Dominant American Cultural Patterns: Readings

RECOMMENDED LITERATURE

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Dominant American Cultural Patterns: Readings

Text 4

1. INDIVIDUALISM

The most important thing about Americans is probably their devotion to “individualism.” They have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations. They have not been trained to see themselves as members of a close-knit, tightly interdependent family, religious group, tribe, nation, or other collectivity.

You can see it in the way Americans treat their children. Even very young children are given opportunities to make their own choices and express their opinions. A parent will ask a one-year-old child what color balloon she wants, which candy bar she would prefer, or whether she wants to sit next to mommy or daddy. The child’s preference will normally be accommodated.

Through this process, Americans come to see themselves as separate human beings who have their own opinions and who are responsible for their own decisions.

Indeed, American child-reading manuals (such as Dr. Benjamin Spock’s famous Child and Baby Care) state that the parents’ objective in raising a child is to create a responsible, self-reliant individual who, by the age of 18 or so, is ready to move out of the parents’ house and make his or her own way in life. Americans take this advice very seriously, so much that a person beyond the age of about 20 who is still living at home with his or her parents may be thought to be “immature,” “tied to the mother’s apron strings,” or otherwise unable to lead a normal, independent life.

Margaret Wohlenberg was the only American student among about 900 Malays enrolled at Indiana University’s branch campus in Shah Alam, Malaysia, in 1986. She took Psychology 101, an introductory psychology course from the Indiana University curriculum, and earned a grade of A +. The other students’ grades were lower. After the experience she reported:

I do not think that Psych 101 is considered a very difficult course for the average freshman on the Bloomington campus [Indiana University’s main location] but it is a great challenge to these [Malay] kids who have very little, if any, exposure to the concepts of Western psychology. … The American [while growing up] is surrounded, maybe even bombarded, by the propaganda of self-fulfillment and self-identity. Self-improvement and self-help – doing my own thing – seem at the core of American ideology.

But these are “quite unfamiliar ideas to the Malay students,” Ms. Wohlenberg says. The Malay students’ upbringing emphasizes the importance of family relationships and individual subservience to the family and the community.

Americans are trained to conceive of themselves as separate individuals, and they assume everyone else in the world is too. When they encounter a person from abroad who seems to them excessively concerned with the opinions of parents, with following traditions, or with fulfilling obligations to others, they assume that the person feels trapped or is weak, indecisive, or “overly dependent.” They assume all people must resent being in situations where they are not “free to make up their own minds.” They assume, furthermore, that after living for a time in the United States people will come to feel liberated from constraints arising outside themselves and will be grateful for the opportunity to “do their own thing” and “have it their own way.”

It is this concept of themselves as individual decision-makers that blinds at least some Americans to the fact that they share a culture with each other. They have the idea, as mentioned above, that they have independently made up their own minds about their values and assumptions they hold. The notion that social factors outside themselves have made them “just like everyone else” in important ways offends their sense of dignity.

Americans, then, consider the ideal person to be an individualistic, self-reliant, independent person. They assume, incorrectly, that people from elsewhere share this value and this self-concept. In the degree to which they glorify “the individual” who stands alone and makes his or her own decisions, Americans are quite distinctive.

The individual that Americans idealize prefers an atmosphere of freedom, where neither the government nor any other external force or agency dictates what the individual does. For Americans, the idea of individual freedom has strong, positive connotations.

By contrast, people from many other cultures regard some of the behavior Americans legitimize by the label “individual freedom” to be self-centered and lacking in consideration for others. Mr. Wilson and his mother are good American individualists, living their own lives and interfering as little as possible with others. Mohammad Abdullah found their behavior almost immoral.

Foreigners who understand the degree to which Americans are imbued with the notion that the free, self-reliant individual is the ideal kind of human being will be able to understand many aspects of American behavior and thinking that otherwise might not make sense. A very few of the many possible examples:

Americans see as heroes those individuals who “stand out from the crowd” by doing something first, longest, most often, or otherwise “best.” Examples are aviators Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart.

Americans admire people who have overcome adverse circumstances (for example, poverty or a physical handicap) and “succeeded” in life. Black educator Booker T. Washington is one example; the blind and deaf author and lecturer Helen Keller is another.

Many Americans do not display the degree of respect for their parents that people in more traditional or family-oriented societies commonly display. They have the conception that it was a sort of historical or biological accidence that put them in the hands of particular parents, that the parents fulfilled their responsibilities to the children while the children were young, and now that the children have reached “the age of independence” the close child-parent tie is loosened, if not broken.

It is not unusual for Americans who are beyond the age of about 22 and who are still living with their parents to pay their parents for room and board. Elderly parents living with their grown children may do likewise. Paying for room and board is a way of showing independence, self-reliance, and responsibility for oneself.

Certain phrases one commonly hears among Americans capture their devotion to individualism: “Do your own thing.” “I did it my way.” “You’ll have to decide that for yourself.” “You made your bed, now lie in it.” “If you don’t look out for yourself, no one else will.” “Look out for number one.”

Source:

Althen, Gary. American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1988, pp. 4-8.

