Cultural Expression in

Architecture | ELC012
Lecture No. 4
Fall 2023 | Semester VII

Dr. Amna Jahangir

Ph.D. (Cardiff), M.Arch. (Sheffield), B.Arch.Hons. (Lahore)
Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, The University of Lahore.
Lecture contents
• Describing and Analyzing Culture
• Geert Hofstede (1928-2020), Cultural Dimensions Theory
• Edward T. Hall, The Hidden Dimension (1966)
• Ethnocentrism
Describing and Analyzing Culture
• Two key methods used to describe and analyze cultures.

1. The first was developed by Geert Hofstede and focuses on six key
dimensions that interpret behaviors, values, and attitudes.

2. The second method was developed by Edward T. Hall and focuses

on three main categories for how communications and interactions
between cultures differ: high-context versus low-context
communications, space, and attitudes toward time.
Geert Hofstede (1928-2020)
• Geert Hofstede (1928-2020): a Dutch social psychologist, a PhD in
organizational behavior, who did a pioneering study of cultures across
modern nations.
• Hofstede’s work established a major research tradition in cross-
cultural psychology and has also been drawn upon by researchers and
consultants in many fields.
• Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory is a framework developed by
Geert Hofstede. It shows the effects of a society’s culture on the
values of its members, and how these values relate to behaviour.
Geert Hofstede (1928-2020)
Cultural Dimensions Theory
• Hofstede developed his original model between 1967 and 1973. He came up with six
basic issues that society needs to come to term with in order to organize itself. These are
called dimensions of culture.
• The original theory proposed 4 dimensions along which the cultural values could be
analyzed. Further 2 more dimensions were added later on.
1. individualism-collectivism
2. uncertainty avoidance
3. power distance (strength of social hierarchy)
4. masculinity-femininity (task-orientation vs. person-orientation)
5. Long-term orientation
6. Indulgence vs. restraint
Cultural Dimensions Theory
1. Individualism-collectivism (IDV): This index explores the “degree to which
people in a society are integrated into groups”.

• Individualism does not mean egoism. It means that individual choices and
decisions are expected.
• Collectivism does not mean closeness. It means that one "knows one's
place" in life, which is determined socially.
• With a metaphor from physics, people in an individualistic society are more
like atoms flying around in a gas while those in collectivist societies are
more like atoms fixed in a crystal.
1. Individualism-collectivism (IDV)
• individualist cultures: the ties between individuals are loose. everyone is expected to
look after him/herself and his/her immediate family.

• collectivist cultures: people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-
groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) that continue
protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty, and oppose other ingroups.
- most of Latin American, African, and Asian countries, and the Middle East.
- Collectivists emphasize fitting in; they value a sense of belonging, harmony, and
conformity, and are more likely to exercise self-control over their words and actions
because they consider it immature or imprudent to freely express one’s thoughts,
opinions, or emotions without taking into account their impact on others.
- They care about their relationships with ingroups, often by treating them differently than
strangers or outgroup members, which is also known as particularism.
1. Individualism-collectivism (IDV)
1. Individualism-collectivism (IDV)
Cultural Dimensions Theory
2. Uncertainty avoidance (UAI): The uncertainty avoidance index is
defined as “a society’s tolerance for ambiguity”, in which people
embrace or avert an event of something unexpected, unknown, or
away from the status quo.
• Uncertainty Avoidance is not the same as risk avoidance; it deals with
a society's tolerance for ambiguity. It indicates to what extent a
culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or
comfortable in unstructured situations that are novel, unknown,
surprising, and different from usual.
2. Uncertainty avoidance (UAI)
• high uncertainty avoidance cultures: people tend to have greater need for formal rules,
standards, and structures.
- many Latin American cultures, Mediterranean cultures, and some European like German, Poland,
and Asian cultures like Japan, Pakistan.
- Deviation from these rules and standards is considered disruptive and undesirable.
- Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict behavioral
codes, laws and rules, disapproval of deviant opinions, and a belief in absolute Truth; “there can
only be one Truth and we have it.”

