-evident' rules, roles, categories and relationships, seen as 'natural'. The concept of ethnocentrism is often displayed in the form of nationalism.

Returning to our initial discussion of what constitutes a 'culture', various concepts are often displayed as the basic differentiation of cultures (Maletzke, 1996: 42):

- national character / basic personality (Nationalcharkter/Basispersönlichkeit)

- perception (Wahrnehmung)

- time concept (Zeiterleben)

- space concept (Raumerleben)

- thinking (Denken)

- language (Sprache)

- non verbal communication (nichtverbale Kommunikation)

- values (Wertorientierungen)

- behavior: norms, rules, manners (Verhaltensmuster: Normen, Rollen, Sitten)

- social groupings and relationships (Soziale Grupierungen und Beziehungen).

Often, culture has also been described as 'ordered into' three layers, in fact like an onion, where one peel has to be taken off in order to see the following layer.

The three layers of culture are explained as:

The outer layer, artifacts and products, is the most explicit of all layers: including language and food, architecture and style etc.

The second inner layer, norms and values. Norms are "the mutual sense what is right and wrong" while values represent the "definition of what is good and bad" (Trompenaars and Hempden Turner,1997:22).

The innermost layer, basic assumptions, represents the core assumptions of what life is, assumptions about how to handle everyday problems that have become self-evident.

This explanation of the visibility of the layers is based on a very practical approach to culture, whereas Maletzke's basic differentiation provides a more profound approach to the actual criteria that influence the different levels. These criteria are explained in the following section:

The National Character/Basic Personality

Each nation has its own character, the French are not like the English, and the Dutch not like the Germans. However, the attempt to define what makes each of the characters distinct will provide massive difficulties. The idea of a 'national character' is based on the assumption that people from one nation share basic common behavioral patterns and personality traits, differentiable from other nations. The concept has however been often criticized, and is often only fueled by perceptions of the one nation towards the other, resulting in a number of attributes that one nation apparently displays: the Germans are orderly, hard-working and humorless... However, findings in that field have been often contradictory, particularly from highly diversified cultures. The methodological difficulties may be one of the reasons why the term 'national character' has widely been replaced with 'basic personality' or 'social character' in modern literature.

The two later concepts, although also often deemed as equally unreliable, stem from the idea that the child is being subject to cultural influence during his early stages, and hence develops a 'basic personality' similar in various cultures. Equally the 'social character' concept tries to identify the common character structures of a culture.

Perception

Perception is not a passive, objective and neutral process. Every perception is seen as an active process: "what is perceived is becoming part of the subjective experience, embedded into the whole of the personality structure of that person, including whatever the person's development process, his cultural and material environment has given him or her as ways of thinking and viewing things" (Maletzke, 1996:48). The human being distinguishes actively between important and unimportant: perceives objects actively and clearly, while others are only partially perceived or ignored.

Visual perception is one of the traits where the culture specific view objects is clearly demonstrated: Most Europeans will have difficulties distinguishing for example Japanese faces. Tajfel (in Maletzke 1996,49) describes an experiment where US Americans and Mexicans were presented with a series of photos, depicting situations which were only known to the one or other nationality. Each participant was found to remember more accurately and vividly the photos showing situations that were familiar to the own culture. The other photos were only relatively vague if at all remembered.

Equally, the perception of feeling is altered in different cultural surrounding: shaking hands, kissing, have different perceptions in various cultures. Interpersonal distance may be perceived as essential or undesirable (English culture or Latin culture).

Also the perception of what smells 'good' or 'bad' can be highly different in various cultural surroundings.

Time Concepts

The culture has a significant impact on the concepts of time. Time can either be perceived as linear (western perception) or circular (eastern perception). Equally the orientation, or outlook, of the culture can be focused on either the past, the present or the future.

