Tag Archives: Behavior

8. DAILY ROUTINES

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Make copies of a chart with times of the day (morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night) with space for writing in activities done during those times. Fill in your own activities for each time frame and give one to some of your friends. Have your friends fill in their own chart with their activities. Compare charts as a conversation exercise. What adjustments would be allowed in the daily routine? Do these tasks get done each day, or is there variety during the week?

Which activities are personal, and which ones involve the whole family? How are bathroom schedules organized and monitored? Are there washstands outside of the toilet area, or is everything enclosed in one room? How often is bathing done, and where?

Have each of the members of one family you know well fill out the charts. Compare the schedules for each and note how they differ, how they augment each other, and how adjustments are made. Note how much of their time is taken in doing their various tasks. What problems do they face during the day and how do they deal with them? Which tasks are done on a daily basis? Does the work vary from day to day (some tasks done one day, some on another)?

Arrange with a family you know well to stay overnight in their home and participate in their life for a whole day. Perhaps you could suggest that you would like to tell your relatives in your home country what a day in the life of a local family is like. Participate in their work as much as possible and try to get a picture of both individual differences and interpersonal relationships. If you have a fellow-worker, split up to follow family members to different tasks. Compare notes later to get a composite picture.

Examples of questions to note:

  •  Who gets up first?
  • What is the first task each member of the family performs?
  • Who wakes up the rest of the family? in what order?
  • Is face-washing enough, or is a complete bath in order in the morning?
  • Who gets the clothes ready for wearing?
  • Who cooks the breakfast?
  • Do the children get walked to school?
  • When does the father leave for work, and when does he return?
  • Does the mother also work? If so, what are the arrangements for child care?
  • What arrangements are made for cleaning the house, washing the dishes, gardening, marketing, etc.?

26. TIME AND ITS MEANING

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How is time kept track of in the city, town, neighborhood, family, by an individual? Is there a town clock? Do offices, public buildings, and homes have clocks? Do men and women wear watches? Do children have watches? At what age are they taught how to tell time?

Is it important to be on time for business meetings? for social functions? for church? What is the meaning of “on time” for such events? Does it make a difference if the event is Western oriented or locally run? Are there certain events when time is of importance?

Do offices, businesses, government departments (post office, passport office, etc.), stores have regular hours they are open?

Is the Western calendar followed? Is another type of calendar also followed for religious purposes? for agricultural purposes? What seasons are acknowledged (in comparison to the Western concept of “four seasons”)? Why are these differentiations made? Is timing calculated differently for these seasonal changes? Is daylight savings time observed?

76. CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS: Ideal vs. Actual Behavior

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Refer to information and insights about behavior you observed from past assignments. Then talk to as many people as you can to try to get an overall picture of the kind of behavior people admire.

Focus on particular roles in the culture, such as husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, kinsman, friend, ancestor, religious or political leader, villager or neighbor, etc. Try to get people to verbalize what they think are the characteristics of a “good husband,” “best friend,” etc. What general and specific qualities emerge as ideals? How do these compare with the ideals of your native culture?

Some qualities to focus on could be uniformity vs. individuality, cooperation vs. competition, generosity, industriousness, obedience to parents, behavior proper for one’s gender, control of one’s emotions, etc.

Reflect on what you have observed of the culture and its people. What differences are there between what people say should be done and what they actually do? Don’t be too critical, however; no culture lives up to its ideals, though it tries to.

Certain deviant patterns may actually provide a safety valve for the release of tensions which the ideal produces. By having such a culturally sanctioned release, the ideals may be maintained since people know there are times and places when they may let loose emotions or actions which would otherwise be frowned on. As you discuss this with various people, see if you can identify what such culturally acceptable deviations might be. You might see someone acting in a strange manner. Ask what the back-ground of this might be—a culturally acceptable deviation?

Talk about your findings with fellow co-workers and discuss what might be culturally acceptable in your own country, but might not be in your host country. What changes need to be made?

77. CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS: Taboos

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Taboos are prohibitions attached to certain objects or actions. The violation of taboos is believed to cause dire consequences (bad luck, disease, death) to the guilty person or to the community. Taboos are thus a type of negative law, having both social and ritual effects. Make a list of taboos, noting when, where, and by whom the object or activity is taboo.

To get started, consider the almost universal taboo against incest; the abominations listed in Leviticus 11, 18, 19; the prohibition in Buddhism against a woman touching a monk; Islamic dietary restrictions, etc.

Are there names of people or things which one must not say? Are there animals which must not be eaten, at least on certain days? Are there people one may not speak to or touch? Are there places one may not go, or where certain things may not be done?

Are there certain relationships within the family or within the community which are forbidden? Are there certain areas of a house or a public area which are off limits?

Are there taboos on when, how, or by whom a ritual object may he touched, used, looked at, etc.? What about where those objects should be placed?

What penalties are there for violation of the taboos? Are there stories about people who violated them and were punished? What part do natural calamities have? or spirits or gods (be specific)?

How can the effects of a violated taboo be averted? Note the details for each type of taboo.

How did particular taboos get started? Are taboos associated with charms and amulets so that they will remain magically effective? How can violations of taboos come to be known, especially if they are violated unwittingly?