Cultural Anthropology

¶ … individual may have about a particular group of people can drastically effect their attitude and behavior towards that particular group of people. When two people from different cultures, with their own biases and cultural thinking, are faced with the prospect of interacting, these preconceptions can emerge in the form of confusion, misunderstanding, and even anger. One situation that comes to mind occurred while a friend was visiting her boyfriend. His mother happened to be staying with him at his home for an extended period of time.

On one particular visit, my friend left her boyfriend's home without saying good bye to the mother. In American culture, this would not present any particular problem. In American culture it is typical to only announce a departure to a group if the individual is present with that group, or to the host only. However, my friend's boyfriend was Chinese, and in Chinese culture it is considered extremely rude to depart the company of a household of people without personally announcing your departure to every person present in the domicile.

This severely angered the mother. She scolded her son for not instructing my friend in the proper ways of Chinese civilities, and she severely chastened my friend for her improperness and lack of courtesy. In fact, on subsequent visits, the mother would not speak to my friend, but would only offer silence, a disapproving look, and walk away. The social environment in which the mother was raised was sizably different from that which she has experienced since her immigration to the United States.

Migrating to this country at an already mature age meant that her entire value system, courtesies, and other elements that contribute to her ideas pertaining to social interaction were already set.

On the other hand, even though her son was raised in a Chinese household under Chinese parents, he was raised most of his life in the United States, and thus had a cross-cultural experience which may account for his not informing my friend of certain customs and expectations of his mother, in which she was strictly adamant in regards to. My friend, on the other hand, thought nothing of the situation. She announced her departure to her boyfriend, who was the owner of the home and the primary host.

It is accepted in American culture that other individuals at a gathering can ask where somebody.