• low uncertainty avoidance cultures: people are more comfortable with unstructured situations.
- China, Jamaica, and the United Kingdom.
- Uncertainty and ambiguity are considered natural and necessary. They value creativity and
individual choice, and are free to take risks.
2. Uncertainty avoidance (UAI)
2. Uncertainty avoidance (UAI)
Cultural Dimensions Theory
3. Power distance index (PDI): it is defined as “the extent to which the less
powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept
and expect that power is distributed unequally”.
• This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not
from above.
• It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers
as much as by the leaders.
• Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any
society. All societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others.
3. Power distance index (PDI)
• This dimension is thought to date from the advent of agriculture, and
with it, of large-scale societies.
• Until that time, a person would know their group members and
leaders personally.
• Without acceptance of leadership by powerful entities, none of
today's societies could run.
3. Power distance index (PDI)
• high power distance societies: (many Latin American countries, most of African
and Asian counties, and most Mediterranean counties), people generally accept:
- Power as an integral part of the society.
- Hierarchy and power inequality are considered appropriate and beneficial.
- The superiors are expected to care for the subordinates, and in exchange, the
subordinates owe obedience, loyalty, and deference to them. The superiors take
precedence in seating, eating, walking, and speaking, whereas the subordinates
must wait and follow them to show proper respect.
- The subordinates refrain from freely expressing their thoughts, opinions, and
emotions.
- Most high power distance societies are also collectivistic societies, aside from a
few exceptions such as France.
3. Power distance index (PDI)
• low power distance countries: (Israel, Denmark, and Ireland), people
value:
- equality and seek to minimize or eliminate various kinds of social and
class inequalities.
- They value democracy, and the subordinates are free to question or
challenge authority.
- Most low power distance cultures are also individualistic societies.
3. Power distance index (PDI)
3. Power distance index (PDI):
Cultural Dimensions Theory
4. Masculinity-femininity (MAS): in this dimension, masculinity is defined as
“a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and
material rewards for success”. Its counterpart, femininity, represents “a
preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life”.
• In a masculine society, men are supposed to be tough. Men are supposed
to be from Mars, women from Venus. Winning is important for both
genders. Quantity is important and big is beautiful.
• In a feminine society, the genders are emotionally closer. Competing is not
so openly endorsed, and there is sympathy for the underdog.
4. Masculinity-femininity (MAS)
• Masculinity versus Femininity, as a societal, not as an individual characteristic, refers
to the distribution of values between the genders.
• The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole
'feminine’.
• The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men;
in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as
much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and
women's values.
• In masculine cultures, there is often a taboo around this dimension (Hofstede et al.,
1998).
4. Masculinity-femininity (MAS)
• masculine cultures, (Mexico, Italy, Japan, and Australia):
- tough values – such as achievements, ambition, power, and assertiveness – are preferred over
tender values – such as quality of life and compassion for the weak.
- gender roles are generally distinct and complementary: men are expected to be assertive, tough,
and focus on material success, whereas women are expected to be modest and tender, and focus
on improving the quality of life for the family.

• feminine cultures, (most of Scandinavian cultures):

- genders roles are fluid and flexible: Men and women do not necessarily have separate roles, and
they can switch their jobs while taking care of the family.
- Not only do feminine societies care more about quality of life, service, and nurturance, but such
tender values are embraced by both men and women in the society.
4. Masculinity-femininity (MAS)
4. Masculinity-femininity (MAS)
Cultural Dimensions Theory
5. Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation (LTO): This
dimension associates the connection of the past with the current and
future actions/challenges.

• A poor country that is short-term oriented usually has little to no

economic development, while long-term oriented countries continue to
develop to a level of prosperity.
5. Long-term orientation vs. short-term
orientation (LTO)
• long-time-oriented culture: the basic notion about the world is that it is in flux, and preparing for
the future is always needed.
- most East Asian societies
- embrace future-oriented virtues such as thrift, persistence, and perseverance, ordering
relationships by status.

