Differences in Relationships Between Western and Non-Western Cultures
Most of the research on interpersonal attraction has been carried out
in Western societies, especially the United Kingdom and United States.
This limitation is very important as it argues that the behaviour and
communication need to be understood within the context in which they
occur, and this context considerably differs from one culture to
another. Therefore we can readily accept that there are large
differences in interpersonal relationships between cultures.
Its quite easy to assume that what is true in our own culture about
interpersonal attraction is likely to be true in other cultures as
well. However, the factors influencing whether someone is seen as
physically attractive can sometimes be by the current standards of the
social group, which are considered sub-cultures.
Anderson et al. studied the preference of female body size in 54
cultures. They divided these cultures the extent of the food supply ad
the preferences for different body sizes were divided into heavy body,
moderate body and slender body. Findings showed that in areas where
there was a very unreliable food supply the male population preferred
the heavy body size by 71% and in areas where food was very reliable
the male population preferred the slender body by 40%. With the
Western culture's obsession with slimness in women it may come as a
surprise that heavy women are more attractive especially in areas
where there is little or very little food, however, they would be seen
as better equipped to survive in food shortages and to provide
nourishment for their children.
This research ...
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... carries shame on both parties and their
families. This is a clear example of collectivist values. Simmel
(1971) argues that individualism is associated with higher divorce
rates as it encourages the individual to constantly seek their ideal
partner. In Poland, where divorce rates are very low it is usually
women who file for divorce usually due to maltreatment caused by
husbands' alcohol abuse. However, in Saudi Arabia, a man does not have
to give a reason for divorcing his wife, but the wife can only
initiate a divorce if this is specifically stated in the marriage
contract as being allowed (Minai 1981).
Problems with non-Western results are that they can be inaccurate due
to communication difficulties. For example, some exact translations
can be impossible and certain emphasises may be missed or
misunderstood.
There is a famous saying that states, “ we should not judge a book by its cover”, but oftentimes the first thing noticed on a person is their looks. One’s “physical beauty” strongly influences people’s first impressions of them. As a whole, we tend to assume that pretty people are more likeable and better people than those who are unattractive. Around the world, we believe that what is beautiful is good. There is a general consensus within a culture about what is considered physically appealing and beautiful. “Physical beauty” is associated with being more sociable, intelligent, and even socially skilled. Society shares this common notion of who has and who does not have “physical beauty”. Thus, “physical beauty”, as seen
At first glance, it appears that body image researchers have not just focused on the individual. Nearly every researcher in this field acknowledges the essential role that cultural norms for appearance play in the development of one’s body image. They have even gone as far as recognizing the gender differences in appearance norms in our culture. Men are held to a standard of a moderate, muscular built that generally matches the size and shape of the average man, but women are compared to a cultural ideal that has thinned beyond belief (Wolszon 545). The Miss America contestants have become so thin that most are fifteen percent below their recommended weight for their height, a sympt...
Culture is made up of beliefs, social norms, material traits of a race, religion, and social groups are in decay western culture. Meaning, western culture is experiencing a prolonged decay, notwithstanding its technological innovations, announced patience, equality of opportunities, and constant striving to make everyday existence more safe and comfortable. Some down falls are: common concern about looking wealthy instead of being wealthy, freakish art, and the widening inequality between the rich and the poor. One of the main reasons for western culture's decay is do to the fact that people are pretending to be wealthy by creating a false image, instead of actually being you. Media, public opinion, commercials and product manufacturers teach western people to judge themselves and others by their possessions that illustrate a phrase that "The rich become richer, the poor become even poorer." If we look at modern art, which directly signifies to the term of culture, we will see that priorities have changed significantly, starting from the beginning of the 20th century. Western culture, full of flaws and uncomfortable compromises, is slowly slithering out of control.
The models and celebrities in the media that set the standard for what women should look like are thinner than 90-95 percent of the American female population (Seid p.6). This is an unrealistic portrayal of what the human body should look like when compared to most women’s genetic makeup. Women’s self-image, their social and economic success, and even their survival can still be determined largely by their beauty (Seid p.5). Men on the other hand seem to have it a little easier when it comes to looks. Their self-image is largely determined by what they accomplish in life and not by whether or not they meet the social standard for looks. Modern clothing and fashion require women to show off their bodies more in tight clothes and by showing more skin than in the past. According to Roberta Seid ...
Marriage is a commitment that seems to be getting harder to keep. The social standards placed on an individual by society and influenced by the media inevitably lead some to consider divorce as a “quick-fix” option. “Have it your way” has become a motto in the United States. It has become a country without any consideration of the psychological effects of marriage and divorce. The overwhelmingly high divorce rate is caused by a lack of moral beliefs and marital expectations.
Wiseman, C., Gray, J., Mosimann, J., & Ahrens, A. (1992). Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 85--89.
