American Value
THE VALUES AMERICANS LIVE BY
By L. Robert Kohls, Ph.D.
INTRODUCTION
Most Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, what the values are which Americans live by. They have never given the matter any thought.
Even if Americans had considered this question, they would probably, in the end, decide not to answer in terms of a definitive list of values. The reason for this decision is itself one very American value – their belief that every individual is so unique that the same list of values could never be applied to all, or even most, of their fellow citizens. Although Americans may think of themselves as being more varied and unpredictable than they actually are, it is significant that they think they are. Americans tend to think they have been only slightly influenced by family, church or schools. In the end, each believes, “ I personally chose which values I want to live my own life by.”
Despite this self-evaluation, a foreign anthropologist could observe Americans. The list of typically American values would stand in sharp contrast to the values commonly held by the people of many other countries.
Over the years, I have introduced thousands of international visitors to life in the United States. This has caused me to try to look at Americans through the eyes of foreign visitors. I am confident that the values listed in this booklet describe most (but not all) Americans, and that understanding these values can help you, the international visitor, understand Americans.
It is my belief that if foreign visitors really understand how deeply ingrained these 13 values are in Americans, they will then be able to understand 95% of American actions -- actions which might otherwise appear “strange,” “confusing,” or “unbelievable” when evaluated from the perspective of foreigner’s own society and its values.
The different behaviors of a people or a culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group. When you encounter an action, or hear a statement in the United States which surprises you, try to see it as an expression
of one or more of the values listed in this booklet. For example, when you ask Americans for directions to get to a particular address in their own city, they may explain, in great detail, how you can get there on your own, but may never even consider walking a hundred meters with you to lead you to that place. Some foreign visitors have interpreted this sort of action as showing Americans’ “unfriendliness.” I would suggest, instead, that the self-help concept (value number 6 on our list) is so strong in Americans that they firmly believe that no adult would ever want, even temporarily, to be dependent on another. Also, their future orientation (value 8) makes Americans think it is better to prepare you to find other addresses on your own in the future.
Before proceeding to the list itself, let me also point out that Americans see all of these values as very positive ones. They are not aware, for example, that the people of many Third World countries view change (value 2) as negative, destructive and threatening. In fact, all 13 of these American values are judged by many of the world’s citizens as negative and undesirable. Therefore, it is not enough simply to familiarize yourself with these values. You must also, so far as possible, consider them without the negative or derogatory connotation that they might have for you, based on your own experience and cultural identity.
It is important to state emphatically that my purpose in providing you with this list of the most important American values is not to convert you, the foreign visitor, to our values. I could not achieve that goal even if I wanted to, and I don’t want to. I simply want to help you understand Americans with whom you will be relating – from their own value system rather than from yours.
L. Robert Kohls
Director of International Programs
University
State
San
Francisco
Holloway
Avenue
1600
San Francisco, California 94132
1988
January,
?L. Robert Kohls, 1988
THE VALUES AMERICANS LIVE BY COMMENTARY ON THE LIST OF BASIC AMERICAN VALUES
_______________________________________________________ 1. Personal Control over the Environment/Responsibility
Americans no longer believe in the power of Fate, and they have come to look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or
hopelessly naive. To be called “fatalistic” is one of the worst
criticisms one can receive in the American context; to an American, it means one is superstitious and lazy, unwilling to take any
initiative in bringing about improvements.
In the United States, people consider it normal and right that Man should control Nature, rather than the other way around. More
specifically, people believe every single individual should have
control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. The problems of one’s life are not seen as having
resulted from bad luck as much as having come from one’s laziness and unwillingness to take responsibility in pursuing a better life.
Furthermore, it is considered normal that anyone should look out for his or her own self-interests, first and foremost.
Most Americans find it impossible to accept that there are there are some things which lie beyond the power of humans to achieve or control.Americans have literally gone to the moon, because they refused to accept earthly limitations.
Americans seem to be challenged, even compelled, to do, by one means or another (and often at great cost) what seven-eighths of the world is certain cannot be done.
2. Change Seen as Natural and Positive
In the American mind, change is seen as an indisputably good
condition. Change is strongly linked to development, improvement, progress, and growth.
Many older, more traditional cultures consider change as a
disruptive force, to be avoided if at all possible. Instead of change, such societies value stability, continuity, tradition, and a rich and
ancient heritage – none of which are considered very important in the United States.
These first two values – the belief that we can do anything and the belief that any change is good – together with an American belief in the virtue of hard work and the belief that each individual has a
responsibility to do the best he or she can do have helped
Americans achieve some great accomplishments. So, whether these beliefs are “true” is really irrelevant; and what is important is that Americans have considered them to be true and have acted as if they were, thus, in effect, causing them to happen.
3. Time and its Control
Time is, for the average Americans, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things accomplished on time (according to a predetermined
schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal
relationships. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest detail.