• short-time-oriented culture: the world is essentially as it was created, so that the past provides a
moral compass, and adhering to it is morally good. As you can imagine, this dimension predicts
life philosophies, religiosity, and educational achievement.
- Countries with a short-term orientation include Norway, the United Kingdom, and Kenya.
- foster more present- or past-oriented virtues such as personal steadiness and stability, respect for
tradition, and reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts.
5. Long-term orientation vs. short-term
orientation (LTO)
5. Long-term orientation vs. short-term
orientation (LTO)
Cultural Dimensions Theory
6. Indulgence vs. restraint (IND): This dimension refers to the degree of
freedom that societal norms give to citizens in fulfilling their human
desires.

• Indulgence is defined as “a society that allows relatively free

gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying
life and having fun”.
• Its counterpart is defined as “a society that controls gratification of
needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms”.
6. Indulgence vs. restraint (IND)
• indulgent culture: it is good to be free.
- Doing what your impulses want you to do, is good.
- Friends are important and life makes sense.
- Indulgence tends to prevail in South and North America, in Western Europe and
in parts of Sub-Sahara Africa.

• restrained culture: the feeling is that life is hard, and duty, not freedom, is the
normal state of being.
- Restraint prevails in Eastern Europe, in Asia and in the Muslim world.

• Mediterranean Europe takes a middle position on this dimension.

6. Indulgence vs. restraint ( IND )
6. Indulgence vs. restraint (IND)
Edward T. Hall
• Anthropologist, born in Missouri in 1914.
• Lifelong research on cultural perceptions of space.
• believe that basic difference in the way that members of different cultures perceived
reality were responsible for miscommunications of the most fundamental kind.
• Along with his wife, Mildred Reed Hall, published numerous books on cross-cultural
communication.
• Hall is best noted for three principal categories that analyze and interpret how
communications and interactions between cultures differ:
1. context
2. space, OR proxemics and
3. time.
1.Context
1. High Context Cultures
2. Low Context Cultures

• High and low context refers to how a message is communicated.

High-Context Cultures
• found in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
• the physical context of the message carries a great deal of importance.
• People tend to be more indirect and to expect the person they are
communicating with to decode the implicit part of their message.
• While the person sending the message takes painstaking care in crafting the
message, the person receiving the message is expected to read it within context.
• The message may lack verbal directness you expect in a low-context culture.
• body language is as important and sometimes more important than the actual
words spoken.
Low-Context Cultures
• the United States and most Northern European countries.
• people tend to be explicit and direct in their communications.
• Satisfying individual needs is important.
• You’re probably familiar with some well-known low-context mottos:
“Say what you mean” and “Don’t beat around the bush.”
• The guiding principle is to minimize the margins of misunderstanding
or doubt.
• Low-context communication aspires to get straight to the point.
1.Context
• Communication between people from high-context and low-context
cultures can be confusing.
• In business interactions, people from low-context cultures tend to
listen only to the words spoken; they tend not to be cognizant of body
language.
• As a result, people often miss important clues that could tell them
more about the specific issue.
2.Space/proxemics
• Hall is most associated with proxemics: the study of the human use of space
within the context of culture.
• In the book The Hidden Dimension, Hall developed his theory of proxemics
arguing that human perception of space, although derived from sensory
apparatus that all human share, are molded and patterned by culture.
• He argued that differing cultural frameworks for defining and organizing space,
which are internalized in all people at an unconscious level, can lead to serious
failures of communication and understanding in cross-cultural settings.
• This book analyzed both the personal spaces that people form around their
bodies as well as the macro-level sensibilities that shape cultural expectations
about how streets, neighborhoods, and cities should be properly organized.
2.Space/proxemics
• Space refers to the study of physical space and people. Hall called this
the study of proxemics, which focuses on space and distance
between people as they interact.
• Standing distances shrink and expand across cultures.
• In cultures that have a low need for territory, people not only tend to
stand closer together but also are more willing to share their space—
whether it be a workplace, an office, a seat on a train, or even
ownership of a business project.
The Hidden Dimension (1966)
The Hidden Dimension (1966)
• Hall’s most famous innovation has to do with the definition of the informal, or personal
spaces that surround individuals:
1. Intimate space – the closest “bubble” of space surrounding a person. Entry into this
space is acceptable only for the closest friends and intimates. ( zero to 2 feet)
2. Personal Space – used for talking with family and friends. (2 to 4 feet)
3. Social and consultative spaces – the spaces in which people feel comfortable
conducting routine social interactions with acquaintances as well as strangers. (4 to 12
feet)
4. Public space – the area of space beyond which people perceive interactions as
impersonal and relatively anonymous. Space that characterizes how close we sit or
stand. (about 12 to 25 feet)
The Hidden Dimension (1966)
• Cultural expectations about these spaces vary widely.
• In the United States, for instance, people engaged in conversation will
assume a social distance of roughly 4-7 feet.
• But in many parts of Europe, the expected social distance is roughly
half of that. This results in Americans often experiencing the urgent
need to back away from a conversation partner who seems to be
getting too close.
3.Time
• Hall identified that time is another important concept greatly influenced by
culture.
• Attitudes toward Time results in two types of cultures:
1. Polychronic Cultures
2. Monochronic Cultures

