a comparative analysis of subjective culture
TRANSCRIPT
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Q
R O U P
FFECTIVENESS
E S E R C H
O R T O R Y
E P R T M E N T FSYCHD IDGY
^*NIVERS ITY FLL INO I S
^
RBANA ,
I LL INOI S
A
Ctmparfative
Analyis
of
SubjectiveCulture
HarryC.Triandis
nd
asso
V.ssiliou
University
of
Illinois
thenian
Instituteof
Anthropos
Technical
ReportNo.
5(67-11)
-pj
October,1967
JAN22 9W
Communication,Cooperation
andNegotiation\\
inCulturallyHeterogeneous
Groups
Project
Supported
by
the
Advanced
Research
Projects
Agency,
ARPA
OrderNo.
454
Under
Office
ofNavalResearchContract
HR
177-472,Nonr1834(36)
Fred
E.
FiedlerandHarry
C.
Triandis
Prlncip?'.
Investigatois
DISTRIBUTIONOFTHIS
DOCUMENTIS
UNLIMITED
f i
ftepfcducedbyhe
LE RINGHOUSE
fo rFderalcienfific
t chn ica i
k i io rmal tonSpringfie ld
V a
21tt
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Table
f
Contents
Page
Introduction
Stereotypes
f
Americansnd
Greeks
Geography
ndHistory
Groe National
Character
The
mportance
f
he
Ir.group
TheGreek
Self-Concept 4
Relaons
WithOthers
9
KinrMp 9
Authority
Figures 0
Prejudices
.....
4
Differences
of
the
Perception
of
Social
Behavior
5
GreekWorkHabits 8
Attitudo..Toward
SignificantAspectsof
the
Environment
9
HumanBody
0
LifeandHealth 0
Emotions 1
Religion
4
EthicalConcepts
4
Supernaturals
......
7
InstitutionsandSocialProcesses
.
7
Social
Attitudes 0
Valuesand Disvalues .....7
Freedom 7
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Peace
Truth
Courage
andDefeat
Achlevesoent
Concepts
Death
Relations
With
Others
Summary
Discussion
References
Page
48
49
49
50
53
54
57
58
62
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A
Comparative
Analysis
of
Subjective
Culture
HarryC.Triandls
nd
assoVaasillou
University
of
Illinois
thenian
Instituteof
Anthx-opos
ABSTRACT
Areview
of
the
resultsobtainedwhenavarietyofne wtechniquesfor
v h eanalysis
of
the
wayaperson
perceives
hi ssocialenvironmentisapplied
to
the
comparison
of
two
cultural
groups,
reveals
sone
basic
similarities
inthe
obtained
results.hevarious
methods
give
complementary
information.
Thedatawere
obtained
from
studiesof"thesubjectiveculture"of
AmericansandGreeks.omparableinstruments
were
administeredtothetwo
culturalgroupsandthe
results
are
presented
in
termsof
the
differences
betweenAmericanand
Greek perceptions
of
social
reality.
he
analysis
of
subjective
culture
islikely
to
help
in
theunderstandingo ftranscultural
conflict,aswellasinthedevelopment
of
theory
concerninginterpersonal
attitudes,interpersonalbehavior,
andconflictresolution.
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A
ComparatlvAnalysis
of
Subjective
Culture
Harry C.Triandis
nd
assoVasslliou
University
of
Illinois
Athenian
Institute
ofAnthropos
There
is
ample
evidencethat
a
person's
knowledgeofhisenvironment
isstronglyinfluencedby the
culture
in
which
he
hasbeenbrought
up.
y
culture*emeantheman-madepartof
the
human
environment.hicincludes
the
artifacts(e.g.,
themachines),
the
means
of
communication,
the
buildings,
thelaws,the myths,
theattitudes,
the
values,andtherules
ofsocial
behavior
as
wellasmany other
elements.
InthepastseveralyearsTriandisan dVasslliouhavebeen
analyzing
subjectiveculture, i.e.,the way
subjects
in
differentculturesperceive
and
conceive
significant
aspects
oftheir
environment,subject's
subjective
culture lu
conceived
to
be
his theory ofhowhisenvironmentisstructured.
It
includes
his
perception
ofothers,hi s
prejudices,
attitudes,values,and
dlsvalues.number
of
newtechniqueshavebeen
developedtoanalyze
subjective
culture.hese
Includetheantecedent-consequentmeaning
method
2
(Triandis,Davis,
Kilty,
Shatmugam,Tanaka,and
Vasslliou),hebehavioral
differential
(Triandis,
1964b),
the
role
differential
(Triandis,
Vassilluu,
and
Nassiakou,
1967a),
an d
a
newapproach tostudies
of
stereotypes
(Triandis,
1967a;
Triandis
and
Vasslliou,
1967),
number
of
theoretical
developments
concerned
with
cultural
influences
on
cognition
(Triandis,
1964a),
The
study was
supported
bythe
contract
to
study
Communication,
Cooperation,an d
Negotiation
in
CulturallyHeterogeneous
Groups
between
the
university
. f
Illinoisandthe AdvancedResearch
Projects
Agency,ARPAOrder
No.454,
under
theOffice
of
Naval
Researcl
ContractNR177-472,Nonr
1834(36).
(FredE.
Fiedler
andHarryC.
Triandis,PrincipalInvestigators.)
We
areindebted
to
F.
E.
Fiedlerand
David
Summers
for
helpfulcritical
comments
on an
earlier
version
of
the
paper.
Triandis,
H.C
Davis,
E.E .,
Kilty,
K. ,
Shanmugam,
A.
V. ,Tanaka,
Y.,
an dVasslliou,
Vasso
A
cross-culturalstudy
of
values:
he
use
of
the
antecedsnt-ct-nsequent
meaning
of
words
(in
preparation).
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2 .
oninterpersonalattitudes
(Triandls,
1967b),,andon
the
perception
ot social
behavior
(Triandls,
Vassillou,and
Nasslakou,
1967b;Triandls,
Vasslliou,and
Nasslakou,
1968)havs
also
been
presented.
Inaddition,
wellestablished
techniques,
suchassurveyresearch with
representative
samples
of
the
Greek
population,
intensiveinterviewing,
Osgood'ssemanticdifferential(Osgood,Sucl,andTannenbaum,1957),and
Likert-typeattitudeitems
have
beenemployed
byVassillouandhercollabora-
torsinanalyses
of
the
subjective
culture ofGreek.
The
present
paper
reviewstheabove
studies.
It
is
an
attempt
to
illustratehowIntensive
analyses
of
the
responsesofsubjects
from
different
cultures
canbe
used
to
develop
an
image
of
the
similaritiesa i i d
differer
nes
in
subjective
culture
in
differentpopulations
of
subjects.
he
system
of
cognitions
of
subjects
constitutes
a
map
of
the
way
they
conceive
their
environment.
uch
maps
probablyconstitute
the
basesfordifferent
kinds
ofbehavior,by
subjects
from
different
cultures.
The
majority
ofthereadersofthepresentpaperwillbe
familiar
with
American cultureandwillhave
a subjective
culture
similar
tothatfound
inour
studies
to
be
typicalofAmericans.urfindingsaretherefore
presented
as
explanations
of
Greek
subjectiveculturefrom
an
American
point
of
view.
The
paper willillustrate
consistencies
in
the
responses
of
subjects
to
different
kinds
of
instruments.
heinstrumentsthemselveswillnotbe
described
in
detail,sincesuch
a
presentation
can
be
found
in
the
previously
mentioned
papers.
hus,
thepresentpaperwillbeconcernedwith
substantive
findingsrather
thanthe
methodology
whichledtothe
findJiocs
and
will
attempt
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tosummarizethesesubstantive indinss
ratherthantogivethedetails
discovered
*ith
eachirstrument.