It may seem to you that most Americans are completely controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their
discussions off abruptly to make it to their next appointment on
time.
Americans’ language is filled with references to time, giving a clear indication of how much it is valued. Time is something to be “on,”
to be “kept,” “filled,” “saved,” “used,” “spent,” “wasted,” “lost,”
gained,” “planned,” “given,” “made the most of,” even “killed.”
The international visitor soon learns that it is considered very rude to be late--even by 10 minutes--for an appointment in the United States. Whenever it is absolutely impossible to be on time, you
should phone ahead and tell the person you gave been unavoidably detained and will be a half hour – or whatever – late.
Time is so valued in America, because by considering time to be important, one can clearly accomplish more than if one “wastes”
time and does not keep busy every minute. This philosophy has
proven its worth. It has enabled Americans to be extremely
productive, and productivity itself is highly valued in the United
States. Many American proverbs stress the value in guarding our time, using it wisely, setting and working toward specific goals, and even expending our time and energy today so that the fruits of our
labor may be enjoyed at a later time. (This latter concept is called “delayed gratification”.)
4. Equality/Fairness
Equality is, for Americans, one of their most cherished values. This concept is so important for Americans that they have even given it
a religious basis. They say all people have been “created equal.”
Most Americans believe that God views all humans alike without regard to intelligence, physical condition, economic status or rank.
In secular terms this belief is translated into the assertion that all people have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Americans
differ in opinion about how to make this ideal into a reality. Yet, virtually all agree that equality is an important civic and social goal.
The equality concept often makes Americans seem strange to
foreign visitors since seven-eights of the world feels quite
differently. To most of the rest of the world rank and status and, authority are seen as much more desirable considerations – even if they personally happen to find themselves near the bottom of the social order. Class and authority seem to give people in those other societies a sense of security and certainty. People outside the
United States consider it reassuring to know from birth, who they are and where they fit into the complex system called “society”.
Many highly placed foreign visitors to the United States are insulted by the way they are treated by service personnel (such as waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores or hotels, taxi drivers, etc.)
Americans have an aversion to treating people of high position in a deferential manner, and conversely, often treat lower class people as if they were very important. Newcomers to the United States should realize that no insult or personal indignity is intended by this lack of deference to rank or position in American society. A
foreigner should be prepared to be considered “just like anybody else” while in the country.
5. Individualism/Independence
The individualism that has been developed in the Western world from the Renaissance onward, beginning in the late 15th century, has taken its most exaggerated form in the 20th century United
States. Here, each individual is seen as completely and marvelously unique, that is, totally different from all other individuals and,
therefore, particularly precious and wonderful.
Americans think they are more individualistic in their thoughts and actions than, in fact, they really are. They resist being thought of as representatives of a homogeneous group, whatever the group. They may, and do, join groups – in fact many groups – but somehow
believe they are just a little different, just a little unique, just a little special, from other members of the same group. Furthermore, they tend to leave groups as readily as they enter them.
Privacy, the ultimate result of individualism, is perhaps even more difficult for the foreigner to comprehend. The word “privacy” does not even exist in many non-Western languages. If it does, it is
likely to have a strongly negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or forced isolation from the group. In the United States, privacy is not only seen as a very positive condition, but is also viewed as a requirement which all humans would find equally necessary,
desirable and satisfying. It is not uncommon for Americans to say – and to believe – “if I don’t have at least half an hour a day all to myself, I would go stark raving mad!”
Individualism, as it exists in the United States, does mean that you will find a much greater variety of opinions (along with the absolute freedom to express those opinions anywhere and anytime) in this country. Yet, in spite of this wide range of personal opinion, almost all Americans will ultimately vote for one of the two major political parties in the next election. That is what is meant by the earlier
statement that Americans take pride in claiming more individualism than, in fact, they actually have.
6. Self-Help/Initiative
In the United States, a person can take credit, only for what he or she has accomplished by himself or herself without any outside
assistance. Americans get no credit whatsoever for having been
born into a rich family. (In the United States, that would be
considered “an accident of birth.”) Americans pride themselves in having been poor and, through their own sacrifice and hard work, having climbed the difficult ladder of success to whatever level they have achieve - all by themselves. The American social system has, of course, made it possible for Americans to move, relatively easily, up the social ladder, whereas this is impossible to do in many
countries.
Take a look in an English-language dictionary at the composite
words that have the word “self” as a prefix. In the average desk dictionary, there will be more than 100 such words, words like self-
aware, self-confident, self-conscious, self-contented, self-control, self-criticism, self-deception, self-defeating, self-denial, self-
discipline, self-esteem, self-expressions, self-importance, self-
improvement, self-interest, self-reliance, self-respect, self-restraint, self-sacrifice--the list goes on and on. The equivalent of these
words cannot be found in most other languages. This is perhaps the best indication of how seriously Americans take doing things for
one’s self. The “self-made man or woman” is still very much the ideal in 20th century America.
