Interpersonal Skills (Chapter 2)

• Define culture


  The relatively specialised lifestyle of a group of people that is passed on from generation to generation to the next through communication, not through genes.
• Cultural Evolution (Social Darwinism)


  Human species evolved from earlier life forms to Homo sapiens, cultures also evolve. 
• Cultural Relativism


  All cultures are different but that no culture is either superior or inferior to any other.
• Sex refers to the biological distinction between male and female; sex is determined by genes, by biology.

  • Sex is transmitted genetically and not by communication.
• Gender refers to the “social construction of masculinity and femininity within a culture”.

  • Gender may be considered a cultural variable
• Enculturation


  The process by which you learn the culture into which you’re born(you’re naive culture) and develop an ethnic identity.
• Acculturation


  The process by which you learn the rules and norms of a culture different from you naive culture.
• Assimilation


  The process by which the values, ways of behaving, and beliefs of the host culture become more and more part of the immigrant’s culture.
• Individualist culture


  Teaches members the importance of individual values such as power, achievement, hedonism, and stimulation. E.g U.S, Australia, U.K
• Collective culture


  Teaches members the importance of group values such as benevolence, tradition, and conformity. E.g Colombia, Indonesia, China
• High-Context Culture


  Much of the information in communication is in the context or in the person. The information is thus known by all participants, but it is not explicitly stated in the verbal message.
• High-Context Culture


  Collectivist cultures; great emphasis on personal relationships and oral agreements.
• Low-Context Culture


  Most of the information is explicitly stated in the verbal message; in formal transactions, it will be stated in written (or contract) form.
• Low-Context Culture


  Individualist culture; less emphasis on personal relationships and more emphasis on verbalised, explicit explanation. E.g written contracts and business transactions.
• Power Distance


  How power is distributed in a society.
• High-power-distance cultures


  In some cultures, power is concentrated in the hands of a few, and there’s a great difference between the high power held by these people and the power of an ordinary citizen. E.g Malaysia, Slovakia, Russia
• Low-power-distance cultures


  In some cultures, power is more evenly distributed throughout the citizenry. E.g New Zealand, Switzerland,, Sweden
• A highly masculine culture values aggressiveness, material success, and strength.
• A highly feminine culture values modesty, concern for relationships and the quality of life and tenderness.
• High-Ambiguity-Tolerant Cultures


  Members of these cultures don’t feel threatened by unknown situations: uncertainty is a normal part of life, and people accept it as it comes. E.g Singapore, Jamaica, Honk Kong
• Low-Ambiguity-Tolerant Cultures


  Members of these cultures do much to avoid a certainty and have a great deal of anxiety about not knowing what will happen next; they see uncertainty as threatening and as something that must be counteracted. E.g Russia, Japan, Poland
• Long-Term Orientation


  An orientation that promotes the importance of future rewards; members of these cultures are most apt to save for the future and to prepare for the future academically. E.g South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Japan
• Short-Term Orientation


  An orientation that looks more to the past and the present. Instead of saving the future, members of this culture spend their resources for the present and want quick results from their efforts. E.g Morocco, Colombia, Nigeria, Egypt
• Cultures high in indulgence

  • Emphasise the gratification of desires; they focus on having fun and enjoying life.
  • E.g Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, Sweden
  • Life control
  • Leisure
  • Members of these cultures have more positive attitudes, greater optimism, and are more likely to remember positive emotions.
• Cultures high in restraint

  • Cultures that foster the curbing of such gratification and its regulation by social norms.
  • E.g Ukraine, Belarus, Pakistan
  • More people who are unhappy; people who see themselves lacking control of their own lives and with little to no leisure time to engage in fun activities.
  • Members of this culture are more cynical, pessimistic, and less likely to remember positive emotions.
• Intercultural communication


  Communication between persons who have different cultural beliefs, values, or ways of behaving.