StereotypesasHypothesesofRational
Character
When
members
of
CultureAperceive
members
of
Culture
B,
they
make
judgmentsabout
the
probablecharacteristics
of
membersofCultureB. Sich
judgments
arerelated
to
the
difference
inthemeanvaluesof
the
correspondiug
traits
of
thet*o groups.
pecifically,
on
trait
X,
themean
value
of
this
trait
inCulture
Aisdesignated
by
X
inCulture
B
by 3^.
he
probability
thatmembersofCulture A%illmentiontraitX
when
theygive
their
stereotypesofmembersofCultureBisproportionaltoX X ^(Campbell,
1967),or
example,
if
members
ofCulture Awash
their
handsthree
times
perhourandtheseofCultureB
wash
only
onceperhour,thereisa
high
probability
that
members
of
Culture
A
will
all
members
of
Culture
B
"filthy."
n
fact,
intermsof
the
total
distribution
around
theworldof
thecharacteristic
"filthy"
bothcultures
are
excessively
clean.
Ourviewis
thatwe
can employthestereotypes
of
differentculture
groupsasestimatesoftheprobabledifferences
in
the
mean
values
of
their
traits.
We
can
then
ask
if
the
traitdifferencesare
consistentwithhistorical
and
ecologicalanalysesoftheexperiencesof
subjects
indifferent
cultures.
Followingthis
line
of
thought
we
willfirst
discuss
the
stereotypes
of
Amoricars
andGreeksof
each
other
andwill
thenpresent
a
historical
ecological
analysis.hepointhere
is
thatwhenapersonisstereotypir.ga
group
heisno t
only
responding
to
characteristics
of
the
groupbeing
stereotyped,but
is
also
revealing
the
wa y
he
perceives
himself. Itis
the
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5 .
verylittle
contact;
Group
2
had
some
contact;Group
n 3
had
considerable
contact
nndGroup #4had
dailycon^ .heperceptionsof
Greeksbythose
four
groups
of
Americans
were
analyzed.
It
was
foundthat
thegreater
the
reportedcontactthemorethe
Americans
consideredthe
Greeksas
emotionally
uncontrolled
,
c
ompetitive
,
suspicious ,
egotistic
,
unsystematic,
inexactia
following
procedures,
undecisive
,
sJLy.and
rigid
.
owever,
thegreaterthe
contactthemoretheyalsosawthem
as
morewitty
,
hnnest.and
obligi
ng.
Americans
seethemselvesas
less
sly
and
more
rational
,
trusting,
modest,
flexible,
ematlonally
controlled,
decisive
,systematic ,exactinfollowing
procedures
.
honest
,
and
unselfish
t h a t ,
theGreeks.
Asacontrast,inastudy
of
eighthundredGreeks,from
arepresentative
sampleof
tho
population
of
Athensand
Salonica,
the
Greekswere
found
to
see
the
Americans
c
t
uitedifferently
fromthe
wa y
the
Americans
sawthemselves
They
saw
the
Americansasarrogant,suspicious
,
sly,a
nd
competitivealthough
also
syatemptic
,
emotionallycontrolled
,and
flexible .heGreeks
inthis
sampleperceivedthemselvesasmodert,honest,
witty
,flexible ,
obliging
and
emotionallycontrolled
buttheyalsosaw
themselvesassuspicious,
competItive,
andgo-getting
.
Whensuchdiscrepanciesinthe
perception
ofsocialgroupsareobserved
it
is
likely
that
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Cur
evidence
sugp^sws
that
there
is
a
kernel
of
truth
in
the
stereotypes
underdiscussion.
ouever,
is*ell
to
reniember
thatthereare inefficient,
competitive, and
uspicious Americans.
urthermore,theGreeksare
eware
that
they
themselves
have
such
traits.
Inany
event
theGreek
traits
under
discussionareconsistentwith
analyses
of
the
ecologyand
history
of
that
country,
as
the
following
argument
will
indicate.urthermore,
after
describingtheecologywe
will
discuss
some
characteristic
patterns
of
thought
concerning
interpersonal
relations
which
constitutethebasesfor
understanding
Greeksubjectiveculture.
GeographyandHistory
Greeceis
a
predominantly mountainouscountry
(80%),
cut
upbythesea,
consisting
ofalarge
peninsula
ard
hundreds
of
scattered
islands.aobasic
geographic
characteristics,
the
mountains
and
the
sea,
have
brought
about
a
considerableIsolation of
manysegmentsofthepopulation.
saresult,
the
social
environment
of
theaverage
Greek
is
limited
and
he
is
most
powerfully
identified
withhisisland,
hisvalley,orhis
small
town.
reece
is
also
low
on
natural
resources.
our-fifths
of
the
countryis
so
mountainousthat
cultivation
is
extremelydifficult.
In
addition
the
ancient
Greeks
undertookaprogram
of
deforestation
which
depletedand
eroded
the
surface
ofa
largepartofthecountry.
he y
were
very
proud
oftheir
destruction
of
the
forests,andPlatoboasted
that
a
largeareaaround
Athenswas
civilized
becauseitnolonger
wa s
wooded.
oday,
it
is
hard
toraisecrops
except
intwo
or
threefertile
valleys,
such
as
Thessaly.
Whilethe
country
lacks
resources
it
has
simultaneouslyexperienced
considerable
pressures
from
an
expandingpopulation.
he
extensiveussof
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7 .
the
s i e u
(fishing,
merchantmarine)
plus
the
emigration
of
alarge
numbei
of Greeks,however,hasprevented
the
standardoflivingfromfalling.ajor
influer^cs
on
modern
Greek
culture
havecomefrom
Byzantium
an dthehree-
hundred-and-fifty^yeax^-long
Turkishoccupation.heByzantines
had
several
Christian
andnationalisticconcepts*hjcn
are
still
foundin
Modern
Greece.
Atthesametimethereareunmistakableremnantsof
Turkish
influencei ? . i
the
popular
music,
the
food,
and
in
certain social
customs.
Withregardto
culture
modern
Greecethereforebelongsto
theMiddle
East
as e l l
asto
Europe.
mongthemostsignificanthistoricalevents%hich
have
protably
been
influential
inmolding
the Greek
nat-'onal
character
is
thefallof
Constantinoplein1453,
which
placed
the
Balkansunderthe
domination
of
the
Turkish
Empire.
heTurksusedthe
G.eekIntellectualsas
their ci^rks.
his
had
thp
effect
of
preserving
someofthevalues
of
Byzantine
culture.
naddition,
the
Greek OrthodoxChurchfacilitated
the
continued
study
ofthe
Greek
language,
and
local
priestsranclandestine
schoolswhere
someofthe
Greek
valuesandtraditions
were
taught.
Duringthe
three
hundred
and
fifty
years
following
the
fall
of
Constantinople,therelationsaipbetween
Greeks
andTurkswas
hostile.
ae
mountainous
environment
allowed autonomousGreekfightingunits
to
operate;
the&o
never
submitted
to
the
Turkish
occupation.
he
Turks
retaliated
against
their
attacks
byexecutingthevillageleaders.
he
threat
ofsuch executiorsconstantly
kept
the
best
of
the
Greeksinthe
mountainsandawayfromthevillages,so
that
the
codern
Greek
view
of
the
i c f . a 3man
is
stro
^lyinfluenced
by
th image
of
the
guerrilla.
Theaboveincomplete
and
sKctcbyanalysisof
earlymod-^n
Greek
ecology
leadsto
the
speculation
thatthisperiodis
characterized
by
child-rearing
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8 .
practices
which
reflect
the
fact
that
wosuen
were
the
only
significant
adults
physically
present
in
thehome.he
father
w aspsych"logically
prrsent,but
themother
wa s
thechief
agent
who
perpetuated
the
values
ofthe
culture.
Themother's
taskwa s
ex tremelydifficult.
n
the
one
handohe
ha d
to
preventassimilation
of
he r
children
into
Turkishculture,and
onthe
other,
she
ha d
to
build
up
the
child
afterthe
image
ofahero.
ucha
difficult
task demandedstrongmaternalcontrolwhichin
turnfosteredgreat
dependency
of
the
child.
Moreover,the Turkish
practice
ofkidnapping
male
chil-enfurther
contributed
tothe
development
of
the
overprotectivenesp
by
Gi^ek
mothers.
