Culture

and the
Individual
Enculturation, Socialization & Personality
Kimberly Porter Martin
Personality
-characteristics of an individual
resulting from the interaction
of genetics, socialization,
enculturation and life
experience.
 Personality Trait

A lasting characteristic attributed

to persons in varying amounts of
strength.

Fiske, 1971
 Anthony F.C. Wallace

Societies deal with individual differences

in personality in two general ways:

1. They enculturate and socialize

children, shaping them to suit cultural
expectations
2. They provide alternative roles that
accommodate different personalities
Enculturation Vs. Social Stratification
The Enculturation, Socialization and
Personality PowerPoint ( this one!)
focuses on enculturation and
socialization of individuals to try to
shape them to cultural ideals.
The Social Stratification and
Personality PowerPoint will deal with
how society shapes personality and
the kinds of roles it provides for
individuals with different personalities.
 Personality Models
Measures of personality are based on
models of the range of and importance of
specific personality traits.
Studying measures gives us insight about
the emic views of the culture in which the
measures were.
 The Big Questions
To what extent If some personality
are we using traits are completely
ethnocentric outside the experience
measures? of the researcher,
To what extent How will the researcher
are we know what to look for?
measuring How will the researcher
ethnocentric know how to measure
them?
concepts.
Big Five Personality Model
 Western Cultures Big Five
The Five Factor Model (FFM)
Conscientiousness
Persistence and reliability
Goal directedness
http://www.personalitytest.net/c
Agreeableness
gi-bin/ipipneo1.cgip://
Compassion, warmth
Gentle and sensitive
Openness to Experience
Curiosity and imagination
Extraversion
Positive attitude
Seeks stimulating social interaction
Neuroticism
Emotional instability
Anxiety and hostility
Kagitcibasis Three Family Styles
Independent family
Afluent, educated, middle class
Nuclear family units
Smaller families
Independence, self-sufficiency, uniqueness training
Interdependent family
Agrarian,
Children help w/ subsistence, care for aging parents
Intergenerational closeness, extended families
Obedience training
Psychological interdepence family
Emotional interdependence between family members
Socialized for family loyalties
Childrearing for a combination of autonomy within
the context of family loyalty
Compromise between the other styles
Eysenck Personality Model (EPQ)
Western Culture

Three qualities:
1. psychoticism*
2. extroversion
3. neuroticism

Psychoticism = aggression and interpersonal hostility. Predisposes for

mental illness/schizophrenia.
 Chinese Personality
Assessment Inventory (CPAI)
Added a sixth dimension to the Big Five:
Interpersonal Relatedness (importance of
harmony, face and relationship orientation)
Openness dimension missing from CPAI
Interpersonal Relatedness (importance of
harmony, face and relationship orientation)

Found in China, Hawaii and Singapore.

Western blind spot with regard to personality
traits
 Variability in Scale Results
Locally derived measures are better
Some traits overlap, but not predictable
Sometimes traits dropped or added
Other times blended into different
variations
 Examples of Indigenous
Personality Models
Ubuntu Africa a person is a person
through other persons
Senegal three layers of a person:
1.shell (body)
2.physiological functioning
3.psychological existence
4.spiritual existence
Sows African Model
Indian Jiva Personality Model
 Examples of Indigenous
Personality Models
Japanese Amae = passive love and
dependence as an infant has for its
mother.
Permeates Japanese culture throughout
the lifespan.
Creates an expectation of passive
connection to all others in the group.
Concealed amae leads to mental illness.
 Examples of Indigenous
Personality Models
Bambara
A symbolic system
Person is not separate from spirit world,
human community and/or ecological context.
Sixty dimensions or elements in pairs, one
male and one female.
Thought-reflection
Speech-authority
Future-destiny
 Value Systems
Kluckhohn and Strodbeck
Hofstede
Locus of Control
 Kluckhohn & Strodbecks
Values Matrix (Item Examples)
Culture Type 1 Culture Type 2 Culture Type 3
The Innate Most people cant be trusted. There are both good and evil Most people are basically pretty
people in the world and you good at heart.
Nature of have to check people out to find
Humans out which they are.

The Human Life is largely determined by
external forces, such as God
Relationship to fate or genetics. A person
Nature cant surpass the conditions life
has set.
Humans should, in every way, The human challenge is to
live in harmony with nature. conquer and control nature.
Everything from air conditioning
to the green revolution has
resulted from our having met
this challenge.

Time Humans should learn from
history and attempt to emulate
Orientation the glorious ages of the past.
The present moment is
everything. Lets make the most
of it. Dont worry about
tomorrow. Enjoy today.
Planning and goal setting make
it possible for humans to
accomplish miracles. A little
sacrifice today will bring a better
tomorrow.

Modality of It is enough to just be. Its not The human purpose for being If people work hard and apply
necessary to accomplish great placed on this earth is for our themselves fully, their efforts will
Human Activity things in life to feel your life has own inner development. be rewarded.
been worthwhile

Humans Some people are born to lead Whenever I have a serious All people should have equal
others. There are leaders problem, I like to get the advice rights, and we should all have
Relationship to and followers in this world. of my family or close friends in complete control over our own
Others how best to solve it. destiny.
 Kluckhohn & Strodbecks
Values Matrix (Core Value)
Culture Type 1 Culture Type 2 Culture Type 3
The Innate
Nature of People are inherently evil. People are a mixture of good People are inherently good.
Humans and evil.

The Human
Humans are subjugated to Humans should live in harmony Humans should dominate nature
Relationship to nature. with nature
Nature
Time
Orientation Past oriented. Present oriented. Future oriented.

Modality of
Human Activity Being. Becoming. Doing.

Humans
Lineal/hierarchical Collateral relationships Individualism is more important
Relationship to relationships predominate. predominate. than relationships.
Others
 Hofstedes Value Dimensions
1. POWER DISTANCE
The degree of inequality between a
less powerful person and a
more powerful other (Mulder 1977).
The distance at which boss/supervisor
and employee comfortably
function within a given society.
The boss's style of decision making
along with employees level of fear about
disagreeing with superiors.
 Hofstedes Value Dimensions
2. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
The tolerance for uncertainty in a
society, coped with in society by
technology, law and religion, and in
organizations by technology, rules and
rituals.
 Hofstedes Value Dimensions
3. INDIVIDUALISM
The relationship between the individual
and the collectivity in which prevails in a
given society.
The degree to which the individual is
valued over the group, or the group is
valued over the individual.
 Hofstedes Value Dimensions
4. MASCULINITY
The degree to which a society focuses
on assertion and competition as opposed
to nurturance and the development and
maintenance of relationships.
 Locus of Control
Who or what controls your life?

External = outside forces that you do not

control or influence

Internal = you are empowered to make

changes and choices in your life. You have
control of your own life.