16. Racial and ethnic identity

racial and ethnic disparities in the health of older Americans is strongly influenced by the methods of collecting data on race and ethnicity. At one level there is a good deal of consistency in data collection. Most Americans and most researchers have in mind a general categorical scheme that includes whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and American Indians. Most Americans and nearly all researchers are also aware that these general categories disguise significant heterogeneity within each of these major groups. To the extent possible, recent research has attempted to identify and compare subgroups within each of the major racial and ethnic groups, making distinctions by country of origin, nativity, and generation within the United States. Most researchers generally agree that these categories are primarily social constructions that have changed and will continue to change over time.

Passing (racial identity)

Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group also accepted as a member of a different racial group. The term was used especially in the U.S. to describe a person of mixed-race heritage assimilating into the white majority during times when legal and social conventions of hypodescent classified the person as a minority, subject to racial segregation and discrimination.

ETHNIC IDENTITY:

The extent to which one identifies with a particular ethnic group(s). Refers to one’s sense of belonging to an ethnic group and the part of one’s thinking, perceptions, feelings, and behavior that is due to ethnic group membership. The ethnic group tends to be one in which the individual claims heritage (Phinney, 1996). Ethnic identity is separate from one’s personal identity as an individual, although the two may reciprocally influence each other. 4 major components of ethnic identity:

 

·        Ethnic awareness (understanding of one’s own and other groups)

·        Ethnic self-identification (label used for one’s own group)

·        Ethnic attitudes (feelings about own and other groups)

·        Ethnic behaviors (behavior patterns specific to an ethnic group)

17. Cultural markers

A cultural marker may be considered something very specific that distinguishes one culture from another. It is an identifying item and may include something physical, a practice or tradition, concept, a specific person, happening or landmark. Sometimes people are considered cultural markers as well as unique types of food.

Cultural markers are events or facets of our society that illustrate or reveal cultural or societal norms, and shifts in those norms. 

18. Culture clash

culture clash is when two or more cultures disagree about there believe or way of life Culture clash is the misunderstandings, and disagreements between different cultures. Culture is learned. The clash is the unlearning and relearning of new cultures.

Cultural conflict is a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and beliefs clash. It has been used to explain violence and crime.

Jonathan H. Turner defines it as a conflict caused by "differences in cultural values and beliefs that place people at odds with one another".^[1] On a micro level, Alexander Grewe discusses a cultural conflict between guests of different culture and nationality as seen in a British 1970 sitcom, Fawlty Towers.^[2] He defines this conflict as one that occurs when people expectations of a certain behavior coming from their cultural backgrounds are not met, as others have different cultural backgrounds and different expectations.

Cultural conflicts are difficult to resolve as parties to the conflict have different beliefs.Cultural conflicts intensify when those differences become reflected in politics, particularly on a macro level. An example of cultural conflict is the debate over abortion. Ethnic cleansing is another extreme example of cultural conflict.^[4] Wars can also be a result of a cultural conflict; for example the differing views on slavery were one of the reasons for the American civil war.

Here are some examples of cultural clashes. In the 1960's, young people from the 'hippie' culture began running afoul of what they called the 'Establishment'. Their subculture was based on relationships rather than law. This caused clashes that actually became riots. Another example occurs when different ethnic groups begin moving into neighborhoods that have been traditionally made up of some other group. Major cultural clashes occurred when European countries began making inroads in Africa and Asia during the 18th and 19th centuries. Any time cultural attitudes begin to shift, there are likely to be conflicts.

19. Cultures are typically divided into two categories: collectivist and individualist. Individualist cultures, such as those of the United States and Western Europe, emphasize personal achievement regardless of the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires.

Collectivism and individualism deeply pervade cultures. People simply take their culture's stance for granted. In the U.S., everything from 'self-serve' buffet tables to corporate structure to cowboy movies to payment card rules reflect the deeply ingrained individualism.

Both collectivist and individualistic cultures have their failings. People in individualist cultures are susceptible to loneliness, and people in collectivist cultures can have a strong fear of rejection. Elders who instill collectivist rejection rules in youngsters are often rejected by foreign direct investment from individualist capital.