Asearly
RS
1330the
Turks
undertook
aprogramo f
recruitinr
an
independent
military
force
by
abducting
seven-tj
eleven-year-old
maleChristian
children
and
placing
them
in
specially
formed
schools
for
soldier^,
theso-called
Janissari3s.
etween
133C
and
1826,
when the
Janlssaiiesweredisbanded,
thethreat
of
Turkic:
abductionofthemale
child
wasrealandrelevant.
This
threatprobably
ha d
a
significant
impact
on
Greek
child-rearing
practices,
whichhave
inturn
determined
certainaspects
of
modern
Greek
nationalcharacter.
An
organized
Revolution
beganagainst
the
Tmksin1821. It
le dto
a
series
of
wars
which
continued
Intermittently
for
the
next
one
hundred
years.
Duringthis
period
the
mod ern
Greek
statewas
formed
by
importing
political
institutions(e.g.,governmentministries,parliaments)from WesternEurope.
ThefirstGreekkingwa sBavarianand
the
second,
a
Danish
prince,
wasthe
founder
of
the
currentdynasty.
ModernGreece(1821-present)
ha s
beencharacterizedbypolitical
instability.everalrevolutionsoccurredduringthisperiod.heSecond
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9.
WorldWa rwa sespeciallydamagingand*o s
follo*ed
byseveralyearsof
conflict.
The
significance
of
these
events,from
apsychological
point
of
view,
isthatinthe
last
onehundredaudfiftyyearstheGreeks
have
ha dvery
littlecontrolovertheirpersonalliio.
Much
oftheirbehavior
ha sbeen
directed
towards
meeting
crisescreatedby war
or
revolution,andsurvivi.1
ha s
often
been
the
njajor
concern.
s
a
result
they have
developed
exceed-
ingly
effective
pi
ceduresfor
meeting
crises,
but
neglectedskillsfor
long-term
planning.
learly
one
cannot
planwhen
one
does
no tknowthe
outcomeofnext
mouth's
events.
In
summary,thisintroductionto
Greekgeographyandhistorysuggests
that
modern
Greek
culturewa sinfluenced
by
si x
important
factors;
(I)scarce
resources
aud
kceu
competitionforthem,(2)reaction
to
the
domination
by
an
autocratic
government,(3)dependence
on
the"malehero"for
survival
of
theculturalvalues,(4)
fear
oflossof
boys
by
abduction withtheresulting
overprotectlveness
ofmothers,
(5)theunadaptedimportation
offoreign
institutions,
and(6 )
lo w
control
over
the environment.
hesecharacter-
istics
provideanex planatory
base
for
our empiricalexploration
ofGreek
"subjectiveculture."
GreekNational
Character
The
Importance
of
the
Ingroup
Thesesi x
factors
have
probablyha d
important
influences
on
the
moldinj
of
Greeknational
character.
hecompetitionfor
scarce
resources
and
the
struggle
for
survivalcreated
an
extremelytightlyknitfamilyandan
"ingroup"
which
providesprotection,
social
insurance,and?w^rmand
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10 .
relaxingenviron'Aent;
Inshort,
a
haven
irom
the
largerworld.hedomlnatinn
ofthe
Turks
forthree
hundredand
fiftyyears
le d
toadivisionbetween
established
authority
(theTurks)
andinformallyacceptedauthority.hus,
thebehaviortowardsa
person
in
authority
dependsonwhetherhe
is
perceived
as
beingamember
of
theIngroupor of
the
outgroup.
If
the
authority
figure
is
accepted,
thenheresponse
is
one
of
submissionand
self-sacrifice,
if
itis
rejected
(i.e.,belongs
toan outgroup)
the
response
isoneof
defiance,
resentment,and
undermining.' u s ,
a
regulation
imposedby
s
policeman
(memberoftheoutgroup)
may
be
violated
"just
for
f u n , 'if
the
3
probabilityof
punishment
for
breaking
thela w
isnot
too
great.
The
definitionof
the
"ingroup"
is
somewhatdifferent
for
Greeks
than
itis
for
Western
Europeans
or
Americans.
he
ingroup
may
be
defined
as
"my
family,
relatives,
friends,
andfriends
of
friends."
naddition,
guests
and
people who
are
perceived
as
"showing
concern
for
me"
are
seen
as
members
of
theingroup.ithin theingroup
the
appropriate
behaviors
are
charac-
terizedby
cooperation,
protection,
and
help.
ot
only
are
these
"warm"
behaviors
appropriate
but
theconceptof
thephilotimo
(whichwill
be
discussed
later)requires
thataperson
sacrifice
himself
in
ordertohelp
members
ofhi singroup.
3
One
aspect
of
the
ingroup
concept
which
is
of
particular
Interest
is
the
fact
that
different
ingroups
have
different
leaders.
threat
from
the
externalenvironment
(as
in
war with neighboringcountries)o f t enmakesthese
leaders
cooperate.n
the
otherhand,when
there
isno
outside
dangerthe
leaders
are
likely
to
pursueIndividualisticgoals,andtobehavecompeti-
tivelytowardseachother.
The
size
of
the
Ingroup
depends
on
the
typeof
thethreat.fa
meraber'slifeisthreatened
by
illness
the
immedldteingroup
will
be
mobilized.
If
thethreat
is
relevant
to
awidelyshared
characteristicsuch
as
nationality
or
religion,
then
the
ingroup
expands
to
includeall
members
having
this
characteristic.
hus,
effectivecooperationcharacterizes
Greek
behaviorduring
wars,
while
internal
competitivenessis
typical
during
peace
time.
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. 1 1 .
The
functionalsignificanceofauch ties,
among
memberscf
the
ingroup,
is
clear.
Itis
easier
to
survive
in
a
highly
competitive
viorldasamember
of
a
group
ofpeople
ho
cooperateand
help
each
other.
In
contrasttothe
ingroap
the"outgroup"
consists
ofanyone
*h ois
no t
perceived
at
least
as
an
acquaintance
oraperson*h o tconcernedwith one'swelfare.cquain-
tancesaresomewhatambiguouslyclassified,morefrequentlyintheingroup
thanintheoutgroup.
The
relationship
1th
memberaof
the
outgroup
is
essentially
competitive.
TheGreeklanguage
ha s
atleastthreesynonymsequivalentto
the
word
competition.mllla
is
"benevolentcompetition"appropriatefor
the
ingroup.
Synagonismosis
equivalent
to
the
American
word.
ntagonismos
means"hostile
competition"
appropriate
for
members
ofthe
outgroup,in
which
success
requiresthe
other's
failure.
The existence
of
& : u c h
cleardistinctions
between
ingroupandoutgroup
makes
Greeksappear extremelyauspiciouswhenthey
first
meetastrange.'.
The newcomer
ha stobe
classified
and
until
this
happens
heremainsin
limbo .
If
he
isdassixied
inthe
outgroup
all
kinds
of
competition
andunfair
play
are
"par
for
thecourse."f
heis
classified
in
the
ingroupail
kindsofhelp
are
likely
tocomehi sway.o rexample,when onecalls
anotherGreeko n
the
phone
the
response
is
likelyto
bevery suspiciousand
uncooperative,
untilsomekindof
a
bond
can
beestablished.
he
bond
may
beamutual
friend,
or
the
same
village
orisland
origin.ncethe
bond
is
establisheditis
possible
to
have
a
cooperativerelationship,
but
if
the
bond
is
no t
establishedthe
relationship
remainsextremelyformal,
to
the
poiut
ofhostility.
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12 .
Difterences
between
the
American
and
Greek
relationship
within
the
iiigrojp
are
substantial.
ne
wayof
describing
these
differences
is
to
discuss
the
percti-tions
ofappropriatebehaviorof
Greeksand
Americans
concerningcertain
roles.
riandis,Vassiliou,and
Nassiakou
(1968)have
shown
tnat
such
perceptions
ca n
be describedIn
terms
of
the
two
dimensions:
(1)
the
degree
of
affectandkind
ofeootion
that
is
porcclved
to
be
appropriate
(for
example,
the
intensity
of
love),
and
(2)
the
degree
of
intimacy
that
isappropriate,
he
basic
instrument
usedin
these
studiesis
theole
differential."It
utilizes
aformatexemplified
f a y
thefollowingitemsJ
fa
ther-son
would
no t uld
hi t
would
no t uld
obey
The
subjectsareaskedtoindicatewhetherintheirculture
it
is
appropriate
for
afatherto
hit,obey,
etc.hi sson. In
atypical
study
onehundred
rolessuch
as
father-son,son-father,etc.,
are
judged
against
a
se t
offifty
behaviordescriptive
scales
selectedthroughfacet
and
factor
analysis.
hs
factors
"associative
vs
dissociative"and
"intimate
vs
formal"
behaviors
are
bothculture
commonandcompletely
independent
of
each
other.
