Cultural dissonance
Encyclopedia
Cultural dissonance is an uncomfortable sense of discord, disharmony, confusion, or conflict experienced by people in the midst of change in their cultural environment. The changes are often unexpected, unexplained or not understandable due to various types of cultural dynamics.
Studies into cultural dissonance take on a wide socio-cultural scope of analysis that inquire into economics
, politics
, values, learning styles
, cultural factors, such as language
, tradition
, ethnicity, cultural heritage
, cultural history
, educational formats, classroom design, and even socio-cultural issues such as ethnocentricism, racism
and their respective historical legacies in the cultures.
Edwar J. Hedican wrote an article in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Guelph
, Ontario
. In it he noted the possibility of alleviating acculturative pressures, and their disruptive effects on the sense of aboriginal sense of worth and identity. He proposed, "...the development of interethnic communication or ethnopolitics of community competence. This, in turn, will lead to increased native control over educational, economic, & political institutions, decreased cultural dissonance, & a more positive native identity." (Hedican)
Paul Bohannan wrote an "anthropological treatise" outlining "Seven organizing principles unique to humans: contract, role, ranking property, markets, networks, & public relations. These characteristics are built on to analyze dyads, triads, & chains, to show how innovation, as well as how cultural dissonance can lead to cultural traps." (Bohannan)
Macdonald also observed that cultural dissonance is sometimes said to inhibit socio-cultural adaptation.
Susan Black, an education research consultant, wrote an article in the American School Board Journal of the National School Board Association that summarized some of the actions recommended by some researchers in education-related cultural dissonance. The recommendations for educators included:
Other general findings include:
. In it they discussed dissonance as it relates to Latino
s in the United States. Suarez Orozco found that second-generation Hispanics face more acute forms of cultural dissonance than their first generation parents. They also noticed that second-generation individuals also face "special difficulties" that lead to "three general patterns of adjustment"
being reunited with family members with the "...alienated refugees from war-torn Central America..." as they worked through their own adjustment issues, and concluded that Central Americans had to deal with more cultural dissonance than their Cuban counterparts.
"his research reports on the link between feelings of spirituality & how Navajo police officers tend to enforce European-based law. Previous research suggests that a link exists between the officers' depth of feeling of spirituality & the officers' attitude toward the effectiveness traditional methods of social control; however, this research goes a step further & examines the impact of cultural dissonance on the stressors faced by Navajo police officers. The enforcement behavior of the Navajo officers was used as a proxy for the intensity of their feelings concerning the usefulness of traditional vs European-based forces of social control; the underlying assumption being tested is that self-determination is not only a state of law but a state of psychological being. A snowball method of sample development was used to select officers for intensive interviews. The findings suggest that the officers' feeling of spiritual connectedness to his/her culture is inversely related to the strictness of the enforcement of European-based laws. In other words, the more spiritual the officer, the less likely the officer is to rely solely on European-based laws, & the greater the reliance on other methods of problems solving. The finding also suggest that in addition to the stressors normally encounter by all police officers, Navajo officers faced additional stressors that are specific to indigenous officers policing in indigenous communities. 1 Table, 41 References. Adapted from the source document." (Gould)
, features a humorous 18-minute radio drama of a traveler experiencing cultural dissonance on his arrival in a foreign country. For example, the traveler struggles to communicate his wish to send a telegram, only to be informed that yes, his telegram has been sent, at considerable cost, and that he will be receiving it in about an hour.
Studies into cultural dissonance take on a wide socio-cultural scope of analysis that inquire into economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, values, learning styles
Learning styles
Learning styles are various approaches or ways of learning. They involve educating methods, particular to an individual, that are presumed to allow that individual to learn best. Most people prefer an identifiable method of interacting with, taking in, and processing stimuli or information...
, cultural factors, such as language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, ethnicity, cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
, cultural history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, educational formats, classroom design, and even socio-cultural issues such as ethnocentricism, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and their respective historical legacies in the cultures.
Research
Research topics in cultural dissonance tend to be interdisciplinary drawing from a wide range of disciplines and applying the findings to equally diverse fields and industries.Edwar J. Hedican wrote an article in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. In it he noted the possibility of alleviating acculturative pressures, and their disruptive effects on the sense of aboriginal sense of worth and identity. He proposed, "...the development of interethnic communication or ethnopolitics of community competence. This, in turn, will lead to increased native control over educational, economic, & political institutions, decreased cultural dissonance, & a more positive native identity." (Hedican)
Paul Bohannan wrote an "anthropological treatise" outlining "Seven organizing principles unique to humans: contract, role, ranking property, markets, networks, & public relations. These characteristics are built on to analyze dyads, triads, & chains, to show how innovation, as well as how cultural dissonance can lead to cultural traps." (Bohannan)
Education
Winifred L. Macdonald concluded in her thesis that, "... shared markers of language and ethnicity were not sufficient to ensure that the cultural differences in education systems were not experienced by the families."Macdonald also observed that cultural dissonance is sometimes said to inhibit socio-cultural adaptation.
