Culture

According to Geert Hofstede, culture is the “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another and it includes systems of values and values are among the building blocks of culture”.

As I was searching online, I chanced upon a few articles on recent events that sets me thinking. One of these articles was on the declining birth rate in China and people are debating if the government should abolish the 30 year old one-child policy.

Here is the link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-10/21/content_8822496.htm

In another article earlier, the government has made a very clear stand about not abolishing this policy as it has helped China to control its population and prevent a baby boom. This is what makes China a different society from that of the USA. It is a highly collectivist country where its people normally conform to government policies. Being a communist country, they believe in equality in reward distribution. And this culture is passed down the generations.

As compared to the USA where only specific aspects of a person’s life is influenced by ingroups, China is a society where the ingroups influences their lives tremendously. For example, their government decides what they want their citizens to think and see through censorship and filtering of news about its own country. They will omit negative reports and only publish news that praises their country. They even spend money to restrict access to certain websites that they deem unfit for their netizens. It has even gone to the exteme that the government had to intervene with the number of children each family can have. This is a result of agenda setting in mass communication.

On the other hand, United States of America is an individualistic society where freedom and social recognition is highly valued. In such a culture, social behaviour is determined largely by personal goals, attitudes and values of collectivities. Whereas Asian countries like China are collectivist society, where harmony and equlity in distribution is honoured.

However, be it a collectivist society or an individualistic one, there is bound to be ethnocentrism in most societies.  Ethnocentrism is a belief that one’s culture is superior to all others and tendency to judge all cultures by one’s own criteria. A few months ago, an outburst of racial riots in Xinjiang, China has caught the attention of the world. A deadly fight between Uighurs and Han Chinese in southern China broke out as Uighurs fear erosion of traditional culture and the persistent violence in the area between the two ethnic groups since 1991. Uighurs identified the information and images circulating on the Internet of the lynching, by a crowd of Han, of Uighur workers in a toy factory in Guangdong as a form of contempt and this led to the outbreak. Cases like this are a common sight in other places of the world. In America, Black discrimintion is evident in today’s society. In Latin America, Latinos are facing discrimination and increasing hate crimes committed against Latino immigrants. Below is the link to a video of one such incident of a Latino hate crime victim:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/10/21/lia.shendo.cnn

Cultures is something that determines who we are. To what extent do you feel that our lives are greatly influenced by culture? What are your views on a collectivist or individualistic society?

Below are links to the various articles that I’ve found:
These are on China’s one child policy and related articles

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-10/24/content_8843109.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-10/24/content_8843114.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/26/content_7618314.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-08/26/content_8620149.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-07/24/content_8466365.htm

This one is on the Latino Americans:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/10/13-2

Fancy some meatballs?

This movie was inspired by a book with the same title “ Cloudy with a chance of meatballs” by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett. However, it does not closely follow what is written in the book. This is a brief synopsis of the movie.

Aspiring inventor Flint Lockwood is the socially awkward genius behind some of the most bizarre contraptions ever conceived. But even though all of his inventions, from spray-on shoes to a monkey thought translator, have been spectacular failures that caused trouble in his small town, Flint is determined to create something that will make people happy.

When Flint's latest machine, designed to turn water into food, accidentally destroys the town square and rockets up into the clouds, he thinks his inventing career is over. Until something amazing happens—cheeseburgers start raining from the sky. His machine actually works! The food weather is an instant success, and Flint forges a fast friendship with Sam Sparks, the weathergirl who comes to town to cover what she calls "the greatest weather phenomenon in history."

