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Culture and Self

At the 1968 Summer Olympics, U.S. sprinter Tommie Smith won the men’s 200-meter gold medal, and teammate John Carlos won the bronze. During the medal ceremony, as the American flag was raised and “The Star-Spangled Banner” played, both runners closed their eyes, lowered their heads, and raised black-gloved fists. Smith’s right fist represented black power, and Carlos’s left fist represented black unity (Gettings, 2005). The two fists, raised next to each other, created an arch of black unity and power. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck for black pride, and both men wore black socks with no shoes, representing African American poverty. These symbols and gestures, taken together, clearly spoke of the runners’ allegiance to black culture and their protest of the poor treatment of African Americans in the United States (see the photo below).

Many Euro-Americans viewed Smith’s and Carlos’s behavior at the ceremony as a betrayal of “American” culture. Both men were suspended from the U.S. team and thrown out of the Olympic Village, the athletes’ home during the games. They and their families began receiving death threats. Over time, however, people of all American ethnicities began to sympathize with their protest. Thirty years later, in 1998, Smith and Carlos were commemorated in an anniversary celebration of their protest.

In addition to gender and family, our culture is a powerful source of self. But what exactly is “culture”? Although we’ve all heard and used the word before, culture means different things to different people (Martin & Nakayama, 1997). In this book, we define culture broadly and inclusively. Culture is an established, coherent set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices shared by a large group of people (Keesing, 1974). If this strikes you as similar to our definition of self-concept, you’re right; culture is like a collective sense of self shared by a large group of people.

Thinking of culture in this way has three important implications. First, culture includes many different types of large-group influences. Culture may include your nationality as well as your ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and even age. We learn our cultural beliefs, attitudes, and values from parents, teachers, religious leaders, peers, and the mass media (Gudykunst & Kim, 2003). Second, most of us belong to more than one culture simultaneously—possessing the beliefs, attitudes, and values of each. Third, the various cultures to which we belong sometimes clash. When they do, we often have to choose the culture to which we pledge our primary allegiance.

Numerous distinctions exist between cultures, everything from food and religion to communication differences such as verbal expression and views on power and social status. A cultural difference that especially shapes our view of self is whether our culture of origin is individualistic or collectivistic. If you were raised in an individualistic culture, you likely were taught that individual goals are more important than group or societal goals. People in individualistic cultures are encouraged to focus on themselves and their immediate family (Hofstede, 1998), and individual achievement is praised as the highest good (Waterman, 1984). Examples of individualistic countries include the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Sweden (Hofstede, 2001). If you were raised in a collectivistic culture, you likely were taught the importance of belonging to groups or “collectives” that look after you in exchange for your loyalty. In collectivistic cultures, the goals, needs, and views of groups are emphasized over those of individuals, and the highest good is cooperation with others rather than individual achievement. Collectivistic countries include Guatemala, Pakistan, and Taiwan (Hofstede, 2001).