American Culture Values & Characteristics | What is American Culture? – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

How American Culture Differs from Other Cultures

Does America have a culture? American culture consists of those behaviors, values, and customs of Americans that are particular to the American people and are not shared to the same degree or in the same combination by people of other cultures. Religious beliefs, language, and holiday customs are examples of cultural traits. American culture is relative to other cultures. This means that in order to determine what is specific to American culture, one must compare it to other cultures in the world.

What are some of these American values? Examples of American include:

• Independence
• Love of privacy
• Belief in equal opportunity
• Insistence on punctuality/timeliness
• Relative informality
• Respect for personal ambition and achievement
• Directness
• Orientation towards the future

Individual Independence

American culture values individual achievements over collective achievements. One example of this occurs in American schools. Students are graded on their own personal contributions rather than on how they cooperate with others in a group.

This American value of independence can be seen in a study by the Pew Research Center. A majority of Americans believe that they have control over their future compared to those in the rest of the world. When questioned, 57% of Americans disagreed with the following statement, ”Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control,” compared with 38% of people from other countries.

Directness vs. Politeness

Directness is an American custom. Rather than hinting at a problem, American workers and students are encouraged to point it out and suggest a solution. This plays out in the personal realm where in personal relationships, conflict is addressed directly. This is more pronounced than in some other cultures where euphemisms and indirection are preferred. Similarly, Americans are encouraged in their writing to state their main point from the beginning. In other cultures, this would turn readers away.

However, directness is a relative value. Even in the American culture and lifestyle, the degree of directness that is tolerated can vary. It can vary based upon the situation as it would be considered inappropriate by most for a subordinate in the workplace to explicitly direct a superior to do something. It can also vary based upon the individual as some American are more comfortable being direct than others. Oftentimes directness is contrasted with politeness. The more polite a country is, the less direct communication of conflicts is tolerated.

Privacy

In the United States culture, personal privacy is valued. It is considered impolite to ask people how old they are, how much money they make, or what their position in their family is. In contrast, Korean cultures require one to find out on a first meeting who is older and who is younger, so that the correct honorifics can be used. In many cultures people share their salary information freely and are very direct in asking others how much money they make, when they were born, and what their birth order is in their family of origin. This is considered a way of getting to know one another.

The issue of age is relative even in American culture itself. It may not be considered impolite to ask a man or a child how old they are. It is, however, considered impolite to ask a woman the same question because women feel they are judged less favorably as they age.

The value of privacy is also written into law. Such laws include the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act. Both of these limit the amount and type of information that can be given about a person without their consent.

Equality and Informality

American culture values having a level playing field and equal opportunity for all. Unlike Indian culture that has a caste system, in the United States, people are all considered equal under the law and encouraged to pursue whatever career or lifestyle they wish. Because of the relative equality of managers and the workers they supervise, no special titles are used to indicate that one person is superior or another is inferior. An exception to this is in the case of military rank.

Unlike Korean society, where a complex system of honorifics is used to distinguish people’s position in the social hierarchy, Americans use very few titles. They may even refer to their bosses by their first name. This informality can be seen in many aspects of American society, and in the workforce it can be seen when people refer to their bosses by their first names. For example, a worker may approach a superior in the following manner, ”Hey Sam, can you help me for a second?” Exception to this rule include the use of Sir and Ma’am by service personnel, and the use of the titles Mr. and Mrs. and Dr. by students to teachers. In contrast, most Israeli students address their teachers on a first name basis.

As mentioned previously, under U.S. law, all people are considered equal. In other words, no group of people is granted either greater or fewer rights based upon their membership or lack of membership in a specific socioeconomic group. Many people suggest that this is not true in the reality of day to day life, as some groups are the targets of discrimination. For example, in recent years, there have been many protests due to injustices against certain groups observed playing out in policing procedures. Because of American interest in equality, it would be considered grossly inappropriate for anyone to outwardly admit to holding prejudices against certain groups.

Punctuality

In American society, time and money are seen as interchangeable, and in business situations being late is not tolerated. One example of this is that if a future employee were to arrive late to an interview, they likely would not be considered for the job. If a person lacks timeliness in regards to parties or invitations, one could infer that a person is not from the United States where timeliness is valued. For job interviews and many healthcare appointments, Americans are expected to arrive early. In contrast, in many Latin American societies there is a much more relaxed attitude to start dates and deadlines.

