Summary
Different people have different personal identities due to the different in their culture. Personal identities generally span between the extreme ranges of collectivism or individualism. Since no culture will be neither purely collectivist nor individualist, all culture will have a combination of both with some might lean towards one extreme over the other. Individualism generally includes people who are more likely to be primarily self-oriented and less altruistic. Individualists value independence and are self-reliance and are often distance from others psychologically and emotionally. On the other hand, collectivism refers to group-oriented individuals. Collectivists often identify with a group rather individually. They are more altruistic and likely to form emotional and psychological bonds with people within their group.
All cultures have some kind of nonverbal behaviors. Nonverbal behaviors are sorted into 3 categories:
- Behaviors that share the same meaning among many cultures
- Behaviors that does not share the same meaning among culture
- Behaviors that have meaning in one culture but no meaning in another
Another way that cultures differ is in how people conceive time. Monochronic refers to the idea that time is limited and therefore valuable – monochronic cultures often make use of schedules and deadlines as to not waste valuable time. Polychronic, on the other hand, refers to the idea that time is not quite limited nor valuable and therefore things like deadlines and schedule can be easily changed.
The concept of internal or external forces’ control on humans also varies among culture. Internal cultures are more likely to believe that there are few things than are outside of one’s influence. However, external cultures tend to believe that the individual don’t really have much control of their own life and some things are often unchangeable.
Direct and indirect communication also varies among culture. Indirect people tend to suggest and imply more than direct confrontations. Indirect cultures are often collectivists where harmony among individuals are important to the group as a whole. Additionally, collectivist cultures are often in agreement with each other and their share experienced allow them to communicate without spelling everything. On the other hand, direct cultures are less collectivist, meaning there is less understanding among the people. As a result, clear communication is necessary in order to get one’s message across.
I strongly agree with these assessments and finds no problem within the assessments. According to Hofstede-insights, Vietnam is not an individualistic society. That I wholly agree with. I personally find that most Vietnamese people tend to stick in small groups, often family oriented and strong individualism is often shunned. We tend to be less direct with the way we talk as to not step on each other’s toes and cause conflicts within the group. We behave in ways that puzzles other people; for example, my non-Vietnamese friends often asks why my mother is constantly ‘angry’ at me due to her wild body movements and loud voice that seems aggressive. However, for me, things like wild body movements and loud voices don’t necessary equate to aggressiveness, they’re just how my mother and the people in my family communicates.
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