Self-Orientation

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 626.

Self-orientation describes how people's identities are formed, whether the culture views the self as changeable, what motivates individual actions, and the kinds of people who are valued and respected.

A culture's self-orientation provides answers to questions such as the following:

· Do people believe they have their own unique identities that separate them from others?

· Does the self reside (находиться) in the individual or in the groups to which the individual belongs?

· What responsibilities does the individual have to others?

· What motivates people to behave as they do?

· Is it possible to respect a person who is judged "bad" in one part of life but is successful in another part of life?

For most European Americans, the emphasis on the individual self (самость, собственная личность, своё "я") is so strong and so pervasive that it is almost impossible for them to comprehend (понимать, постигать) a different point of view.

Thus, many European Americans believe that the self is located solely (исключительно) within the individual, and the individual is definitely separate from others. From a very young age, children are encouraged to make their own decisions.

Alternatively, cultures may define who people are only through their associations with others because an individual's self-definition may not be separate from that of the larger group. Consequently, there is a heightened sense of interdependence, and what happens in the group (family, work group, or social group) and happens to the person.

For example, Mary Jane Collier, Sidney Ribeau, and Michael Hecht found that Mexican Americans "place a great deal of emphasis on affiliation (принадлежность) and relational solidarity (сплоченность)"[14]. The sense of being bonded or connected to others is very important to members of this cultural group. Vietnamese Americans have a similarly strong affiliation with their families.

The significance to intercultural communication of a culture's preferences for defining the self is evident in the statement of a Latina student describing her friendship with a second-generation Italian American woman, whose family has also maintained "traditional values."

I think we are able to communicate so well because our cultural backgrounds are very similar. I have always been family-oriented and so has she. This not only allowed us to get along, but it allowed us to bring our families into our friendship. [For instance] a rule that the two of us had to live by up to this point has been that no matter how old we may get, as long as we are living at home we must ask our parents for permission to go out.

Related to self-orientation is the culture's view of whether people are changeable. Naturally, if a culture believes that people can change, it is likely to expect that human beings will strive to be "better," as the culture defines and describes what “better" means.

The source of motivation for human behavior is also part of a culture's self-orientation.

Among African Americans and European Americans, individuals are motivated to achieve external success in the form of possessions, positions, and power. Self-orientation combines with the “doing" orientation to create a set of beliefs and values that place individuals in total control of their own fate. Individuals must set their own goals and identify the means necessary to achieve them. Consequently, failure is viewed as a lack of willpower and a disinclination to give the fullest individual effort. In this cultural framework, individuals regard it as necessary to rely on themselves rather than on others.

Another distinguishing feature of the cultural definition of self is whether the members of the culture believe that people are inherently[ɪn'her(ə)ntlɪ] (по сути), bad, good, or some combination of these two.

The Chinese, for example, believe people are inherently good, and they must therefore be protected from exposure to corrupting influences. Conversely, other cultures are influenced by religious tenets ['tenɪt] (догмат) that regard humans as intrinsically [ɪn'trɪnzɪk(ə)lɪ], (по сути, по существу) bad.

A related issue is whether the culture emphasizes duties or rights. One culture that expects their members to act because it is their duty to do so is the Japanese. In contrast, for European Americans, the concept of duties and obligations to others is not as powerful a motivator.

An additional part of self-orientation is the set of characteristics of those individuals who are valued and cherished. Cultures vary in their allegiance[ə'liːʤ(ə)n(t)s] (лояльность, верность)to the old or to the young, for example. Many cultures venerate (чтить) their elders and view them as a source of wisdom and valuable life experience. Individuals in these cultures base decisions on the preferences and desires of their elders. Many Asian and Asian American cultures illustrate this preference. The value on youth typifies the European American culture, in which innovation and new ideas, rather than the wisdom of the past, are regarded as important. European Americans venerate the upstart (человек, добившийся неожиданного быстрого успеха), the innovator, and the person who tries something new.