Another concept is the notion of monochronic and polychronic time conception. The monochronic time concept follows the notion of "one thing at a time" and time is money", while the polychronic concept focuses on multiple tasks are handled at one time, and time is subordinate to interpersonal relations. The following table gives brief overview of the two different time concepts:

Table 1 Monochronic and Polychronic CulturesMonochronic CulturePolychronic CultureInterpersonal RelationsInterpersonal relations are subordinate to present schedulePresent schedule is subordinate to Interpersonal relations

Activity Co-ordinationSchedule co-ordinates activity; appointment time is rigid.Interpersonal relations co-ordinate activity; appointment time is flexibleTask HandlingOne task at a timeMany tasks are handled simultaneouslyBreaks and Personal TimeBreaks and personal time are sacrosanct regardless of personal ties.Breaks and personal time are subordinate to personal ties.Temporal StructureTime is inflexible; time is tangibleTime is flexible; time is fluidWork/personal time separabilityWork time is clearly separable from personal timeWork time is not clearly separable from personal timeOrganizational PerceptionActivities are isolated from organization as a whole; tasks are measured by output in time (activity per hour or minute)Activities are integrated into organization as a whole; tasks are measured as part of overall organizational goal(Victor, 1992:234)Equally, the concept of 'punctuality' and 'scheduling' is different in various cultural surroundings. Depending on the context of the culture, the time is subordinate to the people's needs, or the people's needs subordinate to the time. For example: a lecture that is scheduled for 60 minutes will be expected to last for not much longer or shorter than that in most low context cultures. If the lecturer continues, s/he will probably be asked to finish. As observed by Victor (1992) such a behavior would be highly unlikely in a high context culture, such as Saudi Arabia. The time would be taken as subordinate to the topic, and the lecture might continue significantly beyond the scheduled time, if further discussion is required.

Space Concepts

The question of how we perceive space is equally depending of the culture. The western cultures focus their attention on objects, and neglect the space in-between. The Japanese, on the other hand, honor the space in-between as ma. In a different system, the Hopi Indians have in their language no words for a fixed room: all objects are described in their relation to each other, but no concept of a three dimensional space exists (see E.T. Hall, 1969).

Also the way we deal with space is different. The concepts of the private space, the space orientation, the interpersonal distance and the space design. The interpersonal proxemics are discussed in more detail in the non-verbal communication section.

Thinking

The way we think equally depends, and is influenced by the culture. Maletzke (1996:63) identifies the major paradigms for thinking as:

logic and prelogic

Most of classical Western thinking is based on the Aristotelian view of logic: analytical, linear and rational. Other cultures emphasize a more complex set of logic, which can be described as holistic, associative and affective.

inductive and deductive

While inductive thinking evolves from the particular and evolves into a theoretical model, concepts or theories, the deductive thinking established overall concepts first, which are then proven by specific, empirical findings. Deductive thinking is usually associated with the Latin American, Arab and Eastern European cultures.

abstract and concrete

The vision of the abstract or the concrete is another dominant model in thinking. Western cultures in particular have developed a highly abstract way of thinking, largely loose of emotions. Concrete thinking models however favor a more plastic, emotional way of thinking.

alphabetical and analphabetical

Related to the abstract and concrete models of thinking is the concept of alphabetical and analphabetical thinking. In cultures that have a high degree of alphabetical perception, the abstract thinking is favored, as writing is in itself an abstract picture of any situation. An analphabetical communication system however favors a direct, connected to the person, time and situation approach.

Each of the concepts of thinking are, of course, interconnected. With some care, the concepts of logic, inductive, abstract and alphabetical can be associated to the Western cultural influence area, however, those are not rigid, and can probably not be applied large-scale. A particular problem would be here, for example, the shift from printed words to highly visual media, shifting thinking from abstract and alphabetical to concrete and analphabetical.

Equally the 'frame of reference' is an enormously important part of thinking and perceiving. A frame of reference is the higher perspective from which a given situation is regarded, and evaluated. An example for an ideological 'frame of reference' is given by Wedge who illustrates what visitors from the Soviet Union perceived when visiting the USA: They were sure that they were monitored and that large parts of the country remained hidden from them. The fact that workers were exploited, that the USA was ruled by 'socially influential circles', that education was only available to the wealthy and that every thought was dominated by the craving for money remained the dominant thoughts about the USA.

