0:00:00.009,0:00:02.730 Personality is more than just genes. 0:00:02.740,0:00:05.050 A large part of who we are and the decisions that we 0:00:05.059,0:00:07.710 make are influenced by the culture that we grew up in. 0:00:07.719,0:00:09.430 So, where does this influence start? 0:00:09.439,0:00:11.569 Think all the way back to when you learn manners. 0:00:11.579,0:00:13.960 You were probably scolded for engaging in behavior 0:00:13.970,0:00:15.670 that was considered rude in your culture. 0:00:15.680,0:00:16.270 Conversely, 0:00:16.280,0:00:17.959 you're probably encouraged to engage in behaviors 0:00:17.969,0:00:19.129 that are considered to be polite. 0:00:19.139,0:00:22.510 Now, as you were conditioned to engage in more polite behaviors, 0:00:22.520,0:00:26.510 you subconsciously picked up on patterns that influenced how you behave. 0:00:26.520,0:00:29.329 These patterns are highly influenced by the values of the culture 0:00:29.638,0:00:33.178 that you grew up in. But not all cultures hold the same values. 0:00:33.187,0:00:35.888 Some cultures tend to encourage behaviors that are loud, 0:00:35.897,0:00:37.228 boisterous, and competitive. 0:00:37.237,0:00:38.498 Others encourage quiet, 0:00:38.507,0:00:42.167 respectful, and more humble behaviors. Depending on the culture where you live, 0:00:42.178,0:00:43.888 you probably pick up on these values, 0:00:43.897,0:00:46.068 and they have definitely influenced your decisions 0:00:46.077,0:00:47.138 and your personality. 0:00:47.147,0:00:50.138 Researchers have been studying the connections between culture and 0:00:50.147,0:00:52.298 personality for a long time. And in this video, 0:00:52.307,0:00:54.568 I'm gonna attempt to explain two spectrums 0:00:54.577,0:00:57.077 that researchers have created to define cultures. 0:00:57.088,0:01:00.335 The culture's place on these spectrums highly influences the personality 0:01:00.346,0:01:03.066 traits and the behaviors of the people within that culture. 0:01:03.096,0:01:05.545 So, culture is not determined by borders. 0:01:05.555,0:01:07.246 As you'll see throughout the rest of this video, 0:01:07.255,0:01:09.846 people learn lessons from cultures that are created 0:01:09.856,0:01:12.005 from people within a certain country occupation, 0:01:12.015,0:01:14.325 class, gender identity, or other differences. 0:01:14.335,0:01:14.966 For example, 0:01:14.975,0:01:17.875 just because the country you live in has an individualist 0:01:17.886,0:01:21.246 culture does not mean you are bound by individualist ideas. 0:01:21.255,0:01:23.206 So, keep this in mind throughout the rest of the video. 0:01:23.216,0:01:27.125 Let's get started by talking about individual versus collectivist culture. 0:01:27.136,0:01:30.874 Individualism focuses on the individual just as the name implies. 0:01:30.884,0:01:32.893 People living in an individualist environment, 0:01:32.903,0:01:36.314 prioritize self-improvement of themselves and satisfying their own 0:01:36.323,0:01:38.513 needs before the rest of those of their community. 0:01:38.524,0:01:39.134 Why? 0:01:39.204,0:01:39.414 Well, 0:01:39.424,0:01:41.463 individualist cultures believe and teach that 0:01:41.473,0:01:43.234 if everyone takes care of themselves, 0:01:43.244,0:01:46.283 then the entire group should thrive and then become self-sufficient. 0:01:46.293,0:01:50.274 Individualist cultures put a lot of stress on independence and self-reliance. 0:01:50.283,0:01:52.984 Those that live in this type of culture tend to be very self-sufficient 0:01:52.994,0:01:57.033 and driven workers, but are weaker whenever it comes to collaboration and teamwork. 0:01:57.043,0:01:59.391 They usually struggle handing off responsibility. 