THE NATURE OF CULTURE An analogy with electronic computers is one way to introduce the concept of culture. In order to make computer do what they should do we must program them first. Likewise,we are programmed by our culture to do what we do and to be what we are. In other words,culture is the software of the human mind that provides an operating environment for human behaviors.Although individual behavior may be varied,all members within the same operating environment share important characteristics of the culture.Unlike computers,of courses,persons may reach idiosyncratic conclusions and carry out irrational and unexpected actions.In not every action is cultural "programming"evident.In this section we discuss the definition of culture,functions of culture,and characteristics of culture. Culture Defined The word culture has numerous meanings.An early definition was provided by E.B. Tylor(1967),who treated culture as a complex whole of our social traditions and as prerequisite for us to be a member of the society.Culture can be a set of fundamental ideas,practices,and experiences of a group of people that are symbolically transmitted generation to generation through a learning procession.Culture may as well refer to beliefs,norms,and attitudes that are used to guide our behaviors and to solve human problems.Moreover,we can look at culture from an interpretative and performance perspective by viewing it as a system of expressive practices and mutual meanings associated with our behaviors.Our concern in this chapter is to present a particular definition of culture to explain the close relationship between culture and communications.Thus,we define culture as "a negotiated set of share symbolic systems that guide individuals'behaviors and incline them to function as a group." Function of Culture As the software of human mind,culture,in addition to allowing our participation in a special group,serves two functions.First,culture provides a context in which three aspects of human society are embedded:linguistic,physical,and psychological (Borden,1991).Language allows us to communicate with people who have similar value and belief systems.Physical aspects supply an environment of activities and permit what we do within the culture.Finally,the psychological aspect is related to our mental activation,including what we believe and what we have learned. Second,culture functions to provide structure,stability,and security that are used by the group and members to maintain themselves as a healthy system.For some persons,"structure and stability"may indicate subordinate status.For others,such stability is welcome.For example,according to traditional Chinese customs,the marriage of young people had to be arranged by their parents.A matchmaker was used to introduce the two parties.If the parents of the male were interested in seeing the lady,the matchmaker would plan an arranged meeting for both sides to meet and observe each other.If the male family was pleased with the lady,the matchmaker would be sent to the female family to formally propose a marriage.A payment made
THE NATURE OF CULTURE An analogy with electronic computers is one way to introduce the concept of culture. In order to make computer do what they should do we must program them first. Likewise, we are programmed by our culture to do what we do and to be what we are. In other words, culture is the software of the human mind that provides an operating environment for human behaviors. Although individual behavior may be varied, all members within the same operating environment share important characteristics of the culture. Unlike computers, of courses, persons may reach idiosyncratic conclusions and carry out irrational and unexpected actions. In not every action is cultural “programming” evident. In this section we discuss the definition of culture, functions of culture, and characteristics of culture. Culture Defined The word culture has numerous meanings. An early definition was provided by E.B. Tylor (1967), who treated culture as a complex whole of our social traditions and as prerequisite for us to be a member of the society. Culture can be a set of fundamental ideas, practices, and experiences of a group of people that are symbolically transmitted generation to generation through a learning procession. Culture may as well refer to beliefs, norms, and attitudes that are used to guide our behaviors and to solve human problems. Moreover, we can look at culture from an interpretative and performance perspective by viewing it as a system of expressive practices and mutual meanings associated with our behaviors. Our concern in this chapter is to present a particular definition of culture to explain the close relationship between culture and communications. Thus, we define culture as “a negotiated set of share symbolic systems that guide individuals’ behaviors and incline them to function as a group.” Function of Culture As the software of human mind, culture, in addition to allowing our participation in a special group, serves two functions. First, culture provides a context in which three aspects of human society are embedded: linguistic, physical, and psychological (Borden, 1991). Language allows us to communicate with people who have similar value and belief systems. Physical aspects supply an environment of activities and permit what we do within the culture. Finally, the psychological aspect is related to our mental activation, including what we believe and what we have learned. Second, culture functions to provide structure, stability, and security that are used by the group and members to maintain themselves as a healthy system. For some persons, “structure and stability” may indicate subordinate status. For others, such stability is welcome. For example, according to traditional Chinese customs, the marriage of young people had to be arranged by their parents. A matchmaker was used to introduce the two parties. If the parents of the male were interested in seeing the lady, the matchmaker would plan an arranged meeting for both sides to meet and observe each other. If the male family was pleased with the lady, the matchmaker would be sent to the female family to formally propose a marriage. A payment made
by groom's family to the family of the bride would be made when the couple married. Dowry,including money,jewelry,or other gifts,from the bride's family usually accompanied the bride.The structural process of this matching process for the young people in traditional Chinese society clearly reflects the functions of culture.This practice not only maintained the stability of the Chinese society for many hundred years but also ensured the financial security of the female family after a daughter moved out to stay with the other family. Characteristics of Culture From the definition of culture given above we can generate four basic characteristics of culture:it is holistic,dynamic,and pervasive. First,culture is holistic.This characteristic underscores the complex nature of culture.As a holistic system,culture can be broken down into several subsystems, including a kinship system,an educational system,a religious system,an association system,a political system,and so on,but the various aspects of culture are closely interrelated.In other words,any change in a subsystem will affect the whole system. For example,as Samovar and Porter (1995)indicated,the American Civil Rights Movement brought about