These
studies
hav^
shownsomeratherinteresting
results
whenwe
compared
the
wcyAmericansand
Greeksperceive
relationshipsbetween
people.
For
example,Americansand
Greeks
se e
the
relationship
between
parents
and
childrenandwivesandhusbandsas
involvingaboutthe
sameamount
of
t . j s i i . ' . v e
emotion;
but,
theyare
quitedifferent
inthe
degree
ofintimacy
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13 .
thatthey
consider
appropriate.
mericans
considertheappropriate
intimacy
betweenhusbandsandwivestobe
greater
thantheappropriateintimacy
betweenparents
and
children.
he Greeks
reversethis
perception
so
that
theyse e
less
intimacybetween
husbands
and
wives
thanAmericansse e
between
parents
and
children.hus,the
centralroleinthe
American
family
is
husband-wife;
the
central
rolesinthe Greek
family
areparents-children
(Vasslllou,
1967).
Of
special
Importance
Is
the
mother-son
role.
In
Greece,
4
a
strong bondbetween mother
and
sonIs
considered
highly
commendable.
Turningno wtorelationshipswith
relatives,
friends,andacquaintances
we
findthat
the
Greeks
consideritappropriate
to
show
more
love
and
more
Intimacy
withrelativesor
friends
thando
Americans. Inthe
case
of
acquaintances
they
dono tdifferfrom
Americansonthe
amount
of
love
appropriate
but
they
differ
on
the
amount
of
intimacy:
ere
again
the
Greeks
se e
more
intimacy
as
appropriate
between
acquaintances.
These
resultsdonotsuggestthatGreekscomparedto
Americans
se e
more
intimacyas
appropriate
in
all
humanrelationships.
herearea
number
of
roles
Inwhich
thereverseisthe
case.
roadly
speaking,
roles
in
which
Greeks
perceiveconflict
are
seen
by
themasinvolving
less
Intimacy
than
i s
the
casein
America.orexample,theysee
lessIntimacy
in
the
roles
landlord-to-tenantandboss-to-subordlnate.
4
For
example,
In
an
openingspeach
to
theGreek
parliament,
a
newM.P.
began
hi s
remarks
while
lookingat
the
spectator's
gallery,
- - h e r ehi s
proud
mother
wa s
seated,
with
thewords:Mother,Your
Majesty
;
Distinguished
MembersofthisHouse,LadiesandGentlemen."hi swa smostfavorably
reportedint h -reekpress.
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14 .
To
restate
an
important
point
that
must
always
be
kept
in
mind:
there
is
a
bi gdifference
in
theay
the
Greeks
behave
towards
their
ingroup
as
opposed
to
thewaythey
behave
towards
their
outgroup.
ithin
the
ingroup
they
cooperateandshow
great
intimacy.
ithinthe
outgroup
theycompete
and
behavevery
formally.
ossesbelongtothoutgroup,
unlessvhey
are
extremely
fatherly,warm,
and
helpful,inwhich
case
they
are
classified
as
membersof
the
ingroup.
uests
and
touristsarealso
likely
tobe
classified
as
members
ofthe
ingroup,providingthey
have
behavedin
a
warm
and
accepting
manner.
The
GreekSelf-Concept
Atanearlier
pointwe
referred
to
the
importanceof
the
guerrilla
in
the
formationoftheimageofthe Greek male,
to
the
lesserImportanceof
the
community
as
a
social
milieu
for
the
development
of
child-rearing
standards,
andwe
alsomentioned
thatthe
fear
ofhaving
the
boys
abducted
requiredGreek
mothers
to
become
unusuallycontrolling
and
o f t en
overpro-
tective.hi salsole d
to
tremendous
overevaluation of
boys.
r e ek
parents
oftenreportho wm a i i y childrentheyhave
simply
by
referring
to
the
number
oftheirboys I If
aGreeksays
"lhave
three
children
and
threegirls"
he
meansthathe
ha s
three
of
each.
The
need
forhighcontrol
of
the
child
resultsin
mothers
who
tend
to
(a )be
too
helpful
to
their
sons,taking
every
conceivable
opportunity
to
assist
and
protectthem, (b)confine
them
inanareain
which
they
can
always
se e
them,
and
(c)make
mostofthe
decisions
forboth
boysandgirls.
Example,mothersstudy
with
theirboys
whiletheydo
theirhomework
(help)and
check
the
boy's
memorization
of
thelesson(protectthem
from
criticism
of
teacher).
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15 .
Even
eighteon-year
oldsar e
often
treated
like
small
children.
he
result
is
that
twelve-year
oldGreekchildren
seeachievement
relatedto
the
help
they
receivefrom
others.
The
abovepoint
was
confirmed
by
astudy
of
the
motivational
patterns
ofGreek
adolescents.assiliouand
Kataki
ave
askednormal
adolescents
to
makeup
stories
In
response
to
ambiguous
pictures.
henthese
stories
were
analyzed
the
investigators
found
a
considerable
emphasis
on
the
idea
that
cchievement
requires
both
one's
personal
effortandthehelpof
authority
figures.hey
perceive
ingroupauthority
figuresasmonitoring
their
efforts,
as
givinggood
adviceandassistance,as
restricting
themin
order
toprotect
them
from
others
as
well
as
from
themselves,andas
restricting
them
because
they
love
them.hese
adolescentsarealso
apprehensiveabout deviatingfromtheadvicethattheyreceive.
he y
are
especiallyapprehensive
about
the
futureandtheirefficiency
when
itcomes
to
self-initiated
action.
yage
eighteen
these
young
people
feel
grateful
for
the
helptheyhave
received,express
appreciationforthesacrificesof
authorityfigures,
and
f t
1
the
need
topay
thembackthroughtheirown
achievement.tthesametimethisiy
revealed
a
good
dealofconflict:
onthe
on ehand
theseyoungpeoplerecognizedthat
in
orderto
achieve
they
must
break
away
from
their
dependency
from
their
family,
on
the
other
hand
thisbreakingawaywass?enaspainfulto
the
authorityfigures
as
well
as
tothemselves.he
achievers
amongthemconsidered
breaking
away.he y
felt
thatif
they
didbreak awaytheywould
findsomeone
tohelpthemto
Vassiliou,
VassoandKataki,Harikilia,
Motivational
patternsof
Greek
adolescents.
. I n
preparation^
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1 6 .
achieve,
orifthey
failed,
they
couldreturntotheirfu.iily,wherethey
would
alwaysbe
warmlyconsoled.
Thus,theself-conceptof
even
the
mosteffective,
achievingGreek
adolescents
ischaracterizedby
dependency
onothersandbyinsecurityabout
their
own
effectiveness.e
can
say
that
they
havealo w
self-esteem.
t
the
sametimethe
ideal
ofthe
hero,as
molded
by
theimage
of
the
guerrilla,
requires
achievement,
fame,
and
immortality.
urthermore,
the
social
status
ofthe
Greek
woman
is
very
low,
unlessand
until
she
Is
themother
ofan
achiever.
hus,there
aregreatpressureson motherstotrain
their
sons
to
be
"great
men."s
aresultmostGreekmothers
provide"unrealistic
propaganda"
to
theirsonsapropaganda
line
thatsays"youaregoing
to
be
great,
you
are
going
to
succeed,
no
one
is
as
good
as
you
are,"
reek
mothers
telltheirchildren
that
theyexpect
them tobecomeimportant,
and
that
they
are
unique.
hi s
leads
to
afacade
of
self-confidencewhich
is
further
exaggerated
by
insecurity
andlo w
self-esteem.