Connected is also the believe in or rejection of magic, witchcraft and superstition, bound by the belief that certain thoughts and rituals can influence the world. While it is generally accepted in the western industrialized countries that the world is logical, clear and law-based is this view not dominant in other cultures. Such traditions as Fengshui or the difficulties in attributing telephone numbers in Japan show this.

Language

A symbolical-abstract language is the dominant sign of any culture. The language of any group is directly connected to the world view of the group. Humbold wrote regarding language: "Die Verschiedenheit der Sprachen ist nicht eine Verschiedenheit an Schällen und Zeichen, sondern eine Verschiedenheit der Weltansichten" (The difference in languages is not a difference in sounds and signs, but a difference in worldviews). The most well known theory stemming from this is the Sapir-Whorf theory : "The real world is to a large extend unconsciously build on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached" Whorf notes: " the linguistic system ... of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individual's mental activity, for his analysis of impressions, for his synthesis of his mental stock in trade..." (in Victor, 1992:20).

It is also important to note, that language, just as every other of the cultural determinants, is a dynamic entity that evolves and changes with the time. In Arabic, for example, more than 600 words were known to describe a camel about 25 years ago. Today most of these words have disappeared (Condon and Yousef).

The interchange of Language ad the frame of reference is also remarkable. Maletzke (1996) distinguished that the German word 'Blatt' can have different meanings in botany (a leaf), for a piano player (the score) , graphic designer (the sheet of paper) or players of card games (the set of cards). Equally, subcultures can have their own distinctive words or meanings of words.

Non-verbal communication

Although language can be understood as the main way of communication between humans, it is not the only mean. Non-verbal communication can be classified under the following headings (Argyle):

Kinesics

Is a relatively far reaching expression for body language, a major factor that can differ from cultures to cultures, in particular when no, or little visual information is available on the other culture. One example of such a major misinterpretation: When Khrushchev visited the US at the height of the cold war, he greeted the press with a clasping of his hands, shaking them over each shoulder. This expression is understood to be a sign of greeting of friends in the USSR, symbolizing the embracing of a good friend. In the US this gesture is understood to be the symbol of the winner in a battle; consequently, the US media understood the message as a sign that the USSR would be victorious over the US.

The examples of misunderstanable, kinesic signs is endless. One of the explanations for that is of course the fact that many of them are based on proverbial sayings in a language, which can not be translated literally. For example the French "ça t'a passé sous le nez" (literally: that has passed under your nose) is often used to describe "you missed your opportunity", the kinesic sign for it is, of course, passing a hand under the nose, which makes perfectly no sense to members of a non-francophone culture.

The amount of kinesics usage varies of course equally, also for what they are used. Asian cultures, for example, are less inclined to show any kinesics at all, southern Europeans are far more open to show them. The kinesic usage is also related to genders.

Proxemics

This refers to the way in which people structure the space around them. Generally spoken, low context cultures have a tendency to have farther distances than high context cultures, although this does not apply to south-east Asian cultures, who are equally high context and prefer a large distance. For example shaking hands is something that is highly uncomfortable for Chinese, while even the tap on the shoulder, often practiced by US Americans, can be interpreted as threatening in Northern European countries.

Appearance

The way how a person 'appears' has been shown to be highly correlated with the evaluation of that person. Appearance can of course be broadly classified in to different ways: biological appearance and acquired appearance.

Biological appearance includes skin color, color and the shape of eyes, texture and color of hair, stature and body structure. Stereotyping is, in that area, a very vital fact, that leads to differentiated behavior based on biological, physical appearance.