Traits of Collectivism Edit

Each person is encouraged to be an active player in society, to do what is best for society as a whole rather than themselves.

The rights of families, communities, and the collective supersede those of the individual.

Rules promote unity, brotherhood, and selflessness.

Working with others and cooperating is the norm; everyone supports each other.

as a community, family or nation more than as an individual.

Traits of Individualism Edit

"I" identity.

Promotes individual goals, initiative and achievement.

Individual rights are seen as being the most important. Rules attempt to ensure self-importance and individualism.

Independence is valued; there is much less of a drive to help other citizens or communities than in collectivism.

Relying or being dependent on others is frequently seen as shameful.

People are encouraged to do things on their own; to rely on themselves

Examples of Countries with Generally Collectivistic Cultures  Edit

Argentina

Armenia

Belarus

Brazil

Bulgaria

China

El Salvador

Egypt

Greece

India

Indonesia

Japan

Korea

Lebanon

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Ukraine

Saudi Arabia

Serbia

Singapore

Taiwan

Turkey

Malaysia

African countries (Zambia, Kenya, uganda, Somalia, etc)

Israel

Examples of Countries with Generally Individualistic Cultures  Edit

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

Canada

Australia

United Kingdom

Italy

France

Ireland

Poland - younger postcommunist generations and bigger cities

Czech Republic

Finland

Estonia

Hungary

United States

The Netherlands

Belgium

Luxembourg

South Africa

Attribution is the process of understanding the actions of others based on limited information. Since the process is inexact, large errors often creep in. In individualistic cultures, there is a strong bias towards attributing a person's behavior to the characteristics of that person, instead of to the situation that person is in. This is called the fundamental attribution error. People in collectivist cultures have this bias to a much lesser degree.

Personality Types  Edit

The stereotype of a 'good person' in collectivist cultures is trustworthy, honest, generous, and sensitive, all characteristics that are helpful to people working in groups. In contrast, a 'good person' in individualist cultures is more assertive and strong, characteristics helpful for competing.

The idea of the 'artistic type' or 'bohemian' is not usually found in collectivist cultures. However, collectivist cultures usually have a 'community man' concept not present in individualist cultures.

Collectivism and individualism in Chinese culture Edit

In Chinese society, collectivism has a long tradition based on Confucianism, where being a 'community man' ([qúntǐ de fènzǐ) (群体的分子) or someone with a 'social personality' (shèhuì de réngé) (社会的人格) is valued. Additionally, there is the [shìgu (世故) personality type, who is worldly and committed to family.

Individualist thinking in China was formed by Lao Zi and Taoism. He taught that individual happiness is the basis of a good society and saw the state, with its "laws and regulations more numerous than the hairs of an ox," as the persistent oppressor of the individual, "more to be feared than fierce tigers." He was an opponent of taxation and war, and his students and the tradition that followed him were consistently individualistic.

20 Intercultural communication refers to the process of symbolic interaction involving individuals of groups who posessed, recognized cu1turall differences in perception and behaviour that will segnificantly affect the manner, the form and the outcome of the encoder.

Components of intercultural communication:

1. Commuпicative codes

а) verbal code - language;

b) nоn - verbal code

Individuals gather, give and receive information through language. Language is the most obvious difficulty in intercultural communiсаtiоn. As language has developed in the context of а particular culture ofnecessity, it reflects that culture.

World view. It is considered to bе one of the most important cognitive mechanisms influencing communication. World view is the representation of the intemal view of an individual or а group which is organized according to cultural preconceptions reflecting basic values, believes & attitudes.

Role relatioпship. It provides insights into the ways а culture maintains social order & control among its members. Role relationships are organized according to age, sex, gender, social status, kingship, power, wealth, knowledge & experience.

Thought patteтiпg. It refers to the processing of data from impressions & experiences in one's daily life. It involves encoding & decoding information. Thought patterning indicates how individuals form fundamental concepts, organized ideas & dеfшеs sources of knowledge. We distinguish:

а) Analytical way of thinking - mostly in West countries;

Ь) Intuitive way of thinking - mostly in East countries

с) Holistic (mixed way of thinking: analytical + intuitive) - for example, in Japan

5. Coпtext.

а) high context (east countries)

b) law context ( west countries)

21. Intrapersonal communication is language use or thought internal to the communicator. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.

Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or more individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of intrapersonal communication made some argue that this definition is too narrow.

In Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry, Jurgen Ruesch and Gregory Bateson argue that intrapersonal communication is indeed a special case of interpersonal communication, as "dialogue is the foundation for all discourse."

Intrapersonal communication can encompass:

Speaking aloud (talking to oneself), reading aloud, repeating what one hears; the additional activities of speaking and hearing (in the third case of hearing again) what one thinks, reads or hears may increase concentration and retention. This is considered normal, and the extent to which it occurs varies from person to person. The time when there should be concern is when talking to oneself occurs outside of socially acceptable situations.^[1]

Internal monologue, the semi-constant internal monologue one has with oneself at a conscious or semi-conscious level.

Writing (by hand, or with a word processor, etc.) one's thoughts or observations: the additional activities, on top of thinking, of writing and reading back may again increase self-understanding ("How do I know what I mean until I see what I say?") and concentration. It aids ordering one's thoughts; in addition it produces a record that can be used later again. Copying text to aid memorizing, and note taking also falls in this category.

Writing need not be limited to words in a natural or even formal language. Doodling also falls into this category. Children may be communicating intrapersonally when they doodle and adults sometimes argue that they do...

Making gestures while thinking: the additional activity, on top of thinking, of body motions, may again increase concentration, assist in problem solving, and assist memory.

Again, routinely observed in children, the equivalent of doodling without writing. Everyday images are transformed by gestures that form a new lens through which to view the images.

Sense-making (see Karl Weick) e.g. interpreting maps, texts, signs, and symbols

Interpreting non-verbal communication (see Albert Mehrabian) e.g. gestures, eye contact

Communication between body parts; e.g. "My stomach is telling me it's time for lunch."

Interpersonal communication is exchange of information between two or more people. It is also an area of study. Related skills are learned and can be improved. During interpersonal communication there is message sending and message receiving. This can be conducted using both direct and indirect methods. Successful interpersonal communication is when the message senders and the message receivers understand the message.

Context refers to the conditions that precede or surround the communication. It consists of present or past events from which the meaning of the messages is derived, though it may also, in the case of written communications, depend upon the statements preceding and following the quotation in question. Immediate surrounding may also color the perceived meaning of words; normally safe discourse may easily become contextually ambiguous or offensive in restrooms or shower halls. These influences do not constitute the message by themselves, but rather these extraneous nuances subtly change the message's effective meaning. Ultimately, context includes the entire world, but usually refers to salient factors such as the following:

Physical milieu

the season or weather, current physical location and environment

Situational milieu

classroom, military conflict, supermarket checkout

Cultural and linguistic backgrounds

Developmental progress (maturity) or emotional state

Complementary or contrasting roles

boss and employee; teacher and student; parent, child, and spouse; friend or enemy; partner or competitor

Theories[edit]

Uncertainty reduction theory[edit]

Main article: Uncertainty reduction theory

Uncertainty reduction theory comes from the sociopsychological perspective. It addresses the basic process of how we gain knowledge about other people. According to the theory people have difficulty with uncertainty, they want to be able to predict behavior and therefore they are motivated to seek more information about people.^[1]

The theory argues that strangers, upon meeting, go through certain steps and checkpoints in order to reduce uncertainty about each other and form an idea of whether one likes or dislikes the other. As we communicate we are making plans to accomplish our goals. At highly uncertain moments we become more vigilant and rely more on data available in the situation. When we are less certain we lose confidence in our own plans and make contingency plans. The theory also says that higher levels of uncertainty create distance between people and that non-verbal expressiveness tends to help reduce uncertainty.^[2]

Constructs include level of uncertainty, nature of the relationship and ways to reduce uncertainty. Underlying assumptions include that an individual will cognitively process the existence of uncertainty and take steps to reduce it. The boundary conditions for this theory are that there must be some kind of outside social situation trigger and internal cognitive process.

According to the theory we reduce uncertainty in three ways:

Passive strategies: observing the person.

Active strategies: asking others about the person or looking up info.

Interactive strategies: asking questions, self-disclosure.