This
suggested
formulationallows
us
tounderstand
certain
characteristics
of
Greeknational
characterwhich
Americans
find
difficultto
workwith.
h?
lo wself-esteem
means
that
the
ego ofthe
Greek
isveryeasily hurt. (1)
Greeksareoversensitive
to
criticism;
i.e.,
theslightestcriticalremark
islikely
to
be
reacted
to
as
a
majorthreat,(2 )theytendtoblametheir
ownmistakes
onothers;
this
isbecauseapersonwhoisno t
secure
cannotblamehimself.
ntheotherhandthefacadeofhighself-confidence
can
be
seen
in
characteristicsthat
an
Americanwill
Interpret
asarrogance
,
dogmatism,
and
attempts
to
appear
all-knowing
andall-powerful.
Ina
studyby
Vasslllou
and
Osgood
(inpreparation),anumber
of
concepts
including
MYSELF,
were
rated
on
a
number
of
semantic
differential
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17.
(Csgoo
et
l. ,
1957)
scales.
he
ratings
of
Americans
and
Greeks
ore
compared.
heconcept
myself *as
ratadasstrongerby
theAmericans+ h f i n
bythe
Greeks.n
theother
hand,
the
concept,
my
relatives wasseen
as
strongerbytheGreeksthanbytheAmericans
Inother
words
the
Greeks
attributelessstrength
to
themselvesand
more
strengthtotheirrelativesthan
is
the
case
forAmericans.
The
most
ImportantelementoftheGreek
self-conceptisthephilotimo .
When
a
representative
sample
of
Greeks
was
asked
to
describe
themselves
seventy-four
per
cent
used
thiswordto
describe
themselves.
he
onlyother
chararte*i3ticwhich
they
usedasfrequently
was
theword
diligent.he
meaning
of
philotimoisnotea&yto
define.
person
who
hasthischaracter-
istic
ispolite,virtuous,
reliable,
proud;has agoodsoul, behaves
correctly,
meetshisobligations,
doeshis
duty;
istruthful,generous,
self-sacrificing,
tactful,
respectful,
and
grateful
(/asslliouand
Vassiliou,1966).Thebestwaytosummarlre
what
is
meantbythisconcept
is
tosaythataperson
who
is philotimos behavestowardsmembersofhis
ingroup
the
way
they
expecthim
tobehave.
Asan example,some
Americanscomplained,ininterviewswith
Triandis,
thatthey
getlittle
cooperation
from
their
Greek
maidsand
other
servants.
On
the
other
hand
some
otherAmericans
were
enthusiastic
about
the
coopera-
tion,
honesty, and
devotion of
theirservants.
hat
seemedto
bethe
difference betweenthese
two
kindsof
Americans
was
whether
they
included
the
servants
intheir extended
family
orsimplytreatedthemasbelongingto
another
group.
hen
theservant
was
madepart
ofthe
family
thenthe
philotimoprinciplerequiredsacrificetohelp
thefamily.ndersuch
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18.
conditions
stealingneveroccurred,
although
when
thefamily
was
in
he
servant's
"cutgroup"stealingwas
quite
likely.
A
truestoryfrom
the
experiences
of
anAmerican
archaeologist
will
furtherIllustratethispoint.
e
ha d
accepted
hisservant
and
she
felt
accepted.
uring
a
trip
hi s
boat
ran
aground
on
a
rock.hen
several
American
crews
vith
the
help
o f
heavy
equipment
failedto dislodge
it,
the
servant
onhe r
own
Initiative
mobiliwd
he r
infjroup,
consisting
of
brothers-
Hn-law,cousins,
etc.,
and
thesemen,
abandoned
their
norm;
pursuits
to
help
inthe
rescue
oftheboat,accomplishingthe
task
at
considerable
risk.
Another
way
to
explain
the
philotimo
is
to
think
oftheconceptof
fairness
,
as
usedby
Americans.
mericans
consideritimoortant
tobehave
fairly
towards
other
people.
ut ,note
that,
at
least
in
thecaseof
prejudiced
Americans,
"other
people"doesno t
Include
Negroes,Jews,etc.
In
fact,for
manyAmericansthe
ingroup
is"other
peoplelike
me"(White,
Protestant,
Anglo-Saxon,
Middle
Class,
^tc).
The
concept
of
falme&s
operatesveryintensivelywithinthisingroupand
rather
weakly
with
members
of
the
outgroup.
he
more
a
person
deviates
from
the
White,
Anglo-Saxon
Protestant
characteristicsthe
more
unlikely
it
is
that
theprinciple
of
fairness
will
operate.
With
the
Greeks
theprinciple
of
the
philotimoapplies
to
membersof
the
Ingroup.
ne
must
sacrifice
himself
tohelp
ingroup
members.ut ,
the
lesstheconcernshownby
aperson
the
less
likely
itis
that
the
Gre ek
willusethe
philotimo
principle
in
relating
to
him.
he
principle
of
fairness
and
the
principle
of
the
philotimo
are
equivalent,
although
differentin
the
twocultures.
airnessdoes
no t
requireself-sacrifice.
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19.
ui
-armore,thetwoingroupsare
not
thesame:he
American
ingrcupIs
larg-
r i dless
salient
whiletheGreek
ingroupIs
small
(my
family,
friends,
andguests)and
moreimportant.hus,both
the
wayGreeksclassifyother
people
and
the
principles
thatguidetheiractions
arc
different
fromthe
way
Americansclassifyandbehave,butthe
equivalence
of
theprinciplesof
fairnessandphilotimomayleadtoanunderstanding
of
Greek
behavior.
RelationsWithOthers
Ktmhip
Therelationships
of Greeks
with
members
oftheir extendedfamilyae
muchcloserthanistypicalimongAmericans.
o
providean
intuitive
feeling
for
thisdifference
it
may
be
statedthatroughly
speaking
the
relationship
among
lirst
cousins
inGreece
is
approximately
as
close
as
the
relationships
amongbrothers
in
America.
ith
this
translation it
is
possible
to
look
at
the
total
pattern
of
familyrelationships
in
Greecewith
some
increased
understanding.heword
BROTHER
isseenbythe
Greeks
as
more good and
powerful
thanit
is
seen
byAmericans(Vassiliou
and
0^
1 ) .
here
isc . l s o muchmore
conflict
about
brothersin
Americathanin
Greeceshowing
that
Americans
disagree
in
their
perception
of
thisconcepttoa
larger
extent
than do
the
Greeks.
The
generaltrendin
the
resultsof
the
Triandls,
Vassiliou,and
Nassiakou
(1967)
studies
is
that
Greeks
showmore
positive
affect
(tolov to
help,
tostandup
for)
and
moreintimacy
to
pet,tocaress,tokiss)within
family
rolesthando Americans.heoneexceptioncanbefound
in
thebride-groom
andhusband-wiferelationships.his
is
the
onlyfamilyrelationshipwhere
the
Americans
arecloser
than
the
Greeks,
notso
much
because
Americansare
exceptionally
close
butbecause
Greeks
are
moredistant.
assiliou(1937)
*
In
preparation.
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20.
hasfoundthata
successfulandhappy marriage
isseenby
Greeksasdependent
on
mutual
understanding,
agreement
of
character,
and
mutual
concessions
ratherthanonlove.ithinthis
type
ofmarriagethe
channeling
of
emotions
is
foundmoststronglyin
the
parent-child
relationshipespecially
inthe
mother-son
relationship.he
mother-sonrelationship
ischaracterized
by
extremeinterdependence.urthermore,the
whole
family,
exists
in
an
environment
whichis
difficult,and
makes
success
inthe
present
x e r y
difficult;t h u * ; ,
the
futurelatho
only
bright
spot
for
thefamily,
and
this
futurecanbebrightenedthroughtheachievementoftheson.
utachievement
demands
independence,
thus
there
isaconflict
between
dejondenceand
achievement.
heconflict
can
beresolvedbyunderemphaaizing
oneor
the
other.orthehealthy
majority
whoeventuallyachievesthoreisusually
someevidenceofa
rational
breakindependencethat
has
originatedwith
the
parent,thechild,
orboth(Vassiliou
and
Kataki),
(SeeFootnote
6. )
Authority
F
igures
The
relationshipofGreekswithauthorityfigures
depends
on
whether
the
authority
fig.ire
isseenas
belonging
to
the
ingroup
or
the
outgroup.
