Culture Shock SG

The ABC Model applied to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination

• Three components of attitude:

  • affective (Prejudice): how we feel about something, our initial reaction

    • emotional response people have towards a group

    • feeling fear/anger/dislike toward a particular ethnic group without personal experience

  • Behavioral (Discrimination): what we do about something, our intentions

    • can be informed by our attitude or cognition

    • if we are afraid of something (affect) we might run (behavior)

    • refusing to hire someone because of their race

  • Cognitive (Stereotypes): what we think about something

    • beliefs or thoughts about a group

• Stereotypes (cognition) fuels prejudice (affect) which may lead to discrimination (behavior)

Collectivist vs. Individualistic Cultures

• Individualistic: European/North American Countries

  • tend to describe themselves in terms of internal characteristics/traits which make them unique from others

  • people much more loosely tied to other people/groups

  • own interests over group interests

  • people function independently primarily looking after themselves & immediate family

  • competition rather than cooperation valued

  • more direct in how they express themselves

  • place a greater emphasis on explicit communication + telling it how it is, even if that may cause pain

  • self worth evaluated in terms of its independence + uniqueness

  • self esteem based on individual talent, achievement, influence, and recognition

  • much more brittle relationship with authority + law

  • less importance accorded to social cohesion

  • diversity in values, behaviors, and practices is accepted + explicitly advocated

• Collectivist: Asian/Latin Countries

  • think of themselves in terms of their affiliation with their people

  • interest of the group has priority over the needs of individuals

  • interdependent, cooperative relationships

  • tight social networks

  • direct confrontation avoided

  • sensitive to norms & situational constraints regarding behavior in groups

  • become experts at reading interpersonal messages

  • relay on indirect cues to interpret communication style + content

Berrys Model of Acculturation

• empirical method that can be used to place individuals into categories based on their answers to 2 questions:

  • Assimilation: individuals adopt the cultural norms of a dominant or host culture, over their original culture

  • separation: individuals reject the dominant or host culture in favor of preserving their culture of origin; often facilitated by immigration to ethnic enclaves

  • integration: individuals are able to adopt the cultural noms of the dominant or host culture while maintaining their culture of origin; leads to & often synonymous with biculturalism

  • marginalization: individuals reject both their culture of origin & the nominal host culture

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