But when people greedily ask for more and more food, the machine starts behaving erratically, unleashing spaghetti tornadoes and giant meatballs. With the town about to be buried beneath mountains of marshmallows and waves of watermelons, it's up to Flint and Sam to use their combined expertise to shut down the machine and put everything right.
Courtesy of http://www.tribute.ca/movies/Cloudy+with+a+Chance+of+Meatballs/18497
Here is the link of the official website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/cloudywithachanceofmeatballs/

For a more detailed synopsis, please visit the link below:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudy_with_a_Chance_of_Meatballs_(film)

  

In the movie, Flint lives in a small town called Swallows Falls that is well known for its sardines. However, when the only sardine factory in the town closed down, the town had been living on sardines ever since. The mayor felt that something should be done to revive the sardine business in order to attract visitors to their town. Hence, he broadcast on live television about his campaign to promote sardine tourism. This is a form of the mass communication where the message addresses a relatively large group of audience physically separated from one another. The characteristic of media messages is that it is non-exclusive and temporal. However, this message was transmitted publicly but not timed to reach most audiences simultaneously as the mayor chose an afternoon where most of its villagers are working. This resulted in the low turnout for his first campaign.

 

The mayor also set an agenda for the campaign and this has a great influence on the people in the town, as it is an obtrusive issue. It might not be easy for the mayor to set the agenda as it is happening near the villagers. However, as it concerns the survival of the town and its people, most of them are willing to believe what the mayor had said. Also, with the accompanying images of the new Swallows Falls, it creates an impression in the public’s mind that it would most likely succeed as it is related to them.

The media in the movie represents the views of the government of the town as they have the political power. As the media monopolizes opinions, they drive the town to believe that this project benefits them. No matter what the villagers felt about it, they have no channel to voice their oppositions because powerless groups like them are silenced.

When the news decided to broadcast about a tiny island where food rains from the sky, as well as live coverage by Sam Spurts then broadcast in different languages across the world; it has achieved its goal of setting the agenda for the audiences as they spanned across the world. Through the repeated broadcasting of the news (the different food that rains everyday at different time: breakfast, lunch and dinner), it raised an important issue in the public’s mind – how is that possible? That in turn managed to attract many visitors to the small town and enjoy a meal at the open-air café to see if it is true.

The media can have a great influence on us like in the case of this movie. They can manipulate us and sets agenda to make us believe in what they want us to believe and think. It also represents the perspective of the powerful elite - the economic and political powers of a particular society. Do you have any views on the positive or negative impacts that the media can inflict upon us? You can leave your comments or raise any issue about what I have mentioned in the above entry!

Group Communication

In life, it is inevitable that we have to work in groups, be it in school or at work. What exactly is a group? According to Trenholm(2004), a group is a collection of individuals who, as a result of interacting with one another over time, become interdependent, developing shared patterns of behaviour and a collective identity. Have you ever wondered why do we have to communicate in groups? One of the reasons is because groups can provide support and commitment to one and it meets member’s interpersonal needs such as inclusion, control and affection. Also, it establishes group synergy as we have more help compared to when working alone.

To manage group communication, we must first understand that problems can be solved through effective group interactions. Group socialisation is where individuals interact with members of the group to influence each other and best meet their needs. Individuals will then measure how much they can benefit from the group and this process is known as evaluation and this determines their allegiance to the group. According to Moreland and Levine, there are five stages in this process. Take for example my project group in school, we had to be grouped into groups of 4 and everyone in class was a prospective member of my group as my teacher randomly arranged us. When the group was formed, I am a new member. The responsibility of a full member kicks in when I was assigned my first task. Once I finished that project, I would then be a marginal member. When I already graduated from school, I then am an ex-member.

As we work as a group, there will be group pressure that is, to balance between individual and group needs. We also need to gain support from other members. In order to maintain the group, members must be able to assume both roles – as an individual as well as a group member. Conflicts amongst group members are also unavoidable. There was once when my group member actually left our group discussion just because we could not agree on the same thing. She felt that we did not support any of her ideas at all. It took us a long time to sort out the problem eventually and finish the project.