Susan Black, an education research consultant, wrote an article in the American School Board Journal of the National School Board Association that summarized some of the actions recommended by some researchers in education-related cultural dissonance. The recommendations for educators included:
- Recognize ethnocentrismEthnocentrismEthnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with...
- Know and understand the student's cultural heritageHeritageHeritage refers to something inherited from the past. The word has several different senses, including:* Natural heritage, an inheritance of fauna and flora, geology, landscape and landforms, and other natural resources...
- Understand social, economic and political issues and valueValueValue or values may refer to:Concepts of worth:* Value theory – overview of approaches in various disciplines* Value ** Value * Value ** Theory of value ** Value investing...
s in different cultures - Adopt the attitude that students--all students--can learnLEARNLEARN may refer to:* Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network, a website run by the Anti-Defamation League* LEARN diet, a brand name diet product...
- Create genuinely caring classrooms where all students are appreciated and accepted.
Other general findings include:
- Geneva Gay (University of Washington in Seattle, Washington), proposed that differences can erupt into cultural clashes
- Researchers at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory notes that many anecdotal case studies show how culturally responsive practices improve students' behavior and achievement.
Second-generation immigrants
Carola and Marcelo Suarez Orozco[4] wrote an article for the School of Education at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. In it they discussed dissonance as it relates to Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s in the United States. Suarez Orozco found that second-generation Hispanics face more acute forms of cultural dissonance than their first generation parents. They also noticed that second-generation individuals also face "special difficulties" that lead to "three general patterns of adjustment"
- attempts to synthesize two cultural traditions
- passingPassingPassing is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of social groups other than his or her own, such as a different race, ethnicity, social class, gender, intelligence, age and/or disability status, generally with the purpose of gaining social acceptance...
as a member of the dominant group - developing of defensive identity such as gangGangA gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
membership
Refugees of war
Suarez Orozco also compared the experience of exiles from CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
being reunited with family members with the "...alienated refugees from war-torn Central America..." as they worked through their own adjustment issues, and concluded that Central Americans had to deal with more cultural dissonance than their Cuban counterparts.
Law enforcement
Larry A. Gould wrote a paper for Northern Arizona UniversityNorthern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...
"his research reports on the link between feelings of spirituality & how Navajo police officers tend to enforce European-based law. Previous research suggests that a link exists between the officers' depth of feeling of spirituality & the officers' attitude toward the effectiveness traditional methods of social control; however, this research goes a step further & examines the impact of cultural dissonance on the stressors faced by Navajo police officers. The enforcement behavior of the Navajo officers was used as a proxy for the intensity of their feelings concerning the usefulness of traditional vs European-based forces of social control; the underlying assumption being tested is that self-determination is not only a state of law but a state of psychological being. A snowball method of sample development was used to select officers for intensive interviews. The findings suggest that the officers' feeling of spiritual connectedness to his/her culture is inversely related to the strictness of the enforcement of European-based laws. In other words, the more spiritual the officer, the less likely the officer is to rely solely on European-based laws, & the greater the reliance on other methods of problems solving. The finding also suggest that in addition to the stressors normally encounter by all police officers, Navajo officers faced additional stressors that are specific to indigenous officers policing in indigenous communities. 1 Table, 41 References. Adapted from the source document." (Gould)
In sports
Tracy Taylor wrote a paper for the Journal of Sport and Social Issues. In it she wrote "...This research investigates issues of cultural diversity & inclusiveness in women's netball in Australia using the rhetoric of exclusion. Women & girls from culturally diverse backgrounds spoke of reinforced difference & cultural assimilation in their netball experiences. Women born in other English-speaking countries recalled feelings of inclusion & limited cultural dissonance & indicated that netball helped them feel as part of their new community & gain social capital via participation. Although experiences of explicit exclusion or racial discrimination were virtually nonreported, some women felt a strong sense of cultural conformity to Anglo-centric expectations of behavior. The women's stories & experiences suggest that women from culturally diverse backgrounds have found few opportunities to express their cultural distinctiveness through mainstream Australian sports such as netball. The conclusion reached after this examination is that the rhetoric of exclusion is pervasive in Australian netball & unlikely to change in the near future. 1 Table, 76 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2004.]" (Taylor)Cultural dissonance in popular culture
Side 2 of the Firesign Theatre's 1968 album, Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like HimWaiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him was the first comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in 1968 by Columbia Records.-Detailed Track Information and Commentary:...
, features a humorous 18-minute radio drama of a traveler experiencing cultural dissonance on his arrival in a foreign country. For example, the traveler struggles to communicate his wish to send a telegram, only to be informed that yes, his telegram has been sent, at considerable cost, and that he will be receiving it in about an hour.
See also
- AnomieAnomieAnomie is a term meaning "without Law" to describe a lack of social norms; "normlessness". It describes the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and their community ties, with fragmentation of social identity and rejection of self-regulatory values. It was popularized by French...
- Cognitive dissonanceCognitive dissonanceCognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...
- CultureCultureCulture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
- Culture shockCulture shockCulture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
- Human fit
- Portal:culture