Rationality, Perfectability, and Mutability

 Rationality premise states the belief that most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis. Which seems to be a true statement when you think of it from a logical stand point. However the perfectibility premise states that everyone is born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness. That statement I only believe somewhat, just the part where is states everyone is born sin is where I don't follow. It could be because I don't follow things that are old Puritan ideas. Although I can see people who partake in “bad” things could possibly achieve overall goodness. Lastly, the mutability premise assumes that human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the way to improve is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances. That one is one of the ones I find to be true because a lot of peoples surroundings really influences what they do and who they are. I can see the mutability premise being applied to someone going through school, such as K-12^th grade because where they are and the people around them really shape who they become.

Stereotyping

One thing I want to touch on that is in this chapter is "stereotyping," mostly because it happens anywhere and everywhere. Just as the book says, it makes us believe what goes on around us and why. They say that we believe Japanese are workaholics, Central Americans have lack of ambition, and Germans are obsessed with order. Which may be true however, I just believe we shouldn’t make those assumptions without actually knowing the people for who they are. This goes back to people pre-judging before they even know the truth. Which is sad, because sometimes it is true and sometimes it is not. It could lead to wrong conclusions and others the right. My point is that although a lot of people do it, it doesn’t make it right. Your walking down the street and you see someone in all black clothes that are sort of goth-like, you instantly assume that they are emotionally screwed up and hate the world. When in all reality they could be the nicest person. Overall, it is not a nice action, however people don’t know exactly what you are thinking.

Culture Shock

Yes I do agree with Ruth Benedict's statement that we are "creatures of our culture" and when I say we, it is a global statement. Anywhere you go across the world it is a culture shock. It is very different from the way you live. An example is going from California, or anywhere in the United States, to Hawaii. Everything there is very laid back in a sense. Going to McDonalds here is very speedy and that is there main goal, whereas in Hawaii, it will take more than an hour to get your food. It is just their culture there, to not care about much. Same goes for any other country as well, like Europe and the United States and the coffee scene. One way to break the “habit” of our culture is for everyone to be independent. Everyone sort of has to do their own thing and not follow other people. However that is hard because there are so many people.

Facial Expressions

One of the few topics covered in chapter five that caught my eye was the concept of facial expressions. They say that your body making facial expressions is partly natural and partly something that you learn as time progresses. Which is interesting because what they basically say that our facial expressions are pretty much pre wired into your brain. Which studies show that a lot of the “pre-wired” facial expressions are shared universally across the globe. Studies propose why we smile when we are happy and we cry when we are sad are just part of our biological inheritance. All of how the brain functions really interests me, just because it is so complex. Another concept that is covered is that however we may have these expressions “pre-wired” we learn over time to modify them to fit within our culture. Some expressions are intensified while others are de-intensified depending on the culture.

Interpretation...

I don't want to say I never make wrong assumptions when it comes to nonverbal messages but seldom do I encounter that issue. Mainly because over time I have learned not to assume things when it comes to nonverbal messages. Growing up with my mother was very expressionless when it comes to things, she is very straight forward, nothing is sugar coated. Even when she is saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Birthday" there is no smile, nor frown just neutral  Therefore growing up I believed she was mad majority of the time. Goes to show, she was never mad she just doesn't show expression. So for half of my life I lived thinking she was angry. I think I take after her though and don't express myself therefore I don't judge other peoples nonverbal messages mostly because I don't even think about them. However since I don’t think about nonverbal messages sometimes I may give off the wrong one accidentally. Prime example is me being someone who uses their hands to describe a lot of things and people always think I am crazy or mad, or both.

Body Language

Throughout the globe various body gestures carry different meanings and using one from one part of the globe could mean something a whole lot different at a different point in the world. I have never traveled outside of the United States to experience the various hand gestures but it is something we learned about in International Relations. Our textbook used an example of creating a circle with your thumb and index finger means "okay" in the United States, however in Germany it is a very rude gesture. There are a couple other similar situations, such as, tapping on your nose in England means "You and I are in on the secret," whereas in Wales it means "You are very nosy." So a simple gesture can really go a long way. One that I found really funny was tapping ones temple means "You're crazy" in Western Europe, and in Netherlands it means "You're very clever." Another thing to take into account with gestures and meanings within other countries is personal space. When meeting someone in or from a different country be sure not to approach them very close because not only could you invade their personal space but you may come off rather aggressive towards them.