Equally the mode of dressing affects evaluation of a person. While in most Western societies suits, and formal attire reflect professionalism, this is not necessarily the case in all societies, in Arabian societies, a ghutra and thobe might be preferred. It is however a widespread assumption, for example, that a suit is required for business purposes, and represents civilized behavior. The perception of dress however is again different regarding the various styles: for example the Italian, more flamboyant, style of dressing might be judged by a UK person as simply 'nouveaux riche', and ridiculously fancy.

Posture

Posture is the fairly fixed concept of standing, sitting, etc. .The way someone sits or stands may, particularly when interpreted together with other non-verbal behavior lead to confusion in intercultural settings.

Oculesics

Oculesics is the use of the eyes in a communication setting. In most Western cultures again, the use of direct eye contact symbolizes listening and attention. However, direct eye contact is seen as unfavorable by for example various Asian cultures. The length of the eye contact is also a cultural variable, as it might extend to become perceived as aggression when used for too long, or as uninterested, when perceived too short.

Haptics, tacesics

Haptics deals with touching behavior in different societies. While haptics can be hostile (kicking), more often haptic behavior is used to indicate the degree of intimacy. Heslin (1974), distinguished between the following degrees of intimacy:

functional/professional

social/polite

friendship/warmth

love/intimacy

sexual arousal

The most widespread heptic symbol is the hand shake. This however differs in degrees, length and strength between the various levels of intimacy (or gets completely replaced by more intimate heptic behavior). A level 3 handshake for example in Spain could include the use of a double grip, which might cause confusion for, for example, a German. Equally the level 2 handshake is stronger in Spain than in Northern Europe, and might hence be interpreted as 'over-friendly' by Northern Europeans, while the level 2 handshake of the Northern European might be interpreted as functional only by the Spaniard.

Even more confusing would be a confrontation of a 'non-contact' culture, such as a Northern European one, with a 'contact-culture', where frequent touching is a sign of friendship or politeness (level 2 or 3). For example an Indian heptic behavior might be interpreted as a level 4 or 5 behavior.

Paralanguage

Paralinguistics are also a major player in cross-cultural confusion. For example the notion that Americans are talking too loud is often interpreted in Europe as aggressive behavior or can be seen as a sign of uncultivated behavior. Likewise, the British way of speaking quietly might be understood as secretive by Americans.

The speed of talking equally is different in various cultural settings. For example Finnish is spoken relatively slowly in comparison to other European languages. This form of speaking has often resulted in the Finish as being regarded somewhat 'slow' and lax.

Further importance is given to the amount of silence that is perceived as right during a conversation. A Japanese proverb says "Those who know do not speak - those who speak do not know"; this must come as a slap in the face of, for example, US Americans where even a slight silence is seen as embarrassing, and hence is filled up with speaking, something often perceived as hypomanic. Similarly, but different in usage, is the avoidance of silence in Arabic countries, where word games are played and thoughts repeated to avoid silence.

Symbolism and Passive Non-verbal Communication

The symbolism and other forms of passive non-verbal communication are equally a major influence factor for communication problems between different cultures.

The meanings of colors for example can be highly different in various cultures. Although Lüscher (1948) found color association, and effects highly equal in European societies, and those studies have been confirmed to equally be valid in US America and Canada (Cheskin, 1957), however little research has been done outside of that cultural area. More dangerously are, however, historically associated colors and shapes: for example a red circle symbolizes for many south-east Asians Japanese aggression during W.W.II. Green has become a color dominantly representing Irish and Ireland in countries with a high Irish immigration rate, such as the UK, US and Australia, while being totally associated with the ecological and peace movement in continental Europe.

Numerical symbolism equally can vary. An example of this is the number 13, in Christian cultures often associated with bad luck ( in Christian mythodology, 13 is unlucky as 13 attendants were at the Last Supper), while in Jewish societies, 13 is a number of luck: The Talmud teaches that God has 13 attributes.

Politically and religiously connected symbols can equally cause confusion, or even anger. A cross, for example, worn in a Middle Eastern Arab society might be interpreted as a direct attack onto the Islam (and may even be forbidden to be worn by law).

