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Values are grounded in beliefs about the way the

world should be rather than assumptions about the way

the world is (Hall, 2005). Values are one omponent of

ulture and an !ary greatly in the way that they are

demonstrated. "he meaning behind a partiular !alue

an differ greatly from one ulture to another. #n order

to understand the pereptions of a partiular !alue in a

gi!en ulture, it is neessary to reogni$e the affets that

other aspets of a ulture may ha!e on one%s

understanding of what onstitutes honesty, suess,

e&uality, or loyalty.

"wo ultures who ha!e different ideas on these four

!alues are the 'nited tates and hina. *hile the

differenes between the ultures of these two nations

ha!e lessened in reent years, they are still &uite

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different. +or eample, the -merian syhologial

-ssoiation has published researh demonstrating the

differenes in the brain funtion of a hinese person who

is eamining his own !alues and the brain funtion of an

-merian person when eamining their !alues. "hese

partiular researhers belie!e that olleti!ist ultures

suh as the hinese, !iew themsel!es in suh lose

onnetion to those around them that their brain shows

the same ati!ity when they eamine their !alues as

they do when eamining the !alues of others. #n

ontrast, the researh ontends that -merians brain

ati!ity when eamining the !alues of self are !ery

different than the brain ati!ity when e!aluating the

!alues of other people. "his is belie!ed to be due to the

strong sense of indi!iduality in -merian ulture (-$ar,

20/0).

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*hen looing at honesty, espeially in the ontet of

gi!ing opinions, the two ultures !ary greatly. -merians

are noted for speaing their minds, gi!ing their opinions,

and speaing freely. "he hinese ulture onsiders it

ungraious to openly disagree with another, espeially if

they are a foreign !isitor. *hat they are far more liely

to do if they disagree with an opinion or statement is to

nod their head and smile. "his

gesture is intended to say, #

hear you, not # agree with you

(1otus, 20/). -gain this

differene goes ba to the different world!iews of the

ultures. "he olleti!ist hinese ulture is more foused

on the relationship, while the indi!idualist -merian

ulture is more foused on the rights of a person to ha!e

their own opinions and to freely spea them. "he

hinese ultureplaes more emphasis on a!oiding diret

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onfrontations and ontro!ersial topis, while -merians

are muh more liely to debate an issue.

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Chinese and American cultures also have

different perceptions on what it means to be

loyal. Due to greater importance placed on

relationships, people of the Chinese culture

feel a heightened sense of loyalty to their

family and their community. This is due to not

only their collectivistworldview, but also their

hierarchical worldview. The personal identity

and social position of a person in the Chinese

culture is tied to their family, their community,

and their occupation. When one identity is so

greatly defined by ones relationships to

others, loyalty to these groups is going to be

intensified. While a person of the Chinese

culture may go to great lengths to remain loyal

to family, employer, or even government, an

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/china-country-profile.htmlhttp://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/china-country-profile.html

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American is more likely to reserve that degree

of loyalty for self or immediate family. An

Americans worldview is more galitarian and

Achievement. !ince an American is not as likely

to feel that personal success is due to his

relationship with others, the sense of loyalty or

obligation is not as high "#rientation for

Chinese !tudents$.

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This overlaps into the differences in the way

that the Chinese culture views success as

opposed to the way theAmerican cultureviews

it. While the Chinese culture

has been changing their

worldview on views of success

over the last few years, there are still

differences. The Chinese place greater

emphasis on personal relationships and

maintaining harmony within these

relationships is more important than the

completion of a task. While a person in the

American culture is considered a

success if they have ac%uired

wealth, even at the e&pense of

others around them, the Chinese

would place greater emphasis on

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how other people were treated. The fact that

the Chinese culture is still more hierarchical

than egalitarian, influences the manners in

which Chinese view success. The

accomplishments or status of a person in the

Chinese culture may have more to do with the

caste system to which they were born. Their

ability to achieve success is more about

ascription than personal achievement

"#rientation for Chinese !tudents$.

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%uality is another area in which the Chinese

culture is slowly becoming more like the

American culture. Again, there are still very

obvious differences. Americans are raised to

believe that every individual is a good as

another. Children are taught that they can do

anything and be anything that they desire.

This is a reflection of the egalitarian worldview

of the American culture. #n the other hand,

people of the Chinese culture tend to identify

themselves based on the station in life to

which they were born. They are more

comfortable knowing the rules and customs for

dealing with each level of the hierarchy. They

assign different rules of social interaction and

behaviors based on an individuals placement

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in the social hierarchy of the Chinese culture

"'Anhonacker, ())*$.

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When studying the world views of the Chinese

and American culture, it is important to note

that both cultures may have some of the

%ualities of opposing world views and that the

world views of a culture are continually

evolving and changing. +or the purpose of

comparison, one must look at the overall

values and norms.

The Chinese culture

has traditionally been

collectivist, with

individuals more concerned with individual

actions that reflect well on family, employers,

community, and government. They social

system hierarchical in nature, with a persons

social status based on the status of their family

and ancestors. n the same manner, personal

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success is attributed to ascription, not

individual achievement. n communication, the

Chinese are high-conte&t, focused more on

body language, past e&periences, and the

social setting to determine conversation. Their

language is more lubricant, believed to be a

very powerful tool words are used more

sparingly and less freely. /y comparison,

Americans favor an individualist world view,

focusing on personal goals, ideas, and desires.

The individualist view of Americans goes well

with their egalitarian view of the world also

/elieving that everyone should have the same

potential, rights, and opportunities. Americans

assign success and status based on individual

achievements. The primary purpose of an

Americans conversation is to share

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information and Americans are much freer with

saying what they think. /ecause they are low-

conte&t social, they are less likely to consider

social setting or past e&periences of the

listener when choosing their words "0all,

*112$.

While some would argue that the two cultures are

becoming more alike

each day, there are still

obvious differences in

the world views, and

conse%uently the perceptions of values,

between the Chinese and American cultures.

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Works Cited

A3ar, /. "*1(1$. 4our /rain on Culture. !cience

Watch , 55-56.

Chinese values, customs, and beliefs. "*1(7$.

8etrieved !eptember 16, *1(7, from 9otus

Tours Connect Cultures:http:;;www.lotustours.net;info;connect;culture;

culture*.shtml

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0all, /. T. "*112$. Among Cultures: The Challenges

of Communication . Wadsworth.

#rientation for Chinese !tudents. "n.d.$. 8etrieved

!eptember 1