• In polychronic cultures—polychronic literally means “many times”—people

can do several things at the same time.
• In monochronic cultures, or “one-time” cultures, people tend to do one
task at a time.
3.Time
• Monochronic Cultures:
- Northern Europe and North America.
- People, in monochronic cultures, tend to schedule one event at a time.
- For them, an appointment that starts at 8 a.m. is an appointment that starts at 8
a.m.—or 8:05 at the latest.
- People are expected to arrive on time, whether for a board meeting or a family
picnic.
- Time is a means of imposing order.
- Often the meeting has a firm end time as well, and even if the agenda is not
finished, it’s not unusual to end the meeting and finish the agenda at another
scheduled meeting.
3.Time
• Polychronic cultures:
- Latin America, the Mediterranean, or the Middle East time is considered,
but people and relationships matter more.
- Finishing a task may also matter more.
- living with relaxed timetables.
- People might attend to three things at once and think nothing of it.
- they may cluster informally, rather than arrange themselves in a queue.
- In polychronic cultures, it’s not considered an insult to walk into a meeting
or a party well past the appointed hour.
3.Time
• In polychronic cultures, people regard work as part of a larger
interaction with a community. If an agenda is not complete, people in
polychronic cultures are less likely to simply end the meeting and are
more likely to continue to finish the business at hand.
• Those who prefer monochronic order may find polychronic order
frustrating and hard to manage effectively.
• Those raised with a polychronic sensibility, on the other hand, might
resent the “tyranny of the clock” and prefer to be focused on
completing the tasks at hand.
Ethnocentrism
• Ethnocentrism is the view that a person’s own culture is central and
other cultures are measured in relation to it.

• It’s akin to a person thinking that their culture is the “sun” around
which all other cultures revolve.
• In its worst form, it can create a false sense of superiority of one
culture over others.
Ethnocentrism
• Human nature is such that we see the world through our own cultural
shades.
• Tucked in between the lines of our cultural laws is an unconscious
bias that inhibits us from viewing other cultures objectively.
• Our judgments of people from other cultures will always be colored
by the frame of reference in which we have been raised.
Ethnocentrism
• The challenge occurs when we feel that our cultural habits, values,
and perceptions are superior to other people’s values.
• This can have a dramatic impact on our business relations.
• Your best defense against ethnocentric behavior is to make a point of
seeing things from the perspective of the other person.
• As much as possible, leave your own frame of reference at home.
• Sort out what makes you and the other person different—and what
makes you similar.