Values

Most of our actions and behavior is based on values, on what is perceived as evil, good or neutral. The categorization of behavior in those categories is of course different in various cultures. In the book 'Variations in value orientations' Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck explore these differences. Their basic thesis are:

- People of all times and in all societies have a limited amount of problems, for which they have to find solutions.

- For each of the major problems, there are only a limited numbers of possible solutions.

- For each problem, every society has the same amount of solutions available, however each society weighs the possible solutions differently. Doing this, a list of values is created. With social and structural change the weighting of those values is changed.

The five main problem areas are defined by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck as:

- Human nature orientation

- Man nature orientation

- Time orientation

- Activity orientation

- Relational orientation

Following the three categories of evil, neutral and good, the resulting table shows a variety of possible value orientations:

Table 2 Value OrientationsOrientationPostulated Range of Variationshuman natureEvilmutable immutableNeutral Mixmutable immutableGoodmutable immutableman-nature-timeSubjugation to NatureHarmony with NatureMastery over

Natureactivity Past Present Futurerelational Being Being-in-Becoming Doing Lineality Collaterality Individualism(Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961; 12)Also Religion is an important shaper of the values, and draws its principles and laws from them.Behavior: norms, rules, manners, rolesIn every culture, patterns of behavior can be found to be judged as 'correct' or 'incorrect'.

Norms and rules of a culture determine how to behave. While the value orientations discussed in the previous section deal with behavior on a very abstract basis, the norms, rules and manners of a society deal with behavior in concrete, every-day-life. Various examples, probably the most illustrious in intercultural research, can illustrate the differences encounterable in different cultures.

The taboos vary equally from culture to culture: an example is the avoidance of the term 'hangman' in, for example German, where a variety of replacement terms are used. Equally, various religions do not allow the name of God to be pronounced. So various alternative expressions are found ( like: Almighty, Father, Lord...).

The expectations of how to behave, of what 'role to play' is equally differentiated across cultures. While most western cultures have very little differentiation between personality and 'role', other cultures have clear boundaries. One of the most dominant examples of such a cultural misunderstanding were POWs in Japanese POW camps: For the Japanese, once a soldier is captured and becomes a POW, he has to behave like that. The behavior of the (Western) POWs caused outrage, as they continued to behave in their ways.

Social groupings and relationships

Societies are grouped together: they contain families, classes, castes, status, elites... While those social structures are dynamically changing in today's world, they can still be found in all societies, although the importance has diminished in many. Equally the Indian caste system has officially been abolished, while it is still clearly visible and adhered to.

While the interaction between groups can vary drastically from culture to culture, the relationship of the individual to the group is equally volatile: both depend on and interact with each other, however depending on the cultural environment, the emphasis may be more on the individual or on the group the individual belongs to. One of the most quoted examples of this concept is the fact that in traditional Mandarin, no word describing the concept of 'personality' was in existence.

Also the individual to individual relationships, their depth and extend, can vary enormously. While for example it is often quoted that the Americans are very open, and have lots of friends, each one for specific purposes, the Russians are said to be far more selective and 'unapproachable', however once a friendship has been made it extends far deeper and is a friendship for every situation.

Related to this category is also the 'speed of getting to the point' in a business or personal situation: depending on the cultural surrounding 'direct talking' can be viewed as rude, and a 'getting to know' phase is more important at first.

Axioms of the previous section

Culture can be understood as a shared set of attributes of any group, by which this group organizes its living together, its environment and its solutions to the questions of the society.

The individual lives in a complex set of relationship with its environment: the individual is hence influenced by the culture surrounding it, as well as influencing it.

There are ten distinct features in which cultures differ from each other: the national character/basic personality, perception, time concepts, space concepts, thinking, language, non-verbal communication, values, behaviors and social groupings and relationships.

Each of the distinct features are interconnected, and influence each other. Every change in a single feature can cause changes in the others.