1. EQUALITY

Americans are also distinctive in the degree to which they believe in the ideal, as stated in their Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.” Although they sometimes violate the ideal in their daily lives, particularly in matters of interracial relationships, Americans have a deep faith that in some fundamental way all people (at least all American people) are of equal value, that no one is born superior to anyone else. “One man, one vote,” they say, conveying the idea that any person’s opinion is as valid and worthy of attention as any other person’s opinion.

Americans are generally quite uncomfortable when someone treats them with obvious deference. They dislike being the subjects of open displays of respect – being bowed to, being deferred to, being treated as though they could do no wrong or make no unreasonable requests.

It is not just males who are created equal, in the American conception, but females too. While Americans often violate the idea in practice, they do generally assume that women are the equal of men, deserving of the same level of respect. Women, according to the viewpoint of the feminists who since the 1970’s have been struggling to get what they consider a “fair shake” for females in the society, may be different from men but are in no way inferior to them.

This is not to say that Americans make no distinctions among themselves as a result of such factors as sex, age, wealth, or social position. They do. But the distinctions are acknowledged in subtle ways. Tone of voice, order of speaking, choice of words, seating arrangements – such are the means by which Americans acknowledge status differences among themselves. People of higher status are more likely to speak first, louder, and longer. They sit at the head of the table, or in the most comfortable chair. They feel free to interrupt other speakers more than others feel free to interrupt them. The higher status person may put a hand on the shoulder of the lower status person; if there is touching between the people involved, the higher status person will touch first.

Foreigners who are accustomed to more obvious displays of respect (such as bowing, averting eyes from the face of the higher status person, or using honorific titles) often overlook the ways in which Americans show respect for people of higher status. They think, incorrectly, that Americans are generally unaware of status differences and disrespectful of other people. What is distinctive about the American outlook on the matter of equality are the underlying assumptions that no matter what his or her initial station in life, any individual has the potential to achieve high standing and that everyone, no matter how unfortunate, deserves some basic level of respectful treatment.

Equality

Closely related to individualism is the American value of equality, which is emphasized in everything from government (“All men are created equal”) to social relationships (“Just call me by my first name”). The value of equality is prevalent in both primary and secondary social relationships: for instance, most of the primary social relationships within a family tend to advance equality rather than hierarchy; and friendships, co-worker relationships, and other kinds of secondary relationships are characterized by equality.

As we shall see later in this chapter, the value of equality in American social relationships creates communication problems in intercultural settings. Americans like to treat others as equals and prefer to be treated in the same manner when they interact in business or social environments. People from cultures that have rigid, hierarchical social structures therefore find it disconcerting to work with Americans: they negate the value of such hierarchical structures by asking advice of subordinates and talking about personal matters in public.

Sources:

Althen, Gary. American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1988, pp. 8-9.

Samovar, Larry A., and Richard E. Porter. Communication between Cultures. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1995, p. 85.

1. INFORMALITY

Their notions of equality lead Americans to be quite informal in their general behavior and in their relationships with other people. Store clerks and waiters, for example, may introduce themselves by their first [given] names and treat customers in a casual, friendly manner. American clerks, like other Americans, have been trained to believe that they are as valuable as any other people, even if they happen to be engaged at a given time in an occupation that others might consider lowly. This informal behavior can outrage foreign visitors who hold high stations in countries where it is not assumed that “all men are created equal.”

People from societies where general behavior is more formal than it is in America are struck by the informality of American speech, dress, and posture. Idiomatic speech (commonly called “slang”) is heavily used on most occasions, with formal speech reserved for public events and fairly formal situations. People of almost any station in life can be seen in public wearing jeans, sandals, or other informal attire. People slouch down in chairs or lean on walls or furniture when they talk, rather than maintaining an erect bearing.

A brochure advertising a highly-regarded liberal-arts college contains a photograph showing the college’s president, dressed in shorts and an old T-shirt, jogging past one of the classroom buildings on his campus. Americans are likely to find the photograph appealing: “here is a college president who’s just like anyone else. He doesn’t think he’s too good for us.”

The superficial friendliness for which Americans are so well known is related to their informal, egalitarian approach to other people. “Hi!” they will say to just about anyone. “Howya doin?” (That is, “How are you doing?” or “How are you?”) This behavior reflects less a special interest in the person addressed than a concern (not conscious) for showing that one is a “regular guy,” part of a group of normal, pleasant people – like the college president.

Source:

Althen, Gary. American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1988, pp. 9-10.

1. THE FUTURE, CHANGE & PROGRESS

Americans are generally less concerned about history and traditions than are people from older societies. “History doesn’t matter,” many of them will say. “It’s the future that counts.” They look ahead. They have the idea that what happens in the future is within their control, or at least subject to their influence. They believe that the mature, sensible person sets goals for the future and works systematically toward them. They believe that people, as individuals or working cooperatively together, can change most aspects of the physical and social environment if they decide to do so, make appropriate plans, and get to work. Changes will presumably produce improvements. New things are better than old ones.

