In this article culture is explained as it relates to the scale of individualism and collectivism. I really enjoyed this article because it not only corresponded with my language learning and cultural understanding of my target language, but it also corresponded with some of my other classes, such as sociology and anthropology. Now in this article collectivism and individualism are explained as being the two poles--or extremes--at the end of the scale, and most culture fall in between them. The individualistic culture focuses more on the identity, needs and subsistence of the self, while the collectivistic culture focuses on those of the primary or immediate group, such as one's family, or a group one is greatly invested in. I've learned through this article and my other courses how important it is to look at all aspects of a culture, and not label them using a general term. most cultures fall somewhere between the two ends of this scale meaning that they adopt a subtle mixture of both collectivistic and individualistic ideals. This attitude translates to a few other aspects talked about in this article. Monochronic and polychronic ideas, internal versus external beliefs, and direct and indirect communication.
This article talks about how different people and different cultures relate monochronic and polychronic perceptions of time, external and internal views on the locus of control, and directness or indirectness of communication in a culture. In this article each one of these aspects is tied largely to either the idea of an individualistic culture, or that of a collectivistic culture. However, when you think about how most cultures fall in between these two definitions, you also have to think that as it relate to these other cultural and communicative factors, cultures must adopt a majority of their practice from one idea, yet traces of its opposite must likely be evident in small parts of each culture.
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