IndexCultureLanguageValuesBeliefsNormsDefinitionTypesFolkloreOtherTabooResearchCultural psychologyCultural agility and rigidityIntercultural misunderstandingsConclusionReferencesQuotesA person is about to cross the road. What does he do? If no cars arrive, do you stay at the pedestrian crossing, waiting for the traffic light to change? Or does he just try? Do you look left first before crossing or do you look right? Or maybe he just zooms across the street yelling 'Hey, I'm coming here!' Whatever he does, it will depend on the culture. His actions may depend on how he was raised in a society or the society he is in now. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From very small things like street crossings to larger concepts like traditional arts are all part of the culture. It is generally observed that people living in a certain countries think and behave similarly and people of one country or culture are very different from people of another culture. The difference here has to do with cultural norms. The term “Culture” refers to patterns of behavior and attitudes in a given group. The term "norm" refers to attitudes and patterns of behavior that are typically considered normal within a group. Cultural norms are what push people to move in a similar direction. All societies have cultural norms. These norms influence every aspect of our lives. People are often unaware that their values, attitudes and the way they behave are affected. This article seeks to define and explain this relationship between culture and norms that exist in every society. This article also tries to find out what the different types of norms about culture and psychology are and why such relationships exist in the first place. Culture We must first define these terms independently, only then it will be possible to understand the relationship between them. Culture is the way in which non-material objects such as thoughts, actions, language and values ​​come together with material objects to form a way of life. Culture can be broadly divided into two main components: things and ideas. When a person crosses a road, he can see signs of his culture in things around him such as street signs, the width of the road, the speed and style of cars. This is material culture, the culture of things. But much of the culture focused on crossing the street is also not material. We interpret the color red as a stop sign, because our culture has assigned red as a stop sign and green as a go sign. If a person grows up in a country where cars drive on the right side of the road, his parents probably taught him to look left first before crossing. This is immaterial culture, the culture of things. It consists of the intangible creations of human society which are values, symbols, customs and ideals. Language, values, beliefs and norms are the 4 pillars of every culture. All cultures can be thought of as a function of these four variables. Language Written language, spoken language, or nonverbal language allow us to share the things that make up a culture in a process known as cultural transmission. Language helps people communicate with each other and also influences how people within a culture see things around them. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is a theory that a person's thoughts and actions are influenced by the cultural lens created by the language they speak. For example, what is the sex of the moon. In many languages ​​such as German, the moon is considered masculine while inothers, like the Spanish, is considered a feminine object and this influences the way Germans and Spanish perceive the moon. . There was a study where the Germans and the Spanish were given the task of describing the characteristics of the moon, such as the moon is beautiful, the moon is harsh, the moon is strong. He found that because the Germans used the moon as a masculine article, they associated the moon with stereotypically masculine traits and the Spanish with the opposite. Therefore it can be observed very clearly that language helps to communicate, shape and transmit culture. Values ​​Values ​​are what help organize culture into moral categories. Values ​​are the cultural standards that people use to decide what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong. They are considered the ideals and guidelines by which people live in a society. Different cultures value different things, and these values ​​help us understand why different social structures are observed around the world. For example, in Western cultures it is generally observed that young adults live separately from their parents because people there tend to value individualism and emphasize the importance of each person's needs. While in Eastern cultures it is observed that young adults 2 generally live with their parents because these people value collectivism and emphasize the importance of groups over individuals. Beliefs Beliefs are more explicit than values. Beliefs are specific ideas about what people living in a society think is true about the world. Definition of Norms Wikipedia defines social norms as collective representations of acceptable group conduct, as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct. They basically help define the standard of living of people living in a society. People imbibe these norms from their parents, friends, immediate peers as they grow up. Norms usually differ from one culture to another and often end up contributing to cross-cultural misunderstandings. Norms are agreed-upon expectations and rules by which people in a culture are guided. For example, it is preferable to give up your seat to an older person, but raising your nose in public is despised. In layman terms, norm simply refers to what everyone thinks is "normal," regardless of whether something is culturally acceptable or not. Types There are basically three types of norms that can be identified in any human society. Folklore The first are what sociologists call "folklore". . Folk customs are little informal rules that go without saying. It is not considered illegal if people violate folk customs, but there are consequences. If not respected, negative sanctions are foreseen. A very simple example would be if someone enters an elevator and is facing the back wall instead of the front door. No one will approach the person and say they are doing wrong, but people will judge and give bad looks. Popular traditions are generally very subjective even in a hierarchical way. A particular way of life can be subjective for a person, for a group or for an entire society. Sometimes there can also be positive sanctions. An example of this would be if a teenager receives a lip ring. He might get grounded by his parents, but his friends might think he's very handsome. Thus demonstrating its subjectivity. Customs Another type of norms are customs, which are more official than popular customs and are defined as rules and laws of a society. They are generally more codified and formalized. If customs are broken, they are definitely theresome negative consequences associated with it. Negative sanctions are more severe and severe. Standing facing the back wall of the elevator may lead people to think you're a weirdo, but showing up to work without any clothes on will probably get you fired. The reason is that every place has strict dress code rules. A particular type of clothing will be considered acceptable in one place and totally inappropriate in another. It's okay to wander around on a beach without a shirt but it's totally wrong in an office. Taboo The third type of norm is the most severe and serious form of norm, i.e. the taboo. Taboos are the norms crucial to the moral center of a society. These behaviors, if followed, will always lead to negative results and sanctions. No matter what the circumstances, it is never right to ignore a taboo. The reason they are so despised is that they violate the very sense of decency. The following example comes very close to what is actually considered taboo. If we talk about killing, killing or not is a taboo. At first everyone might think so, because killing is bad and therefore should be considered taboo. But that's not the case. While most cultures may think that murder is wrong and illegal, it is not always considered illegal. According to most societies, it is right to kill in times of war or in self-defense. So what can be considered a taboo? Some examples are cannibalism, incest or child molestation. These cannot be defended in any case. They are always considered wrong. Research Cultural Psychology A person living in a particular society is well informed about the cultural norms pertaining to that society. But to understand another culture and how the norms present in that culture are related to each other, it is very important to follow a scientific method so that we can have a clear picture about it. There is a separate field that focuses on topics known as cultural psychology. Cultural psychology is the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members. It focuses on the fact that people are shaped by the fact that people are shaped by their culture and their culture is shaped by the people. Individual thoughts and actions influence cultural norms and practices 4 as they evolve over time, and these cultural norms and practices influence the thoughts and actions of individuals. Cultural Looseness and Rigidity So really, how much do cultural norms matter, and how much do they matter more in some places than others. Recently, Michele Gelfand together with a large team of cultural psychologists theorized "cultural tightness" and "cultural looseness". Some people may care a lot about their cultural norms by insisting on strong conformity that reflects cultural rigidity, while others may tolerate many deviations from norms. In his article Gelfand tried to think about what are the factors that lead a society to become culturally closed or loose. He also provides various situations that demonstrate how a society transforms from culturally closed to culturally free. This framework helps a person take a step back and objectively learn about a particular company by providing the big picture. Cross-Cultural Misconceptions Psychologists have also tried to figure out how to handle cross-cultural misunderstandings, which fall into a slightly different field known as cross-cultural psychology. They try to understand how a person belonging to one culture can fit into a different culture. Carol Archer calls this scenario a “culture shock.” “An individual from one culture who finds himself in a different, strange, or uncomfortable situation when interacting with people from a different culture.” Archer tries to explain the/35068