changes in different facets of American culture and altered American attitudes,values,and behaviors. Second,culture is learned.Because culture is a shared symbolic system within a relatively large group of people,the only way for group members to integrate into, reinforce,and co-create this shared symbolic system is through a learning process.We begin to consciously and unconsciously learn our culture in our early life through the process of socialization or enculturation.Interaction with family members and friends is the most common way for us to learn about our culture.Other sources for learning our culture are schools,church,media,folk tales,and art.The process of learning our own culture will inevitably foster a phenomenon called ethnocentrism.Ethnocentrism leads group members to tie themselves tightly together and to be proud of their own heritages by subjectively using their cultural standards as criteria for interpretations and judgments in intercultural communication. Third,culture is dynamic.Cultures are constantly changing over time.Some cultures are more open and accepting of change,others tend to resist it.Culture change in the process of transmission from generation to generation,group to group, and place to place.Four major mechanisms account for the change of cultures: Technological invention,disasters,cultural contract,and environmental factors Technological invention,such as the discovery of communication and transportation tools referred to in Chapter 1,normally elicits a different set of social habits and behaviors that eventually alter the pattern of a culture.Disasters include natural and human calamities.The American Civil War and China's Opium War brought great social and cultural changes to both societies.Likewise,the vanishing of the city of Pompeii in Italy was due to the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano.Cultural contact gives each culture a chance to borrow things from other cultures.For instance,Italian pizzas and Chinese egg rolls have become staple dishes in American,while American fast foods and pop culture have greatly changed the way Asian people live.As for
by groom’s family to the family of the bride would be made when the couple married. Dowry, including money, jewelry, or other gifts, from the bride’s family usually accompanied the bride. The structural process of this matching process for the young people in traditional Chinese society clearly reflects the functions of culture. This practice not only maintained the stability of the Chinese society for many hundred years but also ensured the financial security of the female family after a daughter moved out to stay with the other family. Characteristics of Culture From the definition of culture given above we can generate four basic characteristics of culture: it is holistic, dynamic, and pervasive. First, culture is holistic. This characteristic underscores the complex nature of culture. As a holistic system, culture can be broken down into several subsystems, including a kinship system, an educational system, a religious system, an association system, a political system, and so on, but the various aspects of culture are closely interrelated. In other words, any change in a subsystem will affect the whole system. For example, as Samovar and Porter (1995) indicated, the American Civil Rights Movement brought about changes in different facets of American culture and altered American attitudes, values, and behaviors. Second, culture is learned. Because culture is a shared symbolic system within a relatively large group of people, the only way for group members to integrate into, reinforce, and co-create this shared symbolic system is through a learning process. We begin to consciously and unconsciously learn our culture in our early life through the process of socialization or enculturation. Interaction with family members and friends is the most common way for us to learn about our culture. Other sources for learning our culture are schools, church, media, folk tales, and art. The process of learning our own culture will inevitably foster a phenomenon called ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism leads group members to tie themselves tightly together and to be proud of their own heritages by subjectively using their cultural standards as criteria for interpretations and judgments in intercultural communication. Third, culture is dynamic. Cultures are constantly changing over time. Some cultures are more open and accepting of change, others tend to resist it. Culture change in the process of transmission from generation to generation, group to group, and place to place. Four major mechanisms account for the change of cultures: Technological invention, disasters, cultural contract, and environmental factors. Technological invention, such as the discovery of communication and transportation tools referred to in Chapter 1, normally elicits a different set of social habits and behaviors that eventually alter the pattern of a culture. Disasters include natural and human calamities. The American Civil War and China’s Opium War brought great social and cultural changes to both societies. Likewise, the vanishing of the city of Pompeii in Italy was due to the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano. Cultural contact gives each culture a chance to borrow things from other cultures. For instance, Italian pizzas and Chinese egg rolls have become staple dishes in American, while American fast foods and pop culture have greatly changed the way Asian people live. As for
environmental factors,a notable example is that of increasing population,which has expanded the size of cities and reduced the size of farmlands.The result is that an industrial lifestyle has replaced the traditional agricultural living pattern.The change completely alters the way people initiate,maintain,and terminate interpersonal relationships. Finally,culture is pervasive.Like the ubiquitous air we breathe,culture penetrates into every aspect of our life and influences the way we think,the way we talk,and the way we behave.Culture combines visible and invisible things around us.Kohls(1984) pointed out that culture pervades all these areas:arts and artifacts,beliefs,behaviors, ceremonies,concept of self,customs,ideas and thought patterns,ideals,knowledge, laws,language,manners,morals,myths and legends,religion,rituals,social institutions,tools,and values.Culture is the sum total of human society and its meanings
environmental factors, a notable example is that of increasing population, which has expanded the size of cities and reduced the size of farmlands. The result is that an industrial lifestyle has replaced the traditional agricultural living pattern. The change completely alters the way people initiate, maintain, and terminate interpersonal relationships. Finally, culture is pervasive. Like the ubiquitous air we breathe, culture penetrates into every aspect of our life and influences the way we think, the way we talk, and the way we behave. Culture combines visible and invisible things around us. Kohls (1984) pointed out that culture pervades all these areas: arts and artifacts, beliefs, behaviors, ceremonies, concept of self, customs, ideas and thought patterns, ideals, knowledge, laws, language, manners, morals, myths and legends, religion, rituals, social institutions, tools, and values. Culture is the sum total of human society and its meanings
