BEING AND DOING CULTURE

Characteristics of cultural patterns

An overview of cultural patterns
1. Activity orientation
- An activity orientation defines how the people of a culture view human
actions and the expression of self through activities.
- Culture usually point the being – becoming – doing continuum
+ “Being”
 an activity orientation that values inaction and an acceptance of the status
quo.
 Ex: African-American and Greek cultures are usually regarded as "being" cultures
 Another characterization of this orientation is a willingness to believe
that all events are determined by fate and are therefore inevitable or
fatalistic.
 In cultures with a "doing" orientation, activity is evaluated by
scrutinizing a tangible product or by evaluating some observable action
directed at others. In other words, activity should have a purpose or a
goal.
 In "doing" cultures, work is seen as a separate activity from play and an
end in itself. 
+ "Becoming" orientation sees humans as evolving and changing, people are
predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means to change the world.
  + "Doing" is the dominant characteristic of Euroamericans, who rarely question
the assumption that it is important to get things done.
 In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, activity is not necessarily connected
to external products or actions; the contemplative monk or the great thinker
are examples of those who are most valued. Thus the process of striving
toward the goal is sometimes far more important than accomplishing it.
=>In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, work is a means to an end, and there
is no clear-cut separation between work and play. 
2. Social relations orientation
- Describe how the people in a culture organize themselves and relate to one
another, and answers to questions such as the following:
 To what extent are some people in the culture considered better or
superior to others?
  Can social superiority be obtained through birth, age, good deeds, or
material achievement and success?
 Are formal, ritualized interaction sequences expected?
 In what ways does the culture’s language require people to make
social distinctions?
 What responsibilities and obligations do people have to their extended
families, their neighbors, their employers or employees and others?
- Many European Americans emphasize equality and the absence of
hierarchy.
+ Equality as a value and belief is frequently expressed and is called on to
justify people's actions. The phrase "We are all human, aren't we?”
captures the essence of this cultural tenet. =>distinctions based
on age, gender, role, or occupation are discouraged.
+ Korean cultures emphasize status differences between individuals.
+ Mexican American culture celebrates status differences and formalizes
different ways of communicating with people depending on who they are
and what their social characteristics happen to be.
- One noticeable difference in social relations orientations is in the degree of
importance a culture places on formality. In cultures that emphasize
formality, people address others by appropriate titles, and highly prescriptive
rules govern the interaction. Conversely, in cultures that stress equality,
believe that human relationships develop best when those involved can be
informal with one another.
Ex: Students from other cultures who study in the United States are usually
taken aback by the seeming informality that exists between teachers and
students.
- In cultures (Japan, Korea, and China), individuals identify with only a
few distinct groups, but very strongly, and often for a lifetime.
Ex: the relationships of nuclear and extended families, friends, neighbors, work
groups, and social organizations.
- In contrast, European Americans typically belong to many groups
throughout their lifetimes, the groups may be very important for a period of
time=>easily discarded when they are no longer needed. ("Best friends"
may only be best friends for brief periods.)
- Another important way in which social relations can vary is how people
define their social roles or their place in a culture. In some cultures, the
family and the position into which a person is born determine a person's
place.(India, Japan)
- At the other extreme are cultures in which all people, regardless of
family position, can achieve success and high status.(African Americans
and Europen Americans).
Ex: For example, consider the tale of Abraham Lincoln, a poor boy who
went from a log cabin to the White House; or the books of Horatio
Alger, the nineteenth century author who wrote numerous rags-to-riches
stories of success and happiness that were achieved through hard work
and perseverance.
=>There is a common belief that people should not be restricted by the
circumstances of their birth.
- Cultural patterns can also prescribe appropriate behaviors for men and
women. In some cultures, very specific behaviors are expected; other
cultures allow more ambiguity in the expected roles of women and men.
- Cultures may emphasize indirectness, obliqueness, and ambiguity
(Eastern European cultures and Mexican Americans), or they may
emphasize directness and confrontation (European American pattern).
- A culture's social relations orientation also affects the sense of social
reciprocity that is, the underlying sense of obligation and responsibility
between people. 
3. Self-orientation : describes how people’s identities are formed, whether the
culture view the self as changeable, what motivates individual actions, and
the kinds the people who are valued and respected.
4. World orientation: tells people how to locate themselves in relation to the
spriritual world, nature, and other living things.
5. Time orientation: concerns how people conceptualize time.