In
the
ingroupitisseenasconcernedandasbenevolent.n
the
outgroup
it
is
seen
as
competitive.
Ifit
is
seen
as
benevolent
the
responsesof
subordinates
are
characterizedby
submissiveacceptance
and
warmth. Ifit
i s
seen
as
competitive
the
responses
of
subordinates
are
avoidance
and
hostility.hetypicalresponseofGreekstoauthorityfigurescanbe
characterized
as
authoritarian
-bmission
(and
warm
acceptance)withinthe
ingroup
and
non-acceptanceanddefianceofai.thorityin heoutgroup. If
an
outgroup
memberhas
littlepower,thetypical
Greekresponse
will
be
one
of
indifference.
hegreater
the
power
of
the
outgroup
authority,the
greater s theperceived
threat.
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21.
Thatmeans
if
somebodyhas
powerthis
automaticallymakes
him
a
competitor.orthis
reason
groups
ofGreeks
find
itdifficultto
cooperate
amongthemselves
andgroupleaderswouldratherhavestagnation
or
even
deteriorationofthe
existingsituation
than
see
their
competltois
acquire
morepower.
It
furthermeans
that
thesympathies
oftheGreeks
arewiththe
underdoginanykind
of
intergroup
struggle.hus,
as
long
as
a
particular
group
i t
out
ofpower
it
tends
tobecomemorepopular
but
as
soon
as
it
gets
Into
power
it
tends
tol~se
popularity.
uchfluctuations
of
popular
support
affectftrnggles
between
all
kinds
of
power
groups.
Thesarepatternhasbeenobservedby
Banfield(1958)
in
Southern
Italy.
Banfieldargues
that
SouthernItalianculture
is
characterizedby
amoral
familism. he
basic
principle
of
behavioris:
Maximizethematerinl,
short-runadvantageofthenuclearfamily;
assume
thatal l
others
willdolikewise (Banfield,p.85).
From
this
principlehe
derivedseventeen logical
implications
which
hefound
consistent
with
his
field
observations
in
Southern
Italy.mong
the
implications
arethefollowing:
1. In
a
societyof
amoral
familists,noone
will
further
theinterestof
thegrouporcommunityexcept
asi .
is
tohis
privateadvantage.
7.he
amoral
familist
whois
an
office-holder
will
take
bribes
when
he
can
get
awaywith
it.
utwhether
he
takes
bribes
or
not,
it
will
be
assumed
by
the
society
of
amoral
familiststhathe
does.
9.
In
a
societyofamoral
familists,the
claimof
anypersonor
institution
o
be
inspired
byzeal
forpublicrather
than
private
advantage
will
be
regarded
as
fraud.
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22.
10.
na
societyof
amoral
famlllsts
there
will
beno
connection
between
abstract
principle
(i.e.,
Ideology)
and
concrete
behavior
In
the
ordinary
relationshipsofevery
day
life.
13.heamoralfamilistwillvaluegainsaccruing
to
thecommunity
only
insofaras
he
andhi sare
likely
to
share
them.
Infact,
he
will
vote
againstmeasurcswhichwillhelpthecommunitywithout
helping
him,because
even
though
hi sposition
is
unchanged
inabsolute
terms,
he
considers
himself
worse
off
if
hi s
neighbors'
position
changes
for
the
bettor.
hus,
it
may
happen
thatmeasures
whichare
of
decidedgeneralbenefitwillprovoke
a
protestvote
from
thosewho
feel
that
theyhave
no t
sharedinthemorhave
notsharedin
them
sufficiently.
15 . Inasociety
ofamoralfamlllstsi twillbeassumedthat
whatever
groupis
in
powerisself-servingandcorrupt.
ardly
willan
election
be
over
beforethe
voters
will
conclude
that
the
ne wofficials
are
enriching
themselves
at
theirexpenseand
that
they
have
noIntentionofkeepingthe
promises
they
havemade.
onsequently,the
self-servingvoter
willuse
hi s
ballottopay
theincumbentsno tforbenefitsbut
forirjuries,
i . e . , hewill
useit
to
administer
punishment."
We
notethatthere
are
some
differences
betweenBanfield's
analysis
and
ourown.edefinedtheingroupafterlookingatsomekinds
of
empirical
data,
and
concluded
that
it
is
larger
than
the
nuclear
family.
anfield
arguesthatthe
extended
familyha slittle
importanceinSouth'
. n
Italy,
because
the
sizeof
landholdingsis
too
smalltosupportmanypeople,
and
hi sprincipleofmaximization
appliesonlytothenuclearfamily. Itcould
bethat
thetwo
cultures
differ
in
thesize
of
theiringroups,
or
it
could
bethat
Banfleld
was
undulyrestrictive
inhi s
definition.
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2 3 .
On
the
other
handwe
note
the
considerable
similarit--
between
hi s
7
formulationand
ourown.
The
similarity
of
our
formulation
and
hi s
"implications13and
1 5 is
striking.he
other
four
implications
which
are
reproduced
above
would
also
apply
t o
Greece,although
with
less
certainty
than
they
do
in
Southern
Italy.
Th eworst
thinganyone
can
do
in
Greeceis
to
boast
or
to
show
that
he
ha s
power
before
ho
proves
that
he
ha s
concern;
i.e.,
is
a
member
of
the
ingroup.
hi s
immediatelyproducesa
reaction
of
hostility
whichis
likely
toundermine
his
powera t
theearliestopportunity.hisissouewhat
different
from
the
American"bandwagon"
effect,
which
causes
people
to
Join
and
support
ose
most"successful"
in
politics.
reek
defiance
of
authority
can
also
be
seen
in
thecomplete
distrust
of
Greeks
who
are
"experts."
In
ordertounderstandthis
phenomenon
Iti s
important
to
consider
the
ease
with
which
Greek self-esteemca nbe
threatened.
faconsultant
is
an
expertw hois
trying
to
helpiningroupsituations
his
power
is
welcomed.
owever,
ifthesituation
issuch
that
the
expertisno thelpful
to
the
personinvolved,heisperceived
as
amember
ofthe outgroup,
and
thereforeacompetitor.
n
American
expert
is
more
likelytobeperceived
asaguest;i.e.,anIngroupmember,thenaGreekexpert.
Another
matter
of
relevance
o
the
Greek
relationship
with
authority
figuresconcerns
the
casewith which
Greeksworkinorganizationsmanaged
7
We
thankLe n
Berkowltz
for
bringingBanfield'sbooktoourattention.
Our
formulationswerecompletedmuchbefore
readingBanfleld,
sothat
the
similaritiesbetweenourformulationsare
du e
tothesimilaritiesbetween
Greek
andSouthern
Italian
cultures
rather
thantoanyother
factor.
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2 4 ,
mostlybyingroupmembers.
ycontrast,
theyfind
i tvery difticuitto
adjust
to
large
i m r
jrsonal
organizations.hese
phenomenamay
contribute
to
thesuccessof
small
Greekbusinesses
as
contrasted
totheunderdev^lop-
8
mcnt
oflarge
scale
Industry.
Prejudices
Al lgxoups
have
some
targets
ofprejudice.ustas
the Americansshow
prejudicetowards
Negroes,Jews,
Catholics,
etc.,so
SOTGGreeks
are
prejudicetowardgypsies,Jews,
andTurks.eligiousprejudiceis
manifested
at
thepointof
entranceintothe
Ingroup
(Trlandisand
Triandis,
1962).aturalisticobservations
slowthatnon-christiansare
called
"non-believers"and
areno taccepted
as
intimate
friendsand
as
ki nby
marriage.ntheother
hand,
theyareaccepted
as
acquaintances,business
partners,etc.heseobservationsagreewiththequestionnaire
responses.