0:01:59.402,0:02:00.061 Now, in general, 0:02:00.071,0:02:02.601 these people usually distance themselves psychologically 0:02:02.611,0:02:04.141 and emotionally from one another, 0:02:04.152,0:02:06.311 since working with others is more of an option 0:02:06.321,0:02:08.501 than a requirement for success. In the media, 0:02:08.511,0:02:11.662 we often see individualist characteristics associated with men, 0:02:11.671,0:02:14.542 people in urban settings, and the Western culture. 0:02:14.552,0:02:16.272 So, what about collectivist cultures? 0:02:16.281,0:02:18.901 People living in a collectivist environment are taught to focus on the 0:02:18.912,0:02:21.861 needs of the group before they focus on their own individual needs. 0:02:21.871,0:02:25.382 They associate their identity to the role and function in a larger group. 0:02:25.391,0:02:29.130 These groups can include family, teams at work, or the entire nation. 0:02:29.139,0:02:32.369 Collectivist societies teach people that everyone will benefit when 0:02:32.380,0:02:33.809 they start to look out for one another. 0:02:33.820,0:02:36.919 Harmony and interdependence between group members is highly 0:02:36.929,0:02:38.949 valued among people in this type of environment. 0:02:38.960,0:02:41.089 Now, unlike their individualist counterparts, 0:02:41.100,0:02:43.919 members of collectivist cultures tend to be extremely 0:02:43.929,0:02:46.330 close to each other psychologically and emotionally. 0:02:46.339,0:02:46.509 Now, 0:02:46.520,0:02:49.949 this can create an us versus the mindset that separates or 0:02:49.960,0:02:52.380 looks down upon people that are outside of their group. 0:02:52.389,0:02:55.559 Collectivist characteristics are generally associated with women, 0:02:55.570,0:02:58.007 people in rural settings, and Eastern culture. 0:02:58.018,0:02:59.638 So, let's look at another spectrum. 0:02:59.647,0:03:02.518 Did you grow up in an approach or an avoidance culture? 0:03:02.527,0:03:06.167 This idea was coined in 1935 to help psychologists 0:03:06.177,0:03:09.048 identify what makes some conflicts easy to resolve and 0:03:09.057,0:03:11.598 others difficult to resolve. Where you lie on this 0:03:11.608,0:03:14.188 spectrum can highly influence how you make decisions. 0:03:14.197,0:03:16.537 So, what is approach versus avoidance? 0:03:16.548,0:03:20.057 Humans typically want to approach and move towards pleasurable things, and they 0:03:20.067,0:03:23.798 typically want to avoid and move away from negative or painful things. 0:03:23.807,0:03:25.628 It's very similar to Freud's pleasure-pain 0:03:25.805,0:03:26.455 principle. 0:03:26.466,0:03:28.546 The idea of approach versus avoidance was 0:03:28.555,0:03:30.455 measured when an experiment was conducted on 0:03:30.466,0:03:34.826 rats in 1948. The rats were exposed to different positive and negative stimuli. 0:03:34.835,0:03:37.985 Researchers then measure the strength of their pull towards the stimuli. 0:03:37.996,0:03:40.985 The most interesting results from this experiment revealed that the closer the 0:03:40.996,0:03:43.746 rats were to the item that they were either approaching or avoiding, 0:03:43.755,0:03:45.925 the stronger their pull was in either direction. 0:03:45.936,0:03:46.285 Now, 0:03:46.296,0:03:47.906 this can be applied to humans and how 0:03:47.916,0:03:50.386 they make their decisions and categorize conflict. 0:03:50.395,0:03:52.936 But what does it have to do with the culture where you grew up with? 0:03:52.945,0:03:54.975 Because that's kind of the topic of this video, right? The 0:03:55.113,0:03:58.333 culture helps to teach you at a young age what to approach and what 0:03:58.343,0:04:02.214 to avoid. Culture doesn't teach you to avoid physical pain and approach food. 0:04:02.223,0:04:04.813 Those things are instinctual to all humans. 0:04:04.824,0:04:08.854 The things we learn to approach and avoid through culture, appeal to a higher need. 0:04:08.863,0:04:12.253 One example of this is something called uncertainty avoidance. 