UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

ANTHROPOLOGY

ACTIVITY III

Write your thoughts about these:

When have you experienced cultural differences? Think about a setting in which you have
worked/interacted with different people from a range of backgrounds. These differing backgrounds may
have been about nationality but also about social class difference, religion difference, or about other
features, such as ethnicity. How did cultural differences and differing ways of doing things according to
culture become visible? List some of these.

I think I have experienced cultural differences among my relatives on my mother’s side and
father’s side. When we visit our relatives on my mother side, I tend to be loud because everyone is loud.
We usually have large gatherings doing karaoke, telling stories while drinking, doing dances as if we are
in a party and everyone is just being noisy and having fun. On my father’s side, we usually just sit, eat,
and talk calmly so, I am often quiet when we visit them. On top of this, me and my cousins on my
mother’s side sometimes do forbidden stuff like going out with our motorcycles late at night or just hang
out till midnight while with my cousins on my father’s side, we often just talk and laugh calmy, making
sure that we are being respectful and are not making too much noise. The way my dad’s family was
raised very differently with how my mom’s family was raised and their customs, despite of being in the
same province, are quite different. Even with the differences though, I still have fun both ways. It is quite
cool since I kind of experience the best of both worlds. I could be somewhat rebel with my cousins on
my mom’s side and I could be calm with my dad’s side.

ASSESSMENT III
Essay: Answer the following questions briefly.

Differences are influenced by where people live, socioeconomic backgrounds, levels of education,
religion, and individual lived experiences. These factors influence how people view and read their world
(Gee, 1996; Vygotsky, 1986). Diversity exists within any cultural group. And it is common that people
make generalizations based on unexamined assumptions and perceptions that can sustain stereotypes.
Why is generalization dangerous and how do you avoid it?

Generalization is the conclusion we expect to have when we run into a certain culture. It is what
we predict whenever we encounter people, their act, or other stereotypes. Generalization is dangerous
because people tend to discriminate unintentionally or accidentally. Aside from this, people seem to be
reluctant of accepting new or factual information so generalizing and stereotypes travels to the next
generation. To avoid generalization, I think we must always look for factual information rather than
believing everything that is said specially on the internet. So that when we encounter people of different
culture, we don’t draw conclusions or judge them. Also, when talking to others, we must be precise in
what we say, and we must not judge them for their visual.