Socially Constructed Perception of Reality Recount some instances in which you have realized after interacting with someone from a different culture (or subculture) that that person’s socially constructed perception of reality was quite different from yours.
How did this difference influence the ongoing pattern of interaction?
Socially Constructed Perception of Reality Assignment Guidelines
Write a (60 word) reply to each paragraph below:1) In first year, one of the first friends I made was South Indian. While getting to know her over the past four years, I have noticed that we have some differences regarding culture. A big one is that she will be having an arranged marriage in a few years and her parents are responsible for choosing her husband. I had never met someone who is going to have an arranged marriage, so it was interesting to learn the process to choosing a potential husband. Something else that is different is that she celebrates many festivals throughout the year and a lot of them involve giving food to family and friends. Since she has no family in Canada, she always brings me Indian food during those festivals and it allows me to experience her culture’s food, which is delicious. When we have lunch together, we often discuss the different between our culture’s food (I am French) and teach each other about different dishes. Something else that is different between our two cultures is that her family is very close and welcoming to her friends. She lives at home and her mom has mentioned to me multiple times that I could show up at her house whenever I feel homesick and need a home-cooked meal. For my family, we always need a bit of notice before someone shows up at our house. Even though there are many differences in our culture, it has not changed our interaction with each other. Instead, it has allowed us to learn about each other’s culture and share interesting facts with each other.2) When interacting with one co-worker with a different culture I realized that my perception of reality was quite different. Namely, my family and I are Catholic so there are particular customs and traditions that we have followed over the years which have shaped my perception of reality. For instance, the celebration of Christmas over the holidays, which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, is a relatively strong tradition in our family.
Socially Constructed Perception of Reality Detailed Descriptions
The morals, beliefs, and traditions that I developed from my religion over the years have certainly had a strong influence on my perception of reality. I noticed that my colleague, who practiced Hinduism, had a rather different perception of reality. This was most notable when he discussed how his family ate predominantly a vegetarian diet, practiced fasting on a regular basis, and when he described the traditions at a recent wedding that he had attended. For example, differences in traditions were evident in the dowry system that he described which involved offering gifts to the bride’s parents. Initially, the differences in both of our perceptions of reality led to some incongruence when interacting but over time this lessened as we started interacting more frequently. Ultimately, keeping an open mind and understanding that there are other belief systems, cultures, and traditions helped me to see things from a different perspective and better understand my friend’s perception of reality. Interestingly, I have found that some of my friends who are minorities avoid discussion of their original culture and I sometimes wonder if this is due to the pressure that they experience to assimilate to the dominant culture. This is an unfortunate reality but it is understandable as assimilation can help to reduce potential prejudice and discrimination directed at this segment of the population
