Communication Between Cultures

of people. Haviland and his associates explain this“sharing”process:“As a shared set

of ideas, values, perceptions, and standards of behavior, culture is the common

denominator that makes the actions of individuals intelligible to other members of

their society. It enables them to predict how other members are most likely to behave

in a given circumstance, and it tells them how to react accordingly.”^24

We conclude this section regarding the shared component of culture by briefly

reminding you of what we wrote in Chapter 1 when we discussed that much of

human behavior comes from sources beyond culture. In general terms, three

basic factors influence human behavior.^25 The most universal of these is human

nature. Our abilities to cry, feel fear, seekfood, etc. are inherited traits. Second,

culture and various groups (clubs,

professions, co-cultures, etc.) present

people with thousands of learned

behaviors. Finally, there is the

unique personality that is the exclu-

sive domain of each individual.

Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation

Embedded in our first characteristic is the notion that what is shared by a culture gets

transmitted from generation to generation. The American philosopher Thoreau

reminded us of that fact when he wrote,“All the past is here.”Of course, Thoreau is

correct. For a culture to endure, it must make certain that its crucial messages and ele-

ments are not only shared but also passed to future generations. In this way, the past

becomes the present and helps create and perpetuate the culture. This means that the

numerous values, norms, and behaviors that are considered fundamental to a culture

need to be handed down from one generation to another. This process of transmitting

culture is a kind of cultural inheritance. As such, this“heritage”is made up of the beliefs

and actions that may have evolved long before each new generation arrives. The longev-

ity of the beliefs, values, and behavior that are transmitted is clearly delineated by Mat-

sumoto and Hwang when they write,“Our culture determines what it means to be a

husband or wife, child, work colleague, acquaintance, or even a stranger.”^26

Like so much of culture, it is communication that makes culture a continuous process,

for once cultural habits, principles, values, and attitudes are formed, they are communi-

cated to each member of the culture. While the immediate family begins the“education”

process, you need to remember that most of the crucial“lessons”of a culture continue to

be emphasized throughout the person’s life. Infants, held and touched by parents, do not

consciously know they are learning about family and touch, but they are. The essential

cultural values continue to be reinforced as children share holidays, both religious and

secular, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives. So strong is the need for a

culture to bind each generation to past and future generations that it is often asserted

that a fracture in the transmission process would contribute to a culture’sextinction.

Culture Is Based on Symbols

Our discussion of how culture is transmitted from generation to generation allows for

an easy transition to our next characteristic—culture is based on symbols. Without the

capacity of humans to think symbolically and express those symbols, culture could not

be passed from generation to generation. The symbols that are important to a culture

can take a variety of forms.

CONSIDER THIS

What is meant by the phrase“Culture is shared”?

Characteristics of Culture 41

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