Five Cultural Norms

Lets start by understanding that cultures are a melting pot of people’s beliefs, language, behaviors, values, material objects, and norms. Norms are written and non-written “expectations of behavior” that govern a certain location, place, or culture (26). These norms also vary from culture to culture meaning what is a norm in the U.S may not be a norm in India. For example, a norm in America would be tipping a waiter after a meal. Another would be acknowledging someone as you walk past him or her, typically done at work or in a public place. In all, norms are folkways, mores, taboos, and written laws that are an established standard of one’s behavior.

Culture is defined by a construction of one's world-view, and it is transmitted by individuals and collectives through socialization and enculturation (Pederson & Ivey, 13). It contains values, beliefs, language, and perception. In studying cultural differences among members of distinct national, ethnic groups researcher have examined the concept of collectivism and individualism. People form individualistic cultures tend to view themselves as unique entities and independent form one another (Coon & Kemmelmeier, 348)

The first concept which I will explore is culture and what this means to different individuals. In simplified terms, culture refers to how we do things and also how we perceive things within a group. Culture is a shared set of assumptions, values, social conventions and perceptions, which are established on concepts of common language and

Looking at the chart the first dimension of culture plotted is individualism-collectivism. This dimension addresses how people define themselves and their relationships with others. Cultures that fall on the individualism side of the continuum share four characteristics. First, such cultures consider the individual to be the most important entity in any social setting. Second, individualistic cultures stress independence rather than dependence. Third, individualistic cultures reward individual achievement. The last characteristic is; individualistic cultures value each individual’s uniqueness.

Culture a set of shared values that a group of people hold. These values affect how you think, act and most importantly the basis on which you judge others. These behaviors can be viewed as normal and right or strange or wrong. Keep in mind though that we are all individuals and that no two people belonging to the same culture

The training exercises were fabulous activities that provided experiences in assessing cultural norms, identifying the role culture plays on our perceptions, and techniques for observing behavior. Each event provided the participants with a critical component required in field observations. The cultural norms activity helped to acquaint participants with interacting with strangers, recognizing that culture provides comfort and security. The cultural description activity was perfect for building and understanding the role culture plays when trying to understand human behavior. In field observations, "weird" can simply be behavior outside my cultural understanding.

Introduction No matter what part of the world a person lives in, he or she exists in a culture. Culture is an intricate and beautiful part of society, as every culture differs greatly. Although each culture is different, the core of all cultures are the same. Culture is defined as, “The sum of the material and nonmaterial components underlying the social environment” (cite textbook). Culture can be broken down into parts; these parts include material and nonmaterial aspects of culture, cultural norms, and social issues.

One of the mainstream norms on the continuum for my culture would be the activity orientations the doing and becoming. One example from my life how this cultural value is expressed in my own life is preserving our history. My generation is now trying to preserve the home of Langston Hughes. There is no museum or cultural center at his brownstone home on 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, NY. The house was given milestone status in 1981, however is currently secured with congested ivy and peeling paint. Its inside stays empty and in decay. However, in a gentrifying neighborhood that is seen a blast in vogue coffeeshops and that is

How do people like to eat ramen? Do they like to eat with sounds or eating quietly? It means that ramen is delicious when people are eating it with sounds in Japan. While in china, eating food with sounds means rudeness. This interesting example shows that there are huge differences among kinds of social norms. In the film Witness, director Peter Weir explores the distinct and huge cultural conflicts between the old Amish society of western Pennsylvania and the modern American world of crime and violence. The main character, Philadelphia police detective John Book, is forced into hiding by a group of corrupt fellow officers looking for a little Amish boy, Samuel. The boy witnesses a merciless killing and identifies that one of the murders is Book’s boss. John Book and his witness hide in the house of the boy's mother Rachel on a farm in the Amish country. Even though Book tries to adopt plain living in the Amish country and helps Rachel and Samuel secure from all of danger, he has to leave them and along his satisfactorily destined path. Based on different social norms, sometimes people are willing to adapt those different social norms when they realize that breaking established rules is wrong. On the contrast, different social norms will burn the fire of fight. On the other hand, different social norms could help people learn about more cultures.

Social norms are behaviors that are expected within our society. When we see these norms out in public we might not acknowledge them because we’re expected to know how to act in different places or situations. When these norms are violated people may be confused of the situation and can become confused, annoyed, or mad. Social norms are a part of our everyday lives since before we were born there were norms laid out for us already, from the way we’re supposed to behave, dress, and even talk. Norms have high value in our society “they are the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad beautiful or ugly”. There’re what we expect in our society from our behavior at school, in public, or school. Each place has a certain norm we as a society should know when and how to follow.

The more countries around the world I had visited, the more people with diverse backgrounds I had met, the more clearly realized that the concept of norm is strongly relative, indefinite, and vague. Being a prisoner of own convictions can sometimes be not only short-sighted but also dangerous. I remember frustration, when I was traveling through the remote isolated Asian villages and people around were pointing fingers and making pictures of me, because they rarely could see women looking and dressed in a western manner. I did not not if should be flattered or offended, when people asked to take a picture with me as with some rara avis. I also can imagine how alien can people feel moving to another country.

Modern popular media has a significant impact on defining cultural norms in our society. The rise of smart phones and other personal devices means that we are inundated with images on an ongoing basis. So many of these images represent women in an ideal form that is unattainable form most individuals. Cosmetic surgery, along with image enhancing techniques, are used to erase imperfections, sculpt he body into a more desirable shape and erase signs of the aging process in so many of the images that we see on a daily basis. This inundation has led to our society and me personally have a more accepting view on cosmetic surgery.

To understand the role norms perform in culture we must first know consider what a culture is. Sullivan (2009) says “culture refers to the total lifestyle of a people” (p. 57). Norms are a component of culture because they are a part of people’s lifestyle. They are one of the foundations culture stands upon, along with, beliefs, values, and language (Sullivan, 2009). Norms are certainly amalgamated with other parts of culture but they are not exactly the same as the other components. Norms differ from beliefs and values in that norms are more specific. A belief is an individual’s conception about what is true; while a value is an extremely broad guideline for acceptable or unacceptable behavior (Sullivan, 2009). Norms are rather more specific behavioral guidelines (Sullivan, 2009).

Culture norms often times shapes behavior, values, personal growth, and even the way one perceives themselves, as well as the world. From the Psychology Dictionary, culture norms are defined as “a cultural regulation, moral, or guideline which designates an approved and proper action within the framework of a particular society type” (Nugent). Often, different culture norms allow women to perceive themselves in a negative way when comparing themselves to their peers, celebrities, and even advertisements. Women are always judging themselves asking if they are too skinny, too fat, ‘thicc’ enough, or counting the pimples on their faces repeatedly reminding themselves that they are not worthy enough. Even through all these negative perceptions women have on beauty and weight, there is a way to turn these effects around and maintain a healthy outlook.

“Our view of the world is dramatically influenced by the society in which we were raised.” In a sociological vision the word culture isn’t just the was mannerisms its also the objects and ideas with in the society. What you do and use to do so is what ‘label’ you to which group, society, you belong to. Those actions are your culture. As defined by book, culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes the ideas, values, and artifacts of group of people. At times people within these societies have difficulty understanding the norms of other societies. In this case these people are ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life or the better of all. This term was ‘coined’ the term for these people by William Graham Sumner in 1906. Ethnocentric people are different from those who are able to view other societies, and cultures as something normal for them. The way people view different societies from the perspective of their own is called cultural relativism; it is what allows us to understand other cultures before ‘labeling them as abnormal. It stresses the differences between the norms and values of the society.