ThereactiontowardsTurks
ismorenegativethantowardsothergroups.
he
Greek
stereotypeoftheTurk
issimilarbutmoreextreme
thanthe American
stereotype
of
Turkson
thecharacteristicsunsystematic
,
dull,
and
dishonest
(TrlandlsandVasslliou,inpreparation).
_
Certainkindsofrelationswithothersarelikelyto
be
of
particular
Interest
as
IllustrativeofthedifferencebetweenAmericansandGreeks.
Boss-Secretary
.
oth
cultures
se e
much
positive
affect
in
this
relationshipbut
Americansse e
somewhat
more
than
Greeks.
hereis
no
difference
between
the
two
cultures
on
the
intimacy dimension.
reeks
see
more
superordinatlon
as
being
appropriateIn
thisrelationshipthando
Americans.
Secretary-Boss.he
relationship
between
secretaryand
boss
is
seenas
affectivelyneutral
in
Greecewhileitis
positive
in
America.
reeks
tend
tose ethe
relationshipassomewhatformal
while
Americans
tend
tose eit
as
somewhatintimate.inallybothgroups
se e
subordination
inthis
relation-
ship
bu t
the
Greeks
se e
more
subordinationthan do
the
Americans.
Foreman-Laborer
.
hereis
no
differenceinthe
amountofaffect
seen
bythetwocultures.
o thse esomepositiveaffect.
here
isa
substantial
difference
in
the
amount
of
intimacy.
reeks
expect
more
intimacy
in
this
(Footnotecontinuedonnextpage.)
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24a.
relationship
than do Americans,
ihey
also
expect
considerably
more
superordlnatlon
than
do
Americans.
Laborer-Foreman
.
etweenlaborerand
foreman
the
Greeks
se eaffective
neutrality
while
Americaas
se epositive
affect;
the
Greeks
se eformality
while
Americans
se eslight
intimacy;
and
the
Greeks
se e
moresubordination
thandothe Americans.
Sales
Person-Customer.hereis
no
differencein
the
amount
ofaffect
perceivedbetween
sales
persons
and
customersinthetwocultures.
n
the
other
hand
Greeksperceiveconsiderably
greater
intimacyin
that
relationship
than do Americans.
hey
alsose e
more
superordlnatlonin
thecustomer-sales
personrelationshipthan do Amer icans.hesamepattern
of
greaterintimacy,
inGreece,
is
seen
in
other
relationships
with customers;for
example,
baautician-custoner
involves
createrintimacy
in
Greece.
Inthe
relationship
between clientsandprofessionals,Americansperceive moreaffectthando
Greeks.n
theother
hand
Greeks
perceive
considerably
more
intimacy
than
doAirerlcans.inally,
Greeks
perceiveconsiderably more
superordlnatlon
onthepartoftheprofessional(lawyer,
physician,
etc.)
andmoresubordi-
nationn
the
pait
oftheclient,
than
do
Americans.
Tenant-Lxtidlord.
here
isno
difference
between
thetwoculturesin
the
amount
of
affect
seen
in
this
role.
owever,
the
Greeks
se emore
intimacy
in
thetenant-landlordrelationship andmoreformality
in
thelandlord-tenant
relationship
than
doAmericans.reeks
se e
more
superordlnatloninboth
the
tenant-landlordanathe
landlord-tenant
relatioiishi^s
than
do
Americans.
BusinessPartner-Business
Partner
.
here
is
a
large
difference
in
the
amountof
affect
perceived
as
appropriateby
Americans
andGreeks
in
this
relationship.mericans
consider
itappropriatetoshowa
great
dealof
positive
affect
in
this
relationshipwhileGreeks
are
almostaffectively
neutral.urthermore,
Americans
se emoreintimacyin
thisrelationship
than
isthecasewithGreeks.inceGreeksin
general
tend
tose e
most
relation-
shipsas
being
more
intimate,
xhe
reversalontheintimacydimension
for
this
particular
role
is
especiallysignificant.
hereisno
difference
in
the
amountof
superordJnation-subordination
perceived
in
the
twocultures.
We
will
no w
turnto
a
number
ofgeneral
roles
and
their
perception
in
thetwocultures.
Old
People
versus
Young
People .
hereis
a
slighttendencyforGreeks
to
perceive
greater
affect
on
the
part
of
old
people
towards
younger
people
than
is
thecasefor
Americans
andfor
thereverseto
be
trueforyounger
peopletowardsolder
people.
n
the
other hand,
thereis
moreintimacyseen
intheserelationshipsbyGreeksthanby Amer icans.n thesuperordination-
subordination
dimension
older
peopleareperceivedas
showine
more
superordl-
natloninGreecethan
inAmerlc
andyoungerpeopleareseenasshowing
more
subordinationin
Greecethanin
America.
Both
Americans
and
Greeks
se e
a
CHILDasweakbutAmericansse ehimas
weaker.
DOLESCENCEandMATURITY
areseenas
beingmore
good,
powerful
,and
activeinGreecethaninAmerica.his
isbecauseGreeks
do
no thavethe
horror
o f
oldage
that
characterizes
Americans.
LD
PEOPLEare
seenmuch
(Footnotecontinuedon
nextpage.)
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2 b .
Differences
of
th
ePercepttonof
Social
Behavior
In
theprevious
section
we
have
showndifferences
in
the
wayGreeks
and
Americans
perceiverelationships
between
different
kinds
ofpeople.
Inthe
present
section
wewill
describedifferences
in
the
waytheyperceive
social
behaviors. It
is
afrequentobservationamongpersons
who
haveengagedin
social
relationswithpersons
from
otherculturesthattheirbehaviorsare
sometimes
"misinterpreted"
and
their
intentions"misunderstood."
or
more
negativelyInAmerica
than
inGreece.
hi s
isparticularly
so
onthe
dimensionofpower.
f i uest-Host
.
hereis
no
differenceintheamount
ofaffect
In
either
culture;
however,
the
Greeksse emoreintimacyinthatrelationshipthando
Americans.he
Greeks
also
se emore
subordination
ofthe
guesttothehost
thandoAmericans.
Tourist-Native.othculturesse epositiveaffect
inthisrelationship
butthe Greeks
se e
more
positive
affect
inthe
native
totourist
role
than
do
Americans.
heGreeks
alsose e
more
intimacyas
appropriatein
this
relationship
thandoAmericans.here
is
no differencebetweenthetwo
cultures
on
the
amount
of
perceived
subordination.
President-ClubMember .othcultures
se e
about
the
sameamountof
affect
inthis
relationshipbu tGreeksseemoreintiuacyinthepresident
toclub
member
role
thanisthecasewith Americans.hereisno difference
between
thecultures
on
thesubordinationdimension.
Memberof
the
Audience-Musician
.
reeksse egreaterpositiveaffect
aswellasgreaterintimacyin
thisrelationship
than
do
Americans.
SingingStar-Fan
.
here
are
nosignificantdifferences
on
the
amount
ofaffectseen
by
the
twocultures;butagain,the
Greeksse e
more
intimacy
as
appropriatein
these
relationshipsthand < > Americans.he yalso
se emore
superordlnatlonin
boththe
singing
startox ' a nandfantosingingstar
relationship
than
do
Americans.
In
other
words,
the
singing
star
can
make
demandsonthefansandthefanscanmake
demandsonthesinging
starthat
wouldseem
inappropriate
to
Americans.
Conflict
Roles
.reeksse emore
negative
affect
in
conflict
rolesthan
do
Americans.hi s
is
true
forrolessuchas
Protestant
Minister-Catholic
Priest,Administrator-UniversityStudent,UniversityStudent-Administrator,
diplomat-diplomat,player
of
game-opponent,
andpolitician-fellow
politician.
Insomecases,asinthe
diplomat-opposingdiplomat,the
Greeks
perceive
that
itis
appropriate
toshow
a
greatdealofnegative
affect,
whileinother
casestheyareclosertoaneutralpointon
affect.
ntheotherbandinall
oftheseconflictroles,
Greeks
tendtobehigherinintimacythan
is
trueof
Americans.inally,
Greeks
se emore
superordlnatlon
thando
Americans.
