People-Watching as an Art for Authors – Pt.11
Part Eleven: The Observer – Stereotypes and Cues for the Observer
The Observer
If the observer is naive, he will rely entirely on his particular set of observational and reporting habits. He will perceive, organize and retain material according to his own (largely unconsciously ingrained) prejudices, attitudes and beliefs, and will, therefore, distort his observations in a personal and unknown manner. Even with considerable insight, some distortions inevitably occur.
However, by bringing into the open the basis of error and distortion, the observer will be more alert to their occurrence and better prepared to check their influence at the outset, or at least to understand and compensate for them at a later time. Knowledge should also increase the individual's observational ability by directing his attention to the more pertinent stimuli, cues and areas of observation, thus preventing potential confusion or overloading of his perceptual system.
It is impractical to describe or predict all cultural settings in which the observer will function, but where possible, he should be trained to expect at least some readily observable differences between his culture and the one he will visit.
Cultural shock is usually the result of ignorance; often it is a matter of failing to grasp the significance of the most elemental mores and customs of the society, as for example, the attitude toward sanitation and personal hygiene, or-- quite commonly-- failure to understand the place of women in a particular society.
Stereotypes. Our impressions of the culture of countries newly visited are apt to be naive and oversimplified. It is natural to try to avoid ambiguity and complexity, and to integrate observations as parsimoniously as possible. Thus we enter a new culture armed with pre-cast notions of behavior-- the behavior of the “typical” German or Russian or Saudi. We tend to reject information that does not fit the stereotype, and so deny ourselves insights into some fo the target's most critical characteristics.
Even when, as observers, we are receptive to minor deviations in the target's appearance or behavior, the risk is still great that such deviations will be misconstrued. We may note them and proceed to disregard them; or worse, we may witness a few cases of deviant behavior and promptly generalize to a larger segment of the population. Given a stereotype that calls for heavy consumption of alcohol in a society, then a few drunks seen in the streets can lead to the easy conclusion that alcoholism is indeed a major problem of the society at large.
With adequate training, the observer will divest himself of stereotypes and will avoid generalizing from inadequate samplings. He should be taught to tolerate the ambiguities and cross-currents that exist at some level in every culture, as in every individual. He should overcome his tendency to ignore the subtle behaviors that indicate such cross-currents.
Cues for the Observer. The task of observing accurately despite cultural differences must be reduced to reasonable proportions, not only for the observer's sake but also to prevent overloading the system with extraneous observations. The observer should become thoroughly familiar with the subtle cultural differences he can expect to encounter.
There is no point in reporting that the target wore a suit with wide coat lapels and baggy pants when these represent current fashion in his culture. On the other hand, if he dresses in a Western style that sets him apart from his colleagues, the observer may have a piece of information worth building upon.
The observer must establish (by preliminary observation and subsequent on-the-spot reaffirmation) the cultural norms against which he can reliably judge deviant behavior. For example, if it is customary for citizens to scold one another in public for careless behavior, such knowledge provides a framework within which to judge the meaning of the behavior and whether it is even worth reporting.
Coming in Part Twelve: The Principle of Salience and the Other Side of Stereotypy