There are also models of group development such as Bruce Tuckman’s five stage model (1965) and Aubrey Fisher’s four-phase model(1970s). These models mostly show us what happens when one forms a group. Here is a link for you to understand more on each model:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_development#Tuckman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_development#Fisher

On the other hand, while working as a group, we may encounter complex decisions, resources, and may face conflicts. It is dangerous to have the ‘groupthink’ mindset - “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.” – Irving Jarvis. We tend to ignore positive interpretation and assume that we are always right. Therefore, we should keep a lookout for symptoms such as illusion of invulnerability and shared stereotypes to prevent our group from having the groupthink mindset. To combat groupthink, we should appoint someone that is receptive to different responses and views and looks for alternatives to solutions. We should also monitor group behaviour and be aware of these symptoms.

Below are links to websites that might help you understand more about group communication:
http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/groups/group.html

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small-group_communication

Was your experience with your group an enjoyable one? Or have you experienced bad relationship with your group? Feel free to express your views on group communication!

Interpersonal Relationship

The battle of the sexes heats up in Columbia Pictures comedy The Ugly Truth. Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a romantically challenged morning show producer whose search for Mr. Perfect has left her hopelessly single. She's in for a rude awakening when her bosses team her with Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), a hardcore TV personality who promises to spill the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick.

Courtesy of the official website : http://www.thetruthisntpretty.com/

For the detailed synopsis, please visit the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_Truth_(film)

Above is the synopsis for the movie The Ugly Truth, which was screened in Singapore theatres on 17th September. According to Knapp’s model of relational development, there are 10 stages in a relationship. Stages 1-5 are coming together and stages 6-10 are coming apart. The first time the two protagonists met is known as initiating. Stage 2: experimenting was when Mike helped Abby to win Colin’s heart. Mike got to know Abby really well after interacting with her during the coaching process. Stage 3 took place at a much later time in a pub. It was when Abby realised that Mike actually thinks the same way as her – the “we” thinking (relational identity). Stage 4: integrating was skipped and they proceeded onto Stage 5: bonding which was shown at the last scene in the movie.

However, for the case of Colin and Abby, they went through the Knapp’s model from stage 1 to 4, but they skipped stage 5 and proceeded on to stage 6 – differentiating. This is where Abby decided to be truthful about her feelings towards Colin and that sealed up the channels of communication between them. Stage 10: terminating occurred when the relationship ceased to exist and the parties moved on from the relationship and Abby managed to develop a new relationship with Mike.

Abby was attracted to the physical appearance of Colin and this general perception of physical attractiveness exerts a consistent positive impact on the relational formation. The judgement of physical attractiveness in this case was influenced by the societal norms. Some conditions Colin had that made him attractive, according to the cultural norms, was handsome, financially stable, successful career and muscular. These were some of the criteria which he possessed that attracted Abby. The impact of physical appearance diminished over the course of the relationship between them. Abby realised she does not really like Colin’s character and feels that he is too good for her and eventually, developed feelings for Mike instead.

We tend to form relationships with the people around us and this does not exclude Abby and Mike. They were colleagues in the television company and hence, there is a greater opportunity for them to interact. This reduces the uncertainties about one another. By falling in love with one another, they reciprocate their feelings and this minimises risks. The perception that someone likes another serves as a form of validation and in turn boosts his or her self esteem.

 However, both of them did not realise their similarity in character in the beginning when they met. In fact, Abby detested Mike and felt disgusted by him. After interacting with him and self disclosure, the sharing of information about self that the other person is unlikely to know, Abby realised that her thinking is somewhat similar to Mike’s.

It takes two to maintain a relationship and according to the Equity Theory, individuals in relationships seek to maintain a balance of costs and rewards that are relatively equal to those of their partners. The balance maintains the long-term viability of the relationship. Therefore, the under-benefiting will suffer and the over-benefiting will rationalise. If you are giving more than what you are receiving or vice versa, then you should be concerned as there would be a higher risk of dissoution of this relationship.

Any views about interpersonal relationship? Feel free to post your comments and discuss about it!