The Western world, otherwise called the West and the Occident, is combined of many different diverse countries and cities, including Rome, Greece, Jerusalem, and many more. The ancient western civilization was the development of the European people in the hunter-gatherer societies that first started to organize agricultural societies. Western human advancement is beneficiary to prior developments that were created out of the Mediterranean area. The idea of the Western area is its origins during the progress of the Greco-Roman civilizations in Europe, and the beginning of Christianity and other religions. The Middle Eastern developments made a strong establishment for Western civilization; they made the first urban areas and made huge accomplishments in composing, math, building, construction modeling, and science. The Western society has been intensely impacted by traditions of the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and Age of Enlightenment, and formed by the far-reaching colonialism during the fifteenth-twentieth centuries. Before the time during the Cold War, the traditional Western perspective distinguished Western Civilization with the Western Christian nations and society.
A Triumvirate is a political alliance involving three rulers, who divide the land and power among each other. The first Triumvirate involved Pompey; who was a popular general who crushed the Spanish Revolt. The second was Crassus; he was a wealthy noble with a lot of ambition and was very ruthless. Crassus owned all the fire stations in Rome, when a person needed his services he would let the fire burn until he was paid a sum of money to his likings. Crassus was unsuccessful in his military pursuits. The third was Julius Caesar; he was also a wealthy noble. He was very popular with the lower class. For a short period Caesar was the Governor of Spain, when he returned he was thrown a Triumph. All three men wanted to run for Consul, and all were denied by the Senate. They created the Triumvirate because they all had an Anti-Senate outlook, and by forming the Triumvirates they would all be able to take turns being Consul. They were Anti-Senate because the Senate had lost control over their generals and armies, and had little support from the people.
There has been a culture shift over the past century: gender roles in society are changing, and people are less and less conforming to the same traditional characteristics they are expected to fulfill. Now we have families with women breadwinners and stay at home dads. What caused these changes? Wars, feminism, metro sexuality, and the internet/media have contributed to the changes in gender roles in western culture specifically it was. Growing up in a time with all these challenges in what is the appropriate way and inappropriate way to act has left kids more than ever struggling to find where they fit into society.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” a phrase that everyone has heard of at one point in his or her life. Walk by a cashier aisle in a supermarket and a there will be magazines shouting “How to lose 30 pounds in one month!” “Buff up with this weird new workout routine!”. “Fashion that’ll slim you down!” and the like. Is the concept of beauty and ugly really homogeneous, or does it vary? Is it just weight that’s considered? Exploring different ethnic groups prove that what one person thinks is beautiful may or may not be the same as the next person. (The article will mainly be focused on the women though, since their “worth” is judged more on their appearances than men. It will also be rather general on each ethnicity.)
“What is Beautiful is Good” written by Karen Dion goes deep in and investigates the physical stereotype in a broad study that looks at how attractiveness affects one’s personality traits are perceived. The study withal visually examines whether physical attractiveness leads to a more preponderant life. Studies perpetuate to fixate on the question of how physical attractiveness affects one’s prosperity in life. Through elements of attractiveness and also gender, body size and age, it is likely that physical allure comes to influence in three separate regions of life and they are popularity, perceptions of performance and social interaction. The point when nearly taking a gander at diverse mulls over about physical engagingness, scientists generally give careful consideration on gender, body size and age as three standard components. Physical presence according to Dion is the peculiar trademark most similar and reachable to others in social cooperation. (“What is Beautiful is Good”) Gender is one range regularly kept tabs on when considering physical engagingness. The results of guys and females regularly contrasted as a result of sex. For instance, in...
It is only in recent years that physical attractiveness was looked upon from a scientific point of view and not simply a poetic or philosophical pondering. We now know that we have a predisposition to see physical attraction as the primary factor of romantic attraction. When people first begin to date, they are more attracted to the partners they deem to be more physically attractive 1. Another example of physical attraction as an influential factor of our attraction to others is seen in the matching hypothesis. The matching hypothesis proposes that the forming of a successful relationship is far more prone to occurring with people whom they consider to have an equal level of physical attractiveness to themselves.
This paper is going to delve into the effect physical appearance has on attraction in romantic relationships, and the other factors that influence interpersonal attraction.
Australasia, and is not restricted to the continent of Europe. Where Western Culture and Indian culture come at a cross roads is further explain by Naor, Linderman, Schroeder in their idea that “non-significant difference between Eastern and Western countries for the dimensions of institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, assertiveness, uncertainty avoidance, and humane orientation can be attributed to their strong link to people’s behavior and work-related attitude” (Naor et al, 2010, p. 194). Political pluralism, prominent subcultures, or even counter cultures such as the New Age movements are all Tendencies that have come to define modern Western societies. This results in the process of human migration and globalization. A current
Culture, a word almost everyone hears whenever there is sociological discussion that transcends various formats ranging from scholarly articles to local news station broadcasts. Culture contains a myriad of definitions depending on the perspective and lenses which are used to view it. Since it is a difficult concept to grasp at first, we do not realize the true scale of culture and its responsibility in dictating many actions within our daily lives. Different cultures are found all throughout the world, from the ever increasing western culture to smaller tribal cultures such as the wintu in California (“Vanishing Voices”). What must be taken into account is the fact that culture is heavily intertwined within society, since they both interact