Concept of the method
2. CULTURE AND ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Culture includes language, knowledge, belief, arts, clothes, food, dance, music, sports, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by individual as a member of society. Culture shared and transmitted from one generation to the next, it is something that organizes life and helps interpret existence. Culture is a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, norms and social practices, which affect the behaviours of a relatively large group of people.
Geert Hofstede, an international authority on cross-cultural social psychology, says “every person carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feelings and potential acting, which were learned throughout their lifetime”.[1] He defines culture as the software of the mind.
Culture includes ideas, behaviours, art, literature, folklore, music customs, habits, dress, food and leisure. Some of them that we can see, belong to the top of the iceberg, while others belong to the invisible part that is under water. An important aspect to culture is the basic assumptions and values that prescribe the thinking and the motivation behind every interaction.
When we know our own culture and the impact that it has to our mode of thinking, we can have more effective communication with others.
Some people have the tendency to compare and judge other cultures using the standards of their cultures and believe that they are superior to others. (Ethnocentrism)
In order to understand other cultures, we need to understand our own and how this differs from others.