Sociocultural Level of Analysis:
Social and Cultural Norms
Part IV
Cultural Norms
• There are many definitions of culture, and it is a
very complex concept.
– The term “surface culture” is used to describe visible
aspects like food, eating habits, clothing, rituals,
communication patterns, religion, and behavior).
– The term “deep culture” is related to beliefs, attitudes
and values that underpin culture manifestations.
– Kuschel (2004) claims that culture should not be used
to explain behavior. It should be used to understand
how people have survived in their environment, how
they organized their life, and how their beliefs
influence behavior.
Cultural Norms
– Lonner (1995) describes cultures as common
rules that regulate interactions and behavior in a
group as well as a number of shared values and
attitudes in the group.
– Hofstede (2002) described culture as “mental
software,” meaning cultural schemas that have
internalized so that they influence thinking,
emotions, and behavior.
Cultural Norms
• Matsumoto (2004) describes culture as “dynamic
system of rules, explicit and implicit, established by
groups in order to ensure their survival, involving
attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors.”
– Culture is dynamic because it changes over time due to
environment and social changes.
• cultural norms – behavior patterns that are typical of
specific groups. They are often passed down from
generation to generation by observational learning by the
groups gatekeepers – parents, teachers, religious leaders,
and peers.
• Cultural norms include how people choose marriage partners,
attitudes toward alcohol consumption, and acceptance (or
rejection) of spanking children.
Cultural Norms
• The etic approach to psychology compares
human behavior across specific cultures. Etic
study involves drawing on notion of universal
properties of cultures, which share common
perceptual, cognitive, and emotional
structures.
• The emic approach looks at behaviors that are
culturally specific. Emics have challenged
psychologists to re-examine their ideas
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• dimensions- the perspectives of a culture based
on values and cultural norms.
• Hoefstede (1973) study involved asking
employees of the multinational company IBM to
fill in surveys about morale in the workplace. He
then carried out content analysis on the
responses he received, focusing on key
differences submitted by employees in different
countries. His research looked at the 40 most
represented countries in the surveys. The trends
he noticed he called “dimensions.”
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• Hoefstede argues that understanding cultural
dimensions will help facilitate communication
between cultures. This is important in
international diplomacy as well as
international business.
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• Types of dimensions:
– Individualism: in individualist societies the ties
between individuals are loose. Everyone is expected
to look after himself or herself and his or her
immediate family.
– Collectivism: in collectivist societies from birth
onwards people are integrated into strong, cohesive
in-groups, often extended families( with uncles, aunts,
and grandparents), which provides them with support
and perfection. Not living up to norms, very severe
punishment.
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• Types of dimensions:
– Uncertainty vs. avoidance- deals with the
societies tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.
It indicate to what extent a culture programs its
members to feel either uncomfortable or
comfortable in unstructured situations:
unstructured situations are novel, unknown,
surprising.
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• Types of dimensions:
• Bond (1988) argues that Chinese culture replaces the
uncertainty-avoidance dimension with Confucian work
dynamism: instead of focusing on truth, some countries
focus on virtue.
• China and other countries have a long-term
orientation. These cultures value persistence, loyalty,
and trustworthiness. They need to protect the
collective identity and respect tradition – what is called
“saving face.”
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• Types of dimensions:
• Hoefstede found that Finland, Germany, and the US have a
short-term orientation. In contrast to the Confucian work
dynamism, these cultures value personal steadiness and
stability. There is a focus on the future instead of the past,
and innovation is highly valued.
• Hoefstede warns against the ecological fallacy, meaning
when one looks at two different cultures, it should NOT be
assumed that two members from two different cultures
must be different from one another, or that a single
member of a culture will always demonstrate the
dimensions which are the norm of that culture.
Cultural Dimensions of Behavior
• Anthropologist, Edward T. Hall’s norms that define
culture.
– proxemic theory (1966) is based on a culture's need for
“personal space.” Different cultures have different
perceptions of the amount of personal space that is
required to be comfortable. People only allow their
closest, most intimate friends into this bubble of space.
– Time consciousness – there is a distinction between
monochronic cultures and polychronic cultures.
• Monochronic – focus on one thing at a time, high amount of
scheduling, and punctuality, meeting deadline highly valued.
• Polychronic – many things happen at once, more focus on
relationships and interactions. Interruptions are expected as a part
of life, little frustration when things are postponed or late.