0:04:12.264,0:04:13.253 The uncertainty 0:04:13.264,0:04:15.054 avoidance of a culture is a measure of 0:04:15.063,0:04:17.923 how that culture responds to novelty and uncertainty. 0:04:17.933,0:04:21.003 How does a culture deal with ambiguity? Are changes welcome in the 0:04:21.014,0:04:25.201 nation? Does the culture approach stable traditional rules and customs? 0:04:25.212,0:04:26.361 Now, in some research, 0:04:26.372,0:04:28.441 I found that countries who generally score high 0:04:28.451,0:04:31.152 in neuroticism tend to be high in uncertainty 0:04:31.161,0:04:31.842 avoidance. 0:04:31.851,0:04:34.701 Those countries usually have a more formal system of rules that try to 0:04:34.712,0:04:37.761 minimize cultural or situational ambiguity, and the 0:04:37.772,0:04:39.962 citizens are uninterested in changing them. 0:04:39.971,0:04:41.622 These cultures tend to be more conservative, 0:04:41.631,0:04:44.842 more emotional, and usually xenophobic. Families in these cultures 0:04:44.851,0:04:46.782 tend to have more traditional gender roles too. 0:04:46.791,0:04:49.402 Schools have more structured learning, and children are taught to 0:04:49.411,0:04:51.721 trust that their teachers have all of the answers. 0:04:51.731,0:04:55.470 Children are also taught that the outside world may be a hostile place. 0:04:55.480,0:04:59.369 Religions associated with the uncertainty avoidance include Catholicism, 0:04:59.380,0:05:01.609 Islam, Judaism, and Shintoism. 0:05:01.640,0:05:02.429 Conversely, 0:05:02.440,0:05:06.429 countries low in neuroticism and low in uncertainty avoidance tend to have fewer 0:05:06.440,0:05:10.350 laws and regulations and their citizens are much more interested in politics. 0:05:10.359,0:05:14.230 These cultures are often more open to change and more tolerant of diversity. 0:05:14.239,0:05:16.869 And people within these cultures tend to suppress their emotions 0:05:16.880,0:05:19.959 more. Families in these cultures usually have looser general roles and 0:05:19.970,0:05:23.190 their schools have a more open-minded learning. As a generality, 0:05:23.417,0:05:24.997 teachers are allowed to say that they don't know 0:05:25.007,0:05:27.157 and students are encouraged to question authority. 0:05:27.167,0:05:29.678 Children are also taught that the outside world is benevolent and 0:05:29.687,0:05:31.858 that they should not persecute others based on their beliefs. 0:05:31.868,0:05:35.528 Religions associated with low uncertainty avoidance include protestantism, 0:05:35.537,0:05:37.548 Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. 0:05:37.558,0:05:39.907 So, where do you fit in? Uncertainty 0:05:39.917,0:05:43.657 avoidance is just one concept that is influenced by a culture's personality and 0:05:43.667,0:05:47.578 how it influences the decisions and behaviors of the people within that culture. 0:05:47.588,0:05:50.447 What were you taught to avoid? What were you taught to approach? 0:05:50.458,0:05:52.578 And how does the culture where you grew up in 0:05:52.665,0:05:55.605 influence what you consider to be comfortable and uncomfortable? 0:05:55.615,0:05:58.415 I hope you guys enjoyed this video, and if you did, feel free to watch some of the 0:05:58.425,0:06:00.355 other videos in this personality series. And if you 0:06:00.365,0:06:02.246 want to learn more about your own personality, 0:06:02.256,0:06:05.425 check on my free three in one personality quiz in the description below. 0:06:05.436,0:06:09.355 What it does is it combines three of the major personality quizzes into just one 0:06:09.365,0:06:11.765 test you can take in under 10 minutes, and at the end of it, 0:06:11.776,0:06:14.626 I'm gonna try to predict some things about you, like your political stances, 0:06:14.635,0:06:16.795 your relationship style, and also your health. 0:06:16.805,0:06:19.305 I put a lot of work into it. So, I hope you guys enjoy it. 0:06:19.316,0:06:21.855 Thanks for watching, and I hope to see you in the next video.