1. What is culture? How does culture influence communication behavior? In what ways can we improve our cultural communication skills?
Culture is all the things we learn as part of being with a group of people. This includes, language, shared symbols and values. These are the things we learn as we grow. Within our main or base culture other co-cultures can exist. An example of this would be I am an American citizen, I was born in Norfolk, Virginia, graduated from Maury High School and I work in Portsmouth, Virginia. English is my primary language, I vote in every election, I file my IRS taxes every year. All these things make my culture primarily American, however, my co-culture is that of an African descendent American woman. I learned other things that were a part of this culture, how to care for my hair which is much different from that of American culture. The history of African descendent people in American is also different than that of the base or American culture. So, everything I learned from Black History, to soul food, our church is all learned information and different from American culture. We can learn to improve our communication skills with knowledge about other people and cultures. We can read more and learn to interact with other people. We need to embrace others with the understanding that everyone is different but we are all still the same. We should always keep an open mind when dealing with new situations and never be afraid or ashamed to apologize
It doesn’t matter what kind of ethnicity you are, or how you were brought up. Everyone is deeply rooted in their own culture. “Culture” has a different meaning to everyone. Comparing American culture to Chinese culture we will find many different meanings to the word “culture”. For example, we Americans are always looking for something bigger and better for our future, and the Chinese are content with a small reserved lifestyle with no intentions of changing it for something bigger. A culture is a way of life of a group of people-the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and are passed along by communication and imitation from
Take a moment to think about the following question: what is culture? Culture is everything a person does, believes in, creates, came from, and has done. It is also so much more than this simple list, but this is a good idea of what it generally is. Culture affects a lot of things as well. It can affect what you do, how you do certain things, and how you see things comparison to others. Culture is a major factor in how people perceive the world and those around them. Everybody sees the world differently through their cultural glasses. Some people see things as foreign and confusing, while others see the same things as daily life. The idea of different cultural viewpoints is shown in many articles throughout the years. Each of these stories
Working with diverse populations it is also important to remember that within a specific race there are different cultures and subcultures. Culture within a race includes knowledge, beliefs, morals and customs as a part of that society. It is important to remember that just because two people have the same skin color and share genetically the same race, culturally they can be very different. In North America Native Americans are unfortunately grouped together based on similar characteristics. Although many Native American tribes due share a great deal not only genetically but culturally, tribes have developed their own set of social norms and culture based on region and possible different spiritual beliefs. To further differentiate within the
Culture is a key aspect of a human that reflects on their lifestyle, family, traditions and pulls together the external influences that play a role in how one chooses to live their life. For me, culture is something you collect throughout your lifetime. In my lifetime, I have been lucky enough to travel outside of the United States and meet people from all over the world. I have seen how people go about their daily routines in many different ways compared to mine. The main cultural influence that has been present in my life since day one is the closeness of my family. All my cousins are very close it has often odd when I hear about families with weak relationships and small size. Another influence that has shaped my behavior was my exposure of extreme poverty and extreme wealth while living in Mexico. Lastly, a cultural influence that has shaped my belief system is my education.
Culture is the overall moral belief, customs, language, and attitudes a person is brought and raised into. Daily, we are exposed to diverse and different cultures everyday which allow us to learn the different values and traditions each culture possess. The importance of observing and learning different customs is beneficial because it can help us better adapt and prevent misunderstandings when we communicate and interact with others. Hispanics and Americans are two huge cultures that have been sharing the same living space for years but are an example of two different civilizations. While both, Hispanics and Americans, share many similarities they both differ in recognition of religion, language,
The first point in my theory is that you can better your skills as an interpersonal communicator by better understanding your own culture. DeVito states that there are. “several major cultural distinctions that are crucial for more effective communication” they are: individualism or collectivism, high or low context, high or low power distance, masculinity or femininity, high or low ambiguity tolerance, long or short term orientation, and indulgent or (p. 34). To be able to understand your or anyone else’s culture you must be able to understand the ways that these things affect communication. Once you understand the ways that you are oriented in these seven categories due to enculturation you can understand how you communicate and become a more effective
Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for others it is just the best country in the world because of its economic success and/or its democratic political system. Americans usually value independence a lot, believe in equal opportunity, and have a direct communication style. In exploring the
As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being
Culture plays a significant role in defining our identity and worldview. For newcomers, culture is the primary frame that shapes their interaction with other newcomers and with established residents in their new community. This interaction can occur anywhere and
Today, we live in a culturally diverse society due to globalization. As our world grows, expands and become increasingly more interconnected, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become apparent. When people from different cultures interact with one another there is intercultural communication because different cultures create different interpretation and expectations about what is seen as competent behaviors that will enable the construction of shared meanings.
“We don't want to be all the same but we want to understand each other.”(Taylor Swift). Everyone has a culture, some people really embrace it and some just follow it, but culture will affect everyone and the way they all have a culture but run into a problem and how they want to embrace their culture.
Geography influences culture in many ways. A civilizations geography determines what kind of god(s) they believe in as well as influences from other cultures. These features provide a stepping stone for cultures that are solely based on geography.
Everybody has their own definition of Culture – and when this word is used generally, most audiences have a rough idea of its meaning. Culture usually refers to the beliefs, ideas, languages, rituals and traditions by certain communities, that are passed from generation to generations continuously over the past many centuries. In society, two cultures cannot be same if one is located on the west coast and the other one is all the way to the East. As we compare, the American and Indian cultures have very vast differentiation between them. While the culture of America is a mixture of different cultures since each immigrant internally packed his or her previously
The concept of culture is something that defines many aspects of one’s life. From physical objects to different ways of thinking, culture adds significance to human life and makes groups of people distinct from one another. Culture is essentially a group of people who come together with similar interests and points of view. According to the Center for Advanced Language Acquisition of the University of Minnesota, “culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization.” From a more sociological perspective, culture is a way in which people come together in order to fulfill their needs. These shared patterns and ideas identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group.” Culture is one of the things that sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. Not that the rest of the world is not cultural, but the circumstance here is different. Many people of different cultural backroads come to this country in search of a better life. As a consequence, the United States has become a place where many cultures merge together like a colossal pot soup.
Culture is “the knowledge, values, attitudes, and traditions that guide behavior of a group of people and allow them to solve problems of living in their environment” (Woolfolk 193). It is clear that a students cultural background shapes who they are, therefore this could shape what kind of student they are in the classroom. The visible signs of culture are clothing, language, and traditions. But taking a look deeper into someones culture can reflect who they are and their beliefs. The text suggests that some psychologists believe that cult defines intelligence. I am not sure I totally agree with this. I believe cultural tendencies can definitely impact the way children participate in the classroom. To engage students effectively in the learning process, teachers must know their students and their academic abilities individually, rather than relying on racial or ethnic stereotypes or prior experience with other students of similar backgrounds or culture. “Knowing a student is a member of a particular culture group does not define what that student is like” (Woolfolk 197). People are individuals, and just because they have a certain culture background, does not mean they have the same attributes shared by other members of their culture. I do believe that culture matters. To truly engage students, as teachers we must reach out to them in ways that are culturally responsive and appropriate, and we must examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the