Communication Disorders: Understanding Culture

What is Culture?

• Culture is a set of values, beliefs, norms, and social practices that socially define a group of people and affect their behaviors.
• It involves beliefs, values, norms, and social practices.

Culture Involves

• Beliefs: Tenets or convictions that people hold to be true.
• Values: Cultural values reflect what a society believes is right or wrong, and portray the standards that a society would like to live up to.
• Norms: Perceived informal, mostly unwritten, rules that define acceptable and appropriate actions within a given group or community, guiding human behavior.
• Social practices: Predictable behavior patterns that members of a culture typically follow.

What is Race?

• Refers to certain physical similarities that are shared by a group of people.
• A political and societal term that was invented to justify economic and social distinctions, and can form the basis for biased and discriminatory communication.

What is Ethnicity?

• The social definition of groups of people based on shared ancestry and culture.
• Includes race and factors such as customs, nationality, language, and heritage.

Culture is a Filter

• Influences people's actions and expectations of themselves.
• Impacts people's perceptions and expectations of others.

Cultural Variables that Influence Behaviour

• Age:
  • Resistance to change
  • Power dynamics
  • Cultural preservation
  • Aging is perceived differently around the world
• Gender:
  • Gender roles
  • Power dynamics
  • Emotional expression
  • Division of labour
  • Stereotype: Speech therapy is stereotypically seen as a female occupation
• Education:
  • Transmitting values and beliefs
  • Language and communication
  • Cultural diversity and inclusion
  • Shaping societal norms and values
• Socioeconomic status:
  • Education
  • Consumption patterns
  • Social networks and relationships
  • Health and healthcare access

Why Does Culture Exist?

• Passes on knowledge, beliefs, and traditions from one generation to another.
• Helps individuals to form their identity and sense of belonging.
• Provides a framework for social interaction and communication.
• Helps shape values and norms within a society.
• Helps maintain social cohesion and unity within a community.

What Maintains a Culture?

• Language and communication are vital for preserving culture.
• Education systems transmit cultural norms, behaviors, and skills across generations.
• Arts, literature, music, and media contribute to cultural preservation.
• Institutions like museums and libraries play a key role in preserving and promoting culture.

Cultural Diversity

• The existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society.
• Cultural diversity recognizes the existence of broad cultural groups within a culture.
• Monocultural individuals: Those who identify exclusively with a single cultural group.
• Bicultural individuals: Those who are fully proficient and comfortable with values and behaviors of two or more different cultures.
• Acculturation: When individuals adopt the cultural practices, beliefs, and customs of another society but not at the expense of their own culture.
• Assimilation: When individuals replace their cultural practices, beliefs, and customs with another culture.

This quiz explores the concept of culture, its components, and its impact on human behavior. Learn about the beliefs, values, norms, and social practices that shape a culture.