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Cultural conflict

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''"Culture clash" redirects here. For other uses, see Culture Clash.''

For other kinds of conflict, see conflict (disambiguation).

Cultural conflict is a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and beliefs clash. It has been used to explain violence and crime. Cultural conflict is also an important topic in the study of acculturation, and it can have important implication for multicultural individuals’ well-being.

Contents

·       1Wider definition

·       2Narrow definition

·       3Influence and understanding

·       ADDITION: CULTURAL CONFLICT AND ACCULTURATION

·       4See also

·       5References

·       6Further reading

Wider definition[ edit | edit source]

Jonathan H. Turner defined cultural conflict as a conflict caused by "differences in cultural values and beliefs that place people at odds with one another". On a micro level, Alexander Grewe discussed a cultural conflict between guests of different culture and nationality as seen in a British 1970 sitcom, Fawlty Towers. He defined this conflict as one that occurs when people's expectations of a certain behavior coming from their cultural backgrounds are not met, as others have different cultural backgrounds and different expectations.

Cultural conflicts are difficult to resolve as parties to the conflict can have different beliefs. Cultural conflicts can intensify when such differences become reflected in politics, particularly on a macro level. An example of cultural conflict is the debate over abortion. Ethnic cleansing is another extreme example of cultural conflict. Wars is another result of a cultural conflict; for example, the differing views on slavery were one of the reasons for the American civil war.

Narrow definition[ edit | edit source]

A narrower definition of a cultural conflict dates to Daniel Bell's 1962 essay, "Crime as an American Way of Life", and focuses on criminal-enabling consequences of a clash in cultural values. William Kornblum defined it as a conflict that occurs when conflicting norms create "opportunities for deviance and criminal gain in deviant sub-cultures". Kornblum noted that whenever laws impose cultural values on a group that does not share those values, for example the case of a majority imposing their laws on a minority, illegal markets are created to circumvent those laws. He discussed the example of prohibition in the interbellum United States, and noted how the cultural conflict between pro- and anti-alcohol groups created opportunities for illegal activity; another example is that of the war on drugs.

Kornblum also classified the cultural conflict as one of the major types of conflict theory. In The Clash of Civilizations Samuel P. Huntington proposes that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world.

Influence and understanding[ edit | edit source]

Michelle LeBaron described different cultures as "underground rivers that run through our lives and relationships, giving us messages that shape our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other". She stated that cultural messages "shape our understandings" when two or more people are present in regards to relationships, conflict, and peace. LeBaron discussed the influence of culture as being powerful and "unconscious, influencing conflict and attempts to resolve conflict in imperceptible ways". She stated that the impact of culture is huge, affecting "name, frame, blame, and attempt to tame conflicts". Due to the huge impact that culture has on us, LeBaron finds it important to explain the "complications of conflict". First, "culture is multi-layered", meaning that "what you see on the surface may mask differences below the surface". Second, "culture is constantly in flux", meaning that "cultural groups adapt in dynamic and sometimes unpredictable ways". Third, "culture is elastic", meaning that one member of a cultural group may not participate in the norms of the culture. Lastly, "culture is largely below the surface", meaning that it isn't easy to reach the deeper levels of culture and its meanings.

Cultural Conflict and Acculturation

Cultural conflict is an important part of the acculturation***hyperlink to wiki entry*** process. When individuals grow up in a certain cultural environment, their heritage culture, come into prolonged and continuous contact with a different culture there is possibility for cultural conflict to occur on an individual level. Multicultural individuals come in many forms, they can be immigrants, children of immigrants, first nations, and bilinguals [8 ] — just to name a few. Multiculturals often reside in environments where the mainstream cultural identity differs from theirs, and that creates a fertile ground for the experience of conflict of a cultural nature. In the context of acculturation, individuals can experience conflict in response to differences in norms, values, or traditions, and the conflict can occur from an internal or external source. Internal conflict occurs when a person is conflicted in response to a morally challenging situation, while external sources relate to conflicts experienced in relation to, and with, other people. Sometimes, conflict can be resolved by simply favoring the culturally appropriate norms in a given situation. However, in some circumstances, many cultural norms can be appropriate [9], and the conflict may become difficult to manage [10].

How cultural conflict is resolved by multicultural and acculturating individuals is important to their psychosocial adjustment[11]. Arias-Valenzuela and colleagues studied what conflict resolution strategies predict well-being in multiculturals. They focused on two conflict resolution strategies [12] : active and agreeable. Active conflict resolution strategies involve engaging directly with the other parties involved and voicing their concerns, while agreeable resolution strategies mainly involve avoiding confrontation and create more psychological strain over time. The researchers reported that overall, active resolution strategies predict more well-being and agreeable resolution strategies predict ill-being [11]. However, this has been one of the first attempts to investigate cultural conflict resolution strategies’ effects on multiculturals’ well-being, and as such, further replication and investigation is necessary.

References[ edit | edit source]

1.     ^ ''Jonathan H. Turner (1 September 2005). Sociology. Prentice Hall. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-13-113496-6. Retrieved 14 January 2013.''

2.     ^ Jump up to:a b ''Alexander Grewe (17 October 2005). "I'm sick to death with you..." or External Character Conflicts in Fawlty Towers. GRIN Verlag. p. 10. ISBN 978-3-638-42885-9. Retrieved 14 January 2013.''

3.     ^ Jump up to:a b c ''Jonathan H. Turner (1 September 2005). Sociology. Prentice Hall. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-13-113496-6. Retrieved 14 January 2013.''

4.     ^ ''Margaret L. Andersen; Howard F. Taylor (1 January 2012). Sociology: The Essentials. Cengage Learning. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-111-83156-1. Retrieved 14 January 2013.''

5.     ^ ''Michael Fellman (19 April 1990). Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War. Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-19-506471-1. Retrieved 14 January 2013.''

6.     ^ Jump up to:a b c d e ''William Kornblum (31 January 2011). Sociology in a Changing World. Cengage Learning. pp. 191–192, 195, 197, 205. ISBN 978-1-111-30157-6. Retrieved 14 January 2013.''

7.     ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i ''"Culture and Conflict". Beyond Intractability. Retrieved 2013-04-21.''

8.     Schwartz, S. J., Vignoles, V. L., Brown, R., & Zagefka, H. (2014). The identity dynamics of acculturation and multiculturalism: Situating acculturation in context. In V. Benet-Martínez, & Y.-Y. Hong(Eds.),Oxford handbook of multicultural identity (pp. 57–95). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

9.     Benet-Martínez, V., Leu, J., Lee, F., & Morris, M. W.(2002). Negotiating biculturalism: Cultural frame switching in biculturals with oppositional versus compatible cultural identities. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 492–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022102033005005

10.   Giguère, B., Lalonde, R., & Lou, E. (2010). Living at the crossroads of cultural worlds: The experience of normative conflicts by second generation immigrant youth. Social and Personality Compass, 4, 14–29. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2009.00228.x

11.   Arias-Valenzuela, M., Amiot, C. E., and Ryder, A. G. (2019). Identity Configurations and Well-Being during Normative Cultural Conflict: The Roles of Multiculturals’ Conflict Management Strategies and Academic Stage. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 970–91. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2566

12.   Rahim, M. A. (1983). A Measure of Styles of Handling Interpersonal Conflict. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 368–376. doi: 10.2307/255985