Primary Message Systems

According to Hall, (p. 37) Primary Message Systems of culture must meet three criteria:

A. They must be rooted in Biological Activity

B. They must be able to isolated and analyzed individually

C. At the same time, they must be reflected in the rest of culture and have the rest of culture reflected in them.

They are:

Interaction:
-a natural urge to want to interact with people
-highest form of interaction is speech and reinforced by tone of voice and gesture
-you define who you are by negative or positive interactions
-everything grows from interaction
-gender roles apply to it
-interacting is the basic of all the PMS because you are always interacting, just as you are always communicating with people

Association:
-biological needs, family unit which our initial association
-association also provides safety
- gender rules apply to association
-




Subsistence:
-beg. of time.. how to survive.. natural instincts
-food shelter water
-basic needs, taking what you need to get by
-Subsistence-->Temporality is referred to the circle of life. life continuously changes. full of rhythms and cycles. mother nature is a good example of subsistence. when the environment changes species change to adapt to their surroundings in order to live and survive to become the more dominant species.




Bisexuality:
-Gender roles, how we behave is determined by our sex at birth
-isolated male/female
-Subsistence - reproduction, survival of species.
-Interaction - younger kids playing with other children similar to themselves.
-Territory -  certain roles that women/men play the opposite gender usually does not.
-Association -  women's clubs, military, sports teams.




Territoriality:
-has to deal with the use, possession, and conflict over space.
-territory, by itself, is the space YOU, as a person, occupy.
-territory and sustinece, competing over resources in said territory
- territory and play: territory established based on game rules (e.g- safe area in tag)
- territory in defense- conflicts arise when space is occupied by animals or even nature (i.e cutting down trees)
-territory by association: more space indicated higher standing in a kingdom/workplace.





Temporality:
Isolation- Time cannot be recovered when lost.
Biology- Heart beat, Circadian rhythm, internal processes
Subsistence- Food, Breathing... you don't eat you body tells you, then you die.
Defense- Time as speed attacks or attacking when not ready
Interaction- Language and poetry




Learning:




Play:





Defense:







Exploitation (use of materials):

Learning Culture

How do we become enculturated anyway?

A seven-year old boy in the United States is told by his grandfather to shake hands when he is introduced to a friend of the family is learning good manners...

An Indian child who lives in a home where the women eat after the men is learning gender roles...

A Jewish child who helps conduct the Passover ceremony is learning about traditions, both family and religious...

A Japanese girl who attends tea ceremony classes is learning about patience, self-discipline, and ritual... Japanese values

A fourth-grader in New Jersey watching a film on George Washington crossing the Delaware is learning about patriotism and fortitude... American values...

Learning through proverbs.....

American Proverbs

The squeaky wheel gets the grease (we value those who speak up)

A man's home is his castle (we value property rights and ownership)

God helps those who help themselves

Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps

No pain, no gain (Americans values individual achievements)

Actions speak louder than words

Nothing ventured, nothing gained (we value activity, taking chances)

Time Sensitive

From our reading of Hall and our discussion in class, the following stages (Hall) apply to the given degrees of lateness (discussion)

5 minutes or less = Mumble Something

10 -5 minutes = Sight Apology, infomally given

20-10 minutes = Mildly Insulting, Apology needed

30-20 minutes = Rude Period

45- 30 minutes = Downright Insulting

No Show = ???

All of the above are influenced by an individual's culture and co-culture.

What other factors would influence the reactions of a participant in this kind of action? Does the relationship of the parties matter? Does the time of day matter, speaking of time? What if it's a business meeting, would you expect to land the client or account if you were late for the initial encounter?

So what is culture after all? Does Hall tell us?

Culture Defined by Samovar, et al:

Culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective elements that, in the past, have increased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction for the participants in an ecological niche, and thus became shared among those who could communicate with each other because they had a common language and they lived in the same time and place. (p. 23)

Human-made= non-biological functions, (in that we already know how to eat, sleep, cry, etc.)

Elements of Culture:

History

"All cultures believe in the ideas that history is a diagram that offers direction about how to live in the present." History provides identity to a cultural group. How? What are some examples of historical information that informs your daily life and views?

Religion

All cultures feature a religion or religious views. Cultures possess "a dominant, organized religion within which salient beliefs and activites can be given meaning and legitimacy." (p.25)

Religion is pervasive in culture as it applies to basic functions of societies, including social control, conflict resolution, supports solidarity, and explains the unknowable, and provides emotional support."

Religions impact business practices: (i.e. Puritan work ethic)

Religions impact politics: (homeland sovereignty, usary laws)

Religions impact individual behavior: (personal codes of ethics, chivalry)

Values

Values are "critical to the maintenance of culture because they represent the qualities that people believe are essential to continuing their way of life"

Values = standards of desirability, goodness, beauty

Can values be changed by an individual? Is greed good? Does American favor or value individual achievement, the elderly, or the weak?

Social Organizations

Social Organizations help an individual give order to his or her life. Governments of all types, schools, tribes, the family and other groupings "establish networks of support and communication and regulate norms of social, familial, and personal conduct"

Language

Common to all cultures is a language. A group bifurcated in language is divided culturally along the same lines.

Deep Structure Institutions of Culture

Your text cites Huntington who states that, "The people of different civilizations have different views on the relations between God and man, the individual and the group, the citizen and the state, parents and children, husband and wife, as well as differing views of the relative importance of rights and responsibilities, liberty and authority, equality and hierarchy."





Family, State, and Religion carry messages that allow a culture to endure. Religious and nationalist narratives repeat sacred and patriotic messages and are often first heard within family groups.


The FAMILY


Types of families, extended and nuclear (or two-generational)


Functions of family
Reproduction


Teaching Economics


Socialization


Teaching Values and Worldview


Identity "Who am I"


Communication Training




(enculturation)


The STATE


States or nations, communities are holders of history, a vital cultural element

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

According to Kohlberg there are three stages in the development of human morality.

Pre-Conventional morals usually apply to infants and very young children. People at this stage decide whether something is right or wrong based on its ability to satisfy their needs for food, water, warmth, physical comfort, or affection. Sadly, some adults still use pre-conventional morality to guide their lives. If you have a friend whose sentences consistently start with "I," you may be dealing with one of these examples.

Conventional morals are what we learn in school and carry into our working lives. Something is good or right if it helps the organization or community function easily and properly. Think of the difference between toddlers who rush for the tray of cookies and fifth graders who have learned to wait in line. The fifth graders' base desires have been foregone to accommodate the need for order and fairness to others.

Post-Conventional morals are outside the realm of possibility for many. They require humans to consider the needs of others for equality and self-expression as importantly as their own. Think of someone being called a "citizen of the world" for instance. The needs considered don't stop at national borders and often demand that the successful functioning of a factory, school, or government be interrupted. Upsetting the apple cart is required, sometimes, for Post-conventional people and the long-term end result will be a more fair and equitable world, hopefully, in their mind.