/

Before moving further ahead with culture, it is important to note that cultural aspects are only one dimension of human behavior. The influence of culture should not be underestimated, nor should it be overestimated. Two other dimensions are the personal and the universal.

  • Personal: describes the ways in which each of us differs from everyone else, including those in our group (favoring spicy foods; preferring sports to music; liking atypical colors; enjoying sleeping in a warm or cold room).

  • Cultural: refers to what a particular group have in common with each other and how they are different from other groups (wearing black at a funeral; considering the number 4 bad luck; engaging in small talk with a waiter; bowing when meeting someone for the first time; lifting your bowl when eating).

  • Universal: ways in which all people in all groups are the same (feeling sad when someone dies; changing clothes when it gets cold or hot; searching for a meal when hungry; drinking when thirsty; going to bed when tired; avoiding danger).

Exercise

keyboard_arrow_up