The long-time slogans of two major American corporations capture the Americans’ assumptions about the future and about change. A maker of electrical appliances ended its radio and television commercials with the slogan, “Progress is our most important product.” A huge chemical company that manufactured, among many other things, various plastics and synthetic fabrics, had this slogan: “Better things for better living through chemistry.”

Closely associated with their assumption that they can bring about desirable changes in the future is the Americans’ assumption that their physical and social environments are subject to human domination or control. Early Americans cleared forests, drained swamps, and altered the course of rivers in order to “build” the country. Contemporary Americans have gone to the moon in part just to prove they could do so.

This fundamental American belief in progress and a better future contrasts sharply with the fatalistic (Americans are likely to use that term with a negative or critical connotation) attitude that characterizes people from many other cultures, notably Latin, Asian, and Arab, where there is a pronounced reverence for the past. In those cultures the future is considered to be in the hands of “fate,” “God,” or at least the few powerful people or families that dominate the society. The idea that they could somehow shape their own futures seems naïve or even arrogant.

Americans are generally impatient with people they see as passively accepting conditions that are less than desirable. “Why don’t they do something about it?” Americans will ask. Americans don’t realize that a large portion of the world’s population sees the world around them as something they cannot change, but rather as something with which they must seek to live in harmony.

Progress and Change

Perhaps more so than any other people, Americans place great importance on progress and change. From the culture’s earliest establishment as a distinct national entity, there has been a diffuse constellation of beliefs and attitudes that may be called the cult of progress. These beliefs and attitudes produce a certain mind set and a wide range of behavior patterns. Various aspects of this orientation are optimism, receptivity to change, emphasis upon the future rather than the past or present, faith in an ability to control all phases of life, and confidence in the perceptual ability of the common person. Belief in progress fosters not only the acceptance of change, but also the conviction that changes tend in a definite direction and that the direction is good. Each new generation in the United States wants its opportunity to be part of that change.

So strong is the belief in progress and change that Americans seldom fear taking chances or staking out new and exciting territories. The writer Henry Miller clearly captured this American spirit when he wrote, “Whatever there be in progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring, through obeying blind urge.” Many cultures do not sanctify change, progress, and daring, and hence often have difficulty understanding the way Americans behave.

Sources:

Althen, Gary. American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1988, pp. 10-12.

Samovar, Larry A., and Richard E. Porter. Communication between Cultures. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1995, pp. 86-87.

1. ACHIEVEMENT, ACTION, WORK & MATERIALISM

“He’s a hard worker,” one American might say in praise of another. Or, “She gets the job done.” These expressions convey the typical American’s admiration for a person who approaches a task conscientiously and persistently, seeing it through to a successful conclusion. More than that, these expressions convey an admiration for achievers, people whose lives are centered around efforts to accomplish some physical, measurable thing. Social psychologists use the term “achievement motivation” to describe what appears to be the intention underlying Americans’ behavior. “Affiliation” is another kind of motivation, shown by people whose main intent seems to be to establish and retain a set of relationships with other people. The achievement motivation predominates in America.

Foreign visitors commonly remark that “Americans work harder than I expected them to.” (Perhaps these visitors have been excessively influenced by American movies and television programs, which are less likely to show people working than to show them driving around in fast cars or pursuing members of the opposite sex.) While the so-called “Protestant work ethic” may have lost some of its hold on Americans, there is still a strong belief that the ideal person is a “hard worker.” A hard worker is one who “gets right to work” on a task without delay, works efficiently, and completes the task in a way that meets reasonably high standards of quality.

Hard workers are admired not just on the job, but in other aspects of life as well. Housewives, students, and people volunteering their services to charitable organizations can also be “hard workers” who make “significant achievements.”

More generally, Americans like action. They do indeed believe it is important to devote significant energy to their jobs or to other daily responsibilities. Beyond that, they tend to believe they should be doing something most of the time. They are usually not content, as people from many countries are, to sit for hours and talk with other people. They get restless and impatient. They believe they should be doing something, or at least making plans and arrangements for doing something later.

People without the Americans’ action orientation often see Americans as frenzied, always “on the go,” never satisfied, compulsively active. They may, beyond that, evaluate Americans negatively for being unable to relax and enjoy life’s pleasures. Even recreation, for Americans, is often a matter of acquiring lavish equipment, making elaborate plans, then going somewhere to do something.

Americans tend to define people by the jobs they have. (“Who is he?” “He’s the vice president in charge of personal loans at the bank.”) Their family backgrounds, educational attainments, and other characteristics are considered less important in identifying people than the jobs they have.

There is usually a close relationship between the job a person has and the level of the person’s income. Americans tend to measure a person’s “success” in life by referring to the amount of money he has acquired. Being a bank vice president is quite respectable, but being a bank president is more so. The president gets a higher salary. So the president can buy more things – a bigger house and car, a boat, more neckties and shoes, and so on.

Americans are often criticized for being so “materialistic,” so concerned with acquiring possessions. For Americans, though, this materialism is natural and proper. They have been taught that it is a good thing to achieve – to work hard, acquire more material badges of their success, and in the process assure a better future for themselves and their immediate families. And, like people from elsewhere, they do what they are taught.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1842