Cross-Culture Values

Cross-cultural values are affected by the culture norms and the ways in which people behave are influenced by a particular society. Different cultures have beliefs that affect his or her behavior distinguishing them from others. Some examples would be an Muslim female who covers her face, head and body with clothing only revealing the eyes, whereas and American female would not cover these parts of her body because of different beliefs. The Muslim female believe that she is not to expose her beauty because it is a distraction to the men, but American women would wear clothing exposing her head, legs and arms not considering this to be a distraction. Another example of cross culture values are the differences of those of non-traditional marriages such as polygamy who believe in having more than one wife. Traditional marriages consider having more than one spouse as illegal and committing adultery. The women of the spouses would not approve of sharing her husband with another woman. Other non-traditional marriages are those of the same sex. This union is a taboo in some cultures and is looked at as an abomination toward God. Cross-culture values examine links between cultural norms and behavior and the way in which particular human activities are influenced by social cultural forces. (Shiraev & Levy, 2010).This is important to remember when examining cutlures. One first examine his or her own culture then make assessment and comparision to others.

Shiraev, E.B. & Levy, D. A. (2010).Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary acpplications (4th ed) Boston:Pearson/Allyn Bacon