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A cultural divide is "a boundary in society that separates communities whose social economic structures, opportunities for success, conventions, styles, are so different that they have substantially different psychologies". A cultural divide is the virtual barrier caused by cultural differences, that hinder interactions, and harmonious exchange between people of different cultures. For example, avoiding eye contact with a superior shows deference and respect in East Asian cultures, but can be interpreted as suspicious behavior in Western cultures. Studies on cultural divide usually focus on identifying and bridging the cultural divide at different levels of society.


Significance

A cultural divide can have significant impact on international operations on global organizations that require communication between people from different cultures. Commonly, ignorance of the cultural differences such as social norms and taboos may lead to communication failure within the organization. Sufficiently large cultural divides may also discourage groups from seeking to understand the other party's point of view, as differences between the groups are seen as immutable. Such gaps may in turn inhibit efforts made to reach a consensus between these groups.


Factors and causes


Internal

Internal causes of Cultural Divide refer to causes based on innate or personal characteristics of an individual, such as a personal way of thinking, an internal mental structure or habit that influences how a person acts.


Ideological differences

Rules, norms and way of thinking are often inculcated from a young age and these help to shape a person's mindset and their thinking style, which will explain how two different cultural groups can view the same thing very differently. For example, Western cultures with their history of Judeo-Christian belief in the individual soul and focus on the pursuit of individual rights tend to adopt an individualistic mindset whereas East Asian cultures with a history of teachings based on Confucianism tend to view the individual as a relation to the larger community and hence develop a more collectivist mindset. Hence, it is more common for people in collectivist cultures to make an external attribution while people in individualistic cultures making an internal attribution. Thus, these differences can cause how people, situations or objects are perceived differently.


Stereotypes

Perceptions about an out-group or of a different culture may tend to be perpetuated and reinforced by the media or long-standing notions of
stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
. As a result of using
schema The word schema comes from the Greek word ('), which means ''shape'', or more generally, ''plan''. The plural is ('). In English, both ''schemas'' and ''schemata'' are used as plural forms. Schema may refer to: Science and technology * SCHEMA ...
s to simplify the world as we look at it, we rely on a set of well-established stereotypes available in our own culture to define and view the out-group. As such, the risk of stereotypes is if it is inaccurate and blinds us to certain key understanding of a certain class of people, and as stereotypes tend to persist even with new information, the problem of cultural divide can be perpetuated.


Social identity theory

The
social identity theory Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevance, relevant social group. As originally formulated by social psychologists Henri Tajfel and John C. Turner, John Turner in the 1970s ...
implies an inherent and inclined favoritism towards people of the same social group as you or people who share similar characteristics, also known as the
in-group favoritism In-group favoritism, sometimes known as in-group–out-group bias, in-group bias, intergroup bias, or in-group preference, is a pattern of favoring members of one's in-group over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, ...
. This desire to achieve and maintain a positive self-image motivates people to place their own group in a superior position as compared to the out-group.


External

Cultural divide can also be caused by external influences that shape the way an individual thinks about people from other cultures. For example, the cultural disconnect and misunderstandings between USA and the Arab countries has been attributed to the spread of superficial information that "serve to promote self-interests and perpetuate reckless acts of individuals, misguided official policies and irresponsible public narratives, all colored by self-righteousness and hypocrisy". An individual's experience of foreign cultures can be largely shaped by the information available to the individual and the cultural divide arises due to the difference between a culture and how it is perceived by people foreign to the culture. Some examples of external sources that influence views on other cultures include:


Official government policies

This also includes any official source of information by the government such as speeches by government officials. Government attitudes to foreign governments often lead to information released to citizens that influence the way they think about foreign governments and foreign peoples. One extreme example of this
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
.


News and media reports

Media bias Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of J ...
can cause misunderstandings and cultural divide by controlling the information and perceptions of other cultures. For example,
media bias in the United States Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
can exacerbate the political divide between the liberals and the conservatives.


Social pressure

Due to a fundamental need for social companionship and a desire to be accepted and liked by others, people often conform to
social norms Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or soci ...
and adopt the group's beliefs and values. Hence, groups that are already culturally divided will tend to remain that way as the effect of
normative social influence Normative social influence is a type of social influence that leads to conformity. It is defined in social psychology as "...the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." The power of normative ...
is self-perpetuating.


Bridging the cultural divide

When a cultural divide can be bridged, it can be beneficial for all parties. However, when cultures are vastly different, or if people are opposed to such exchange, the cultural divide may prove difficult to cross.


Understanding cultural boundaries

Being aware of cultural boundaries when dealing with others is important to avoid accidentally offending the other party and turning the difference into a divide. Educating both parties in the reasons behind these boundaries would also help foster trust and cooperation between them. This also has a side effect of creating a virtuous cycle, where the improved understanding between both parties grants them an advantage when dealing with members of the opposite culture, encouraging future communication and reducing the impact of a cultural divide.


Cultural intelligence

Developing high
cultural intelligence Cultural intelligence or cultural quotient (CQ) is the ability to relate and work effectively across cultures, bearing similarity to the term cultural agility. The term has been used in business, education, government, and academic research conte ...
increases one's openness and hardiness when dealing with major differences in culture. Improving one's openness requires both humility when learning from others and inquisitiveness in actively pursuing opportunities to develop one's cultural awareness. Strong hardiness allows one to deal better with stress, cultural shocks and tension when interacting with others in a foreign context.


Increased interaction

Increasing interaction between two groups of people will help increase mutual understanding and fill in any gaps in knowledge of another group's culture. However, trenched can be changed.


See also

*
Intercultural communication Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear w ...
*
Cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. The different types of cultural assi ...
*
Parallel society Parallel society refers to the self-organization of an ethnic or religious minority, often but not always immigrant groups, with the intent of a reduced or minimal spatial, social and cultural contact with the majority society into which they immi ...
*
Cultural conflict Cultural conflict is a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and beliefs clash. Broad and narrow definitions exist for the concept, both of which have been used to explain violence (including war) and crime, on either a mi ...


References

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