Personal Ambition, Hard Work and Success

American society encourages individuals to work hard and to take personal credit for their success. Shopping and spending money can be seen as a status symbol. In contrast, some societies, such as those that have caste systems, consider it inappropriate for people to want to rise above their current social rank.

Americans’ value of hard work influences their perception of welfare and social assistance programs. Most Americans believe it is more virtuous to work for their money than it is to receive governmental or other assistance.

Future Orientation

American culture is very goal-oriented, and any activity engaged in today is meant to have results in the future. In contrast, in many traditional societies, citizens value the past over the future. In these societies, conserving older monuments and achievements is valued over creating new ones. However, as with all general rules, there are exceptions.

One example of Americans’ future orientation concerns family life. Many homes consist just of a nuclear family as elderly people live on their own or in facilities for the elderly. American family life often centers around the needs and activities of the children.

Subcultures in the United States

American culture is not a homogenous culture. To every rule given above, there can be an exception in a particular region or subculture in the United States. Because the United States is a melting pot that contains many diverse subcultures, one has to get to know local rules for polite behavior and local customs in order to fit in.

Southern American Culture

Before the Civil War, in what is called the antebellum period, the South had a different culture from the North. The South was more agrarian, rural, and hierarchical in nature. Southerners are warmer and more inviting to strangers, but they also tend to be more indirect in their criticism of others. Southern children are more polite to their elders, often calling them Sir and Ma’am, and if there are honorifics to be found in American culture, it is in the South that they are employed.

One example of the polite society found in the South is the debutante ball or cotillion. These balls are where young women, usually of means, are presented to society. While these balls occur throughout the United States, they are much more common in the South.

Black American Culture

Black American Vernacular is a dialect of English with distinct vocabulary and pronunciation that has some elements in common with Southern American English. When it comes to directness and politeness, some words that are considered rude, taboo, or grammatically incorrect in mainstream American society are not seen this way among people or groups speaking Black American Vernacular.

Hispanic American Culture

Certain parts of the United States originally belonged to Spain or Mexico, and at the same time the U.S. has received a number of immigrants from Hispanic countries. As a result, there are Americans who have grown up in Hispanic families, some of which even trace their roots to before the existence of the United States. Some Hispanic populations in the United States speak Spanish at home and share the cultural values of their Hispanic ancestors. The Catholic faith is an example of a cultural value that isn’t exclusive to Hispanic Americans but that is pronounced in that culture. In 2011, over half of Hispanic adults considered themselves Catholic.

Amish American Culture

The Amish are a unique subculture in American society that sets itself apart from the mainstream. The Amish speak a German dialect and educate their children separately from all other American children. They live in communities of their own, often near but apart from mainstream society. The cultural values of the Amish include hard work, religious upbringing, and a strong community hierarchy. These values are often at odds with mainstream American culture that values the individual over the community.

Lesson Summary

The word, culture, refers to the behaviors, values, and customs shared by a group of people. Because some behaviors are part of being human, those behaviors are not considered particular to an individual culture. Religious beliefs are an example of a cultural trait. Some values important to Americans are independence, love of privacy, belief in equal opportunity, insistence on punctuality/timeliness, relative informality, respect for personal ambition and achievement, directness, and orientation towards the future. This informality can be seen in many aspects of American society, and in the workforce it can be seen when people refer to their bosses by their first names. If a person lacks timeliness in regards to invitations and appointments, one could possibly infer that they are not from the United States where timeliness is valued. American society is not a homogenous society. There are multiple subcultures that exist in the United States. Some of these subcultures are Southern American culture, Black American culture, Hispanic American culture, and Amish American culture.

There are some aspects of American culture that are seen in the workplace. Workers in America do not often focus strongly on rank, and they converse with each other in manners that would be considered informal elsewhere, often referring to superiors on a first name basis. Discussing salary is considered impolite in the United States and timeliness is prized. While discussing salary is a faux pas, going shopping may be considered a status symbol.