Surface culture is the visible part of a culture, such as food, flags, festivals, fashion, holidays, music, games, language, literature, arts and crafts, performances, and dances. Deep culture is the less visible part of a culture, such as communication styles and rules, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, personal space, touching, body language, conversational patterns in different social situations, handling and displaying of emotion, and tone of voice.
Surface culture is often easier to learn than deep culture because it is more explicit. Deep culture, on the other hand, is often implicit and can be more difficult to learn. It is important to be aware of both surface and deep culture when interacting with people from other cultures.
Here are some tips for understanding deep culture:
- Pay attention to nonverbal communication.
- Be aware of cultural differences in communication styles.
- Be respectful of other cultures.
- Be open-minded and willing to learn.
- Be patient.
Concepts:
- Self: The individual’s sense of identity and place in the world.
- Time: The way in which people understand and experience the passage of time.
- Past and future: The way in which people think about and make sense of the past and the future.
- Fairness and justice: The way in which people understand and value fairness and justice.
- Rules related to age, sex, class, family, etc: The social norms and expectations that govern how people behave in different roles and situations.
Notions:
- Courtesy and manners: The ways in which people are expected to behave in polite and respectful ways.
- Friendship: The bonds of affection and mutual support that exist between friends.
- Leadership: The ability to guide and motivate others.
- Cleanliness: The state of being free from dirt and filth.
- Modesty: The quality of being humble and unassuming.
- Beauty: The quality that makes something pleasing to the eye.
Attitudes:
- Elders: The way in which people view and treat older adults.
- Adolescents: The way in which people view and treat teenagers.
- Dependents: The way in which people view and treat those who are unable to care for themselves.
- Role expectations: The way in which people expect others to behave in different roles.
- Work: The way in which people view and value work.
- Authority: The way in which people view and respect authority figures.
- Cooperation vs competition: The way in which people prefer to interact with others.
- Relationships with animals: The way in which people view and treat animals.
- Age: The way in which people view and value different ages.
- Sin: The way in which people view and understand sin.
- Death: The way in which people view and understand death.
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