Aluu!

Hi!

Cross- Salut!

Cultural
Contact with Jambo!

Americans Oi!

Group 10
 Hi!

GROUP 10
¡Hola!
1. Nguyễn Như Ngọc
2. Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Ánh
3. Nguyễn Ngọc Dung
Oi!
4. Danh Ngọc Nhung
5. Phạm Thị Kim Huyền
 MAIN POINTS
A foreign Anthropologist’s Equality and
01 Observation of Americans
04 Egalitarianism

02 American Values
05 Future Orientation

Individualism and
03 Privacy 06 Quiz
¡Hola!
01
A foreign Anthropologist’s
Observation of Americans
Presenter: Phạm Thị Kim Huyền
Anthropology (n)
Definition: the study
of the human race, its
culture and society,
and its physical
development
If one were to look at the culture from the
outside, certain observations could be made
more easily.
 American behavior:
American • Thinking
values • Acting
• Communicating
 • A “contrasting value”
• List of values Some Americans ( certain
Many American ( even ethnic groups)
a majority of Americans) People in other non-
western cultures of the world.
 Jambo!
02
American
values
Presenter: Nguyễn Ngọc Dung
AMERICAN VALUES
What are the values of this approach?

Values – the ones just described are the

backbone of American culture

Helping Americans
Americans can be
see their own cultural
more effective
values in a way most
working with
of them have never
foreigners
considered
 Control over the
environment

Change

Control over time

Equality and
American Egalitarianism
Values
Individualism and
Privacy
1. Control over the environment

● Control nature
● Determine the direction
of their lives
 The future is not left to
fate
2. Change

Change Tradition
• Seen as positive and good
• Development, improvement,
progress and growth
3. Control over time
• Time is almost important
• Schedules: planned and followed in the smallest detail
 Example: It is considered very rude to be late – even by
10 minutes
3. Control over time

Time flies Time walks

• When time passes quickly • There is no rush, take your
time
4. Equality and Egalitarianism
>< Hierarchy, rank, status
 Egalitarianism = D _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
emocracy
• Most Americans believe that
God views all humans alike
without regard to intelligence,
physical education or
economic status,...
5. Individualism
and Privacy
>< Group orientation
 Individual needs are
primary
 People need time to be
alone and to be
themselves
 Self-centered and
sometimes isolated, lonely
 Self-
help

Future
Materialism
orientation

American
Values
Directness, Action and
openness
and
work
honesty orientation

Informality
6. Self-help = Self-reliance
Birthright
Self-help
><• People are born into either
inheritance
• Americans give respect for self
wealth or poverty; they can’t
achievements not achievements
change their status in life
based on rights of birth
7. Future orientation

>< Past or present

orientation
• Americans believe that,
regardless of past or present,
the future will be better and
happier
• Almost all energy is directed
toward realizing that better
future
8. Action and work orientation

>< “Being” orientation

• Americans believe that
work is morally right; that it
is immoral to waste time
• “Don’t just stand there! Do
something!”
• Any relaxation must be
limited in time, pre-
planned
8. Action and work orientation

• “The
The workaholic
tendency in
syndrome,
America in turn,
is to see life
ascauses Americans
only work. Work to
seems to be
identify the only
themselves
type of motivation”
wholly with their
Citizen of Columbia
professions
9. Informality
Informalit
Formality
y
 First name usage  Last name usage
 In greeting:  In greeting:
10. Directness, openness >< Indirectness
and honesty and “saving face”

• One can only trust people

who “look you in the eye”
and “tell it like it is”
• People tend to tell the
"truth" and not worry about
saving the other person's
"face" or "honor"
11. Materialism >< Spiritualism

•Material goods are seen

as the just rewards of
hard-work, the evidence
of “God's favor”
•Americans are seen as
caring more for things
than people or
relationships
Ni hao!
03
Individualism
and Privacy
Presenter: Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Ánh
 The value of individualism:
 is one of the guiding
principles in American
society
 has a long political and
historical basis
 affects many aspects of
typically “ American”
behavior and attitudes
“ They are really nice and
friendly, and they take good
care of me, but I just want
some time to myself.”

Time to discuss

 What does it mean when an American say that?

 It means he appreciates others’ care that they spend on him but he
also wants to have his own time to do whatever he wants.

 Some examples to show Americans’ individualism.

Examples:
 American children leave
home and start working early

 Americans like to accept

responsibility for their
problems and attempt to
handle them on themselve.
(assertive and self-reliant)
 The value of privacy
 does not mean isolation and
loneliness
 feel the need to give people their
own privacy at times when a
person from another culture
might not feel the need
 people need time to be alone and
to be themselves
 respect individual’s needs
Examples to show Americans’
privacy
 Taboo to ask someone’s age, income
or weight
 Do not enter someone’s room
without first knocking
 Should not visit someone’s house
without calling first, even with close
friends or family
 America has individualistic culture
Time to discuss:
List a few common characteristics of
individualistic culture.
 Being dependent upon others is often considered shameful
or embarrassing
 Independence is highly valued
 Individual rights take center stage
 People tend to be self-reliant
 People often place a greater emphasis on standing out and
being unique
 Vietnam has collectivist culture
 Characteristics of people
who living in collectivist
culture:
 self-sacrificing
 dependable
 generous
 helpful to others
 Individualistic culture v.s Collectivist
culture
An individual from:
Individualistic Collectivist
society society
 describe themselves like,
 describe themselves as
“I am a good husband and
logical, satirical, and
loyal friend”
sporty
 might be more likely to
 more likely to go it alone
turn to family and friends
when they encounter the
for support during difficult
problems
times
In group-oriented societies, people respect the needs of the group before considering those
of the individual

Task
Needs

Individual Groups
Needs Needs
 Summary

Individualism and
privacy Group orietation

- Each individual is unique The individual sacrifices

 precious & wonderful >< his or her needs to those
of the group.
- Individual needs are
considered primary
 ¡Hola!
04
EQUALITY AND
EGALITARIANIS
M
Presenter: Danh Ngọc Nhung
Ni hao! Definition
Equality
A situation in which men and women,
people of different races, religions, etc.
are all treated fairly and have the same
opportunities
Kia Ora!
Egalitarianism
The doctrine that all people are equal
and deserve equal rights and
opportunities.
Present an image that everyone is equal
 Choose not to be to overly polite and
formal with a person of a higher status
Minimize status differences rather than to
emphasize them
FUTURE ORIENTATION

The past, tradition

and ritual

The future,
progress, change,
goals
 Belief in I’m the one who is
responsible for my life
personal
control over
one’s
environment
 Being
orientation

Action and work

orientation
• In Mexico: “Que será, será”
• In the Fhilippines: “Bahala na”
->“ Whatever will be, will be”
• In Vietnam: “Cha mẹ sinh con, trời
sinh tính”, "Trời xanh có mắt", "Trời
đánh còn tránh miếng ăn”...

American don’t use such

expressions nearly as often as
members of some other cultures
How to figure out the difference between
cultural behaviour and individual
behaviour ?
-> Continually changing and refining
your generalizations about American