One could define culture as a set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a group of individuals that is usually communicated from one generation to another. Attitudes can include religious beliefs, superstitions, and stereotypes. Behaviors include a wide variety of norms, practices, as well as fashions. A symbol may take the form of a building or even a more material objectt (Allaire) People tend to attach specific meanings to symbols that can be passed down from one generation to the next. Cultures can have both implicit and explicit characteristics that describe themselves Explicit characteristics are an observable act that is commonly found within a culture. However, implicit characteristics refer to certain principles that are not always obvious or blatant like explicit characteristics. (Allaire) A culture that I am familiar with is in the United States, specifically the southern states.
Many people here are very comfortable with working in the high heat Many times driving through small towns it is common to see children playing with limited clothing on as well as not wearing any shoes. This can have a lot to do with the fact that many individuals face a financial struggle in the south While many people tend work on farms, where it is hot and dirty, clothing can become optional quicker than in many other careers. An implicit characteristic of the culture to the south is the accents that many refer to as a “southern draw”. Where the ending of particular words seems to be slowly drawn out without notice. Others will say that individuals in the south tend to speak at a slower rate than those that grew up in other regions of the United States, This slow rate of speech lets many foreigners conclude that this must be linked to a lack of intelligence, which it is not.
Education can vary from state to state within the US, however, many states in the south do not rank low in terms of academia. Intelligence can be a deciding factor in cultures that have ranked poorly in regard to academics. While there is not the definite definition of Intelligence many will attempt to define it as one’s own ability to learn, which would not be incorrect. However, one could also say it is the total set of mental capabilities. Psychologist, Sternberg, seeks to explain a relationship between intelligence in standardized test scores to actual intelligent behaviori (Wechsler) From Sternberg‘s perspective he sums up that intelligence is a mental process that could possibly result in a particular behavioral response (Wechsler) Many individuals may share some common understandings about what intelligence may be because the underlying psychological mechanisms of intelligence are generally quite similar across cultures Among these specific processes is the ability to comprehend a problem, identify its type, prepare the solution, locate resources to solve the problem, manage the process of solution, and evaluate the outcome of the solution to the problem.
This can definitely be key in understanding of intelligent behavior, the specific content in which it happens, can be determined by the specific environment in which the individual lives. While this can definitely vary from culture to culture as well, one culture may view something as intelligent while others can find it odd or even insulting In India it is very common to haggle prices down to the actual price in many shops while shopping in the U.S., the price is set firm by the owner, not up for negotiation. Some may view haggling shop owners as getting a “deal” while in the US, it can be viewed as someone being rude or cheap, Many people view the southern states in the United States as Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee. However, many people would not guess that Delaware and North Carolina are technically southern states in regards to US. Census.
The culture can even be affected by the location within the state, such as Florida The northern part of Florida has a culture similar to the southern states, while the southern part of Florida culture matches those of northern states, Some things in this world are bifurcated into two mutually exclusive or opposite categories. These types of situations are referred to as dichotomous variables. Examples from the book include a light switch either being in the ON position or the OFF position or that a woman is either pregnant or not pregnant. An original example would include that a baby is born in the United States or it is not, with respect to babies born during air travel the baby takes citizenship from where it first lands. Another example would be when a person is taking a test, you will either pass or you will not pass the test depending on the grade you receive. If there are more than two options, like that on a light switch that dirns the light instead of it being on or off, it is referred to as a continuous variable. By contrast, this could have an infinite number of “points” lying in between the two variables, whereas dichotomous would only present the two variables.
For instance, your car can not only just go 5 miles per hour, it can go 6 or even 25 miles per hour. (Muthén) One major predicament we encounter is the confusion of these two types of variables Individuals tend to have a natural tendency to dichotomize variables that should be favored towards continuous. In particular, many times as people we presumably put things into two discrete types, focusing on whether it is in the left category or the right category, rather than letting it settle on a continuum, Many times using continuous variables would actually be more accurate, then in turn tend to have meaningful representations of why we categorize things to begin with. We can even falsely dichotomize concepts by assuming that they must have a polar opposite, when in fact, some things may not be either one or the other. Allaire, Yr, & Firsirotu, Mr E (1984) Theories of organizational culture Organization studies.