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26 .
example,
apersonfrom oneculturemay
provide
whatheconsidersto
be
"friendly criticism"to
a
person
from
another
culture
only
to
discover
that
the
other
personinterprets
it
as
"hatred."
r,
a
personfromCulture
A
behavesin
a
mannerwhich
he
considersextremely "positive"towarda
person
fromCulture
B.
owever,
the
Individual
fromCulture
Bperceivesthe
behavioras"neutral"
and
in
turnthe
individualfromCultureAfeels
that
hela"given
thecold
shoulder."
is
negative
reaction
isin
turnperceived
as
negative
anda
viciouscircleof
mutual
punishmenttakesplace.ne
possibleexplanationofsuch misinterpretaxionis
that
the meaning of
the
social
behavior
isuo t
the
s a m e
across
cultures.
Wehave
investigatedsuch
d .
rences
in
the
perception
ofsocial
behiiviorthrough
ratherrigorousproceduresinvolvingThurstonescalingof
the
social
behavior
descriptions
(Triandis,
Vassiliou,
and
Nassiakou,
1967b) .
Such differencescanreadilyerelatedtc
thehistoriesofthetwo
countries.
SocialAttitudes
A
sampleofaboutsi x
hundred
American malestudentswa s
comparedwith
.
sample
of
about
four
hundred
maleAthenians.
hey
wereaskedtoindicate
theiragreementwith
anumber
ofstatementsrelevant
toa
variety
ofsocial
attit-idea
(Trlandis,
Davis,
and
Vasslliou) .
The Greeksemphasizedtheneedforsocialcontrolto
a
much
larger
extent
than didthe Americans.he y
also
approved
of
correctivepunishment,
no
matter
he wsevere.
owever,they
disapproved
ofcapitalpunishment
and
hostility
in
exeicising
controlwithin
the
ingroup.he yare Iso
opposed
U
T riandlf?,H .
C
Davis,F .5.,
nd
Vassiliou,Vasso Social
ttitudes
in
ross-culturalperspective
in
preparatior).
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41 .
totheus eof
violence
in
settling
internationaldisputesto
a
larger
extent
than
Americans.
Specifically,the
agreement
onthe
need
for
social
controlis
evident
at
three
levels:hepersonal,the
interpersonal
and
the
governmental.
t
the
personal
levelit
waj
manifested
by
agreement
ontenitemssuchas
I
trytokeep
a
tightreinonmyselfat
all
times"
withwhich
theGreeks
strongly
agreed,
while
America
i s
ere
uncertain.
Atthe
Interpersonal
level
itcanle
seen
in
the Greek
responses
to
statements
suchas
the
following:
As
longas
so ny
of
our
teachers
are
afraid
to
administer
physical
punishment
our
schools
will
probablycontinue
kO
decline."
he
Greeks
agreedwith
this
statement;
the
Americansdisagreed
with
it .n
the matter
of
the
societal
(state)
control
we
se ethe
Greeks
agreeingwithand
the Americans disagree ing
with
the
following statement:
"We
will
prvoably
be
a
lo t
better
off
if
some
of
the
M
- o t s
in
favor
of
racial
and
religiousdiscriminationwere
expelled
from the
country."
n
twenty-two
statements,suchns
theabove,
which
referred
to
social
control,
Greeks
approvedof
control
to
a
larger
extent
thandi dAmericans.articularly
characteristic
was
approval
of
control
onmoralissues.o r
example,
"sex
crimes,
such
asrape
and
attacksonchildren,deserve
more
thanmere
imprisonment;
such
criminals
oughtto
bepubliclywhipped
orworse."
reeks
stronglyagreedwith
thatstatement,
while
Americans
disagreed.
As
a
specific
lllrstratlonof
the Greek
agreement
withitemsinvolving
corrective
punishment,
weca n
mentionthat
Greeks
strongly
agreed
with
the
statement
"itwould
probablyprovide
a
goodexample
for
this
entirenation
if
peoplewho
-efusedto
salute
our
flag
wereimprisoned."mericans
stronglydisagreed.
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4 2 .
Such
resultsstrongly
suggest
that
the
Greeks
are
high
on
the
F-Scale.
EmpiricallythisIs
so .
onever,
itIsn o * ,
certainthat
thetheoryofthe
authoritarian
personality,
as
developedin
f ica,appliesto
them
without
modification.
In
particular,theImportance
ofthe
Ingroup-outgroup
distinction,
and
the
definition
oftheingroup,
*hich
implied
aface-to-face
group,
modifies
thecharacterof
Greek
autnoritarianism. I t
should
be
recalled
that
authoritarian
submission
istypicalwithintheIngroup,
bu t
not
in
response
to
ouigroup
authority
figures.
TheGreeksituation
isin
manyays
similar
to
the
Italian,here
tae
Fascist
influence
penetratedless
in
everyday
lifethantheNazi
influence
did
I n .
Germany.t
may
be
that
the
distinction
between
ingroup
and
outgroup
(*hich
e
are
guessing
is
critical
i
o m
South
ofthe Alps
to
India)
makes
tiaperationof
a
fullfledgedfasciststatequitedifficult.ine
most
T
i e
give
their
devotion
primarily
to
their
families,
it
is
difficult
for
national
leaders
tocontrolmuch
oftheirbehavior.
A
furtherexample
may
clarify
hatis
argued
above.
uring
the1944
Communistrevolution,
many
GreekCommunists
arned
theirrelatives,
ho
ha d
collaborated
ith
the
Germans,that
they
ere
going
to
beliquidated.
hi s
al?r?edtheir
relativestohide
andtheirlives
ere
saved.ereisan
e x a m p ^ v , -
here
the
familybond
Is
more
important
thanbondsof
ideology,
party
discipline, andconceptsofobediencetopartyleaders.ven
in
the
case
of
xanatic
members
ofthe
Concnanist
party,
the
family
is
more
Important
than
theparty.
A
final
point
concerning
those
Greeks
who
agreed
withthestatement
aboutimprisoningthosehorefuse
to
salute
the
flag.tismost
probable
thatthayhave
in
mind
members
oftheiroutgroup. Itis
most
likely
thatthey
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43.
consider
that
members
o . t
theiringroup"wouldbehavecorrectly,"andtherefore
wouldno tbeaffected
by
the
situationdescribed
in
the
statement. Ifa
member
of
theingroupbehaved"incorrectly"hewouldbepressured
to
change
hi sbehavior,
but
ifhewere
imprisonedthe
members
of
the
ingroup
would
be
upsetandwould
considertheimprisonmentunfair. Inother
words,
in
responding
to
such
items,
the Creeks
probably
are
thinking
ofoutTOupmembers
and
inviewofthecompetitiveness
between
ingroupandoutgrouptheirthreshold
for
imprisoning
people
who
dono tbehave
correctly
may
wellbemuch
lower
than
it
is
in
America,
hencethedifferencein
the
Greek
andAmericanresponses.
Finally,
in
order
toillustrateGreekdisapprovaloftheuseofviolence
for
the
settlement
of
internationaldisputes
wemay
examine
their
responses
to
the
item:
Politicians
who
actively
support
the
arms
race
shouldbe
thrown
out
of
office."
reeks
agreed
and
A r n e ,
ans
disagreed.
In
this
studyourdataalsosuggeststhatGreekshave
a
muchclearer
system
of
values.
heyagreeamongthemselvesto
a
muchgreater
extent
than
do
Americans.
urthermore,
on
moral
issues,
Greekstendedtostronglyagree
or
disagreewith
ourstatements,
while
Americans
used
moremoderateresponses,
suchas"slightlyagree."orexample,inresponsestothestatement"We
cannot
know
for
sure
whether
or
no t
there
is
a
God"
Americans
either
slightly
agreedorslightlydisagreed reeks
only
slightly
disagreed.
he
maj ority
ofthe
Greeks
strongly
agreedwhile
Americans
slightly
disagreedwiththe
stetenent
"No
person
whowould
ever
think
ofhurting
hi s
parents
should
be
permittedin
a
societyof
normaldecent
people."
Greeks
values
are
not
only
clearer,
but
are
openly
proclaimedand
expressed
in
unhesitating
action.husGreeksagreed
with
thest