7. Competition
Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any
individual. They assert that it challenges or forces each person to produce the very best possible. Consequently, the foreign visitor will see competition being fostered in the American home and in the American classroom, even on the youngest age levels. Very young children, for instance, are encouraged to answer questions for
which their classmates do not know the answers.
You may find the competitive value disagreeable, especially if you come from a society, which promotes cooperation rather than
competition among individuals. But many U.S. Peace Corps
volunteers teaching in Third World countries found the lack of
competitiveness in a classroom situation equally distressing. They soon learned that what they had thought to be one of the universal human characteristics represented only a peculiarly American (or Western) value.
Americans, valuing competition, have devised an economic system to go with it – free enterprise. Americans feel very strongly that a high competitive economy will bring out the best in its people and ultimately, that the society which fosters competition will progress most rapidly. If you look for it, you will see evidence in all areas – in fields as diverse as medicine, the arts, education, and sports – that free enterprise is the approach most often preferred in
America.
8. Future Orientation
Valuing the future, and the improvements Americans are sure the future will inevitably bring, means that they devalue the past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because, happy as it may be,
Americans have traditionally been hopeful that the future would
bring even greater happiness. Almost all energy is directed toward
realizing that better future. At best, the present condition is seen as preparatory to a later and greater event, which will eventually
culminate in something even more worthwhile.
Since Americans have been taught to believe that Man, and not
Fate, can and should be the one who controls the environment, this has made them very good at planning and executing short-term projects. This ability, in turn, has caused Americans to be invited to all corners of the earth to plan and achieve the miracles that their goal-setting can produce.
If you come from a culture where talking about or actively planning the future is felt to be a futile, perhaps even sinful, activity you will have not only philosophical problems with this very American
characteristic but religious objections as well. Yet it is something you will have to learn to live with while you are here, for all around you Americans will be looking toward the future and what it will
bring.
9. Action/Work Orientation
“Don’t just stand there,” goes a typical bit of American advice, “do something!” This expression is normally used in a crisis situation, yet, in a sense, it describes most Americans’ entire waking life,
where action – any action – is seen to be superior to inaction.
Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day.
Any relaxation must be limited in time, pre-planned, and aimed at “recreating” (as in the word “recreation”) their ability to work
harder and more productively once the recreation is over.
Americans believe leisure activities should assume a relatively small portion of one’s total life. People think that it is “sinful” to “waste one’s time,” to sit around doing nothing or just to “daydream.”
Such a “no nonsense” attitude toward life has created many people who have come to be known as “workaholics,” or people who are addicted to their work, who think constantly about their jobs and who are frustrated if they are kept away from them, even during their evening hours and weekends. When such a person finally
takes time away from work to go on vacation, even the vacation will be carefully planned, very busy and active.
The workaholic syndrome, in turn, causes Americans to identify
themselves wholly with their professions. The first question an
American will generally ask another American when meeting them
for the first time is related to his or her work: “What do you do?”
“Where do you work?” or “Who (what company) are you with?”
America may be one of the few countries in the world where it
seems reasonable to speak about the “dignity of human labor,”
meaning by that, hard, physical labor. In America, even presidents of corporations will engage in physical labor from time to time and in doing so, gain, rather than lose, respect from others for such
action.
10. Informality
If you come from a more formal society, you will likely find
Americans to be extremely informal and, you will probably feel,
they are even disrespectful of those in authority. Americans are one of the most informal and casual people in the world, even when
compared to their close relative – the Western European.
As one example of this informality, American bosses often urge
their employees to call them by their first names and even feel
uncomfortable if they are called by the title “Mr.” or “Mrs.”
Dress is another area where American informality will be most
noticeable, perhaps even shocking. One can go to a symphony
performance, for example, in any large American city nowadays and find some people in the audience dressed in blue jeans and short-sleeved shirts.
Informality is also apparent in Americans’ greetings. The more
formal “How are you?” has largely been replaced with an informal “Hi.” This is as likely to be used to one’s superior as to one’s best friend.
If you are a highly placed official in your own country, you will
probably, at first, find such informality to be very unsettling, even disrespectful. Americans, on the other hand, would consider such informality as a compliment! Certainly it is not intended as a
personal insult, and you should not take it as such.
11. Directness/Openness/Honesty
Many other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly
ritualistic, ways of informing other people of unpleasant
information. Americans, however, have always preferred the most direct approach possible. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations, and to do so publicly. If you
come from a society that uses the indirect manner of conveying bad news or uncomplimentary evaluations, you will be shocked at
American bluntness.
If you come from a country where saving face is important, be
assured that Americans are not trying to make you lose face with their directness. It is important to realize that an American would not, in such cases, lose face. The burden of adjustment, in all such cases while you are in this country, will be on you. There is no way to soften the blow of such directness and openness if you are not used to it, except to inform you that the rules have changed while you are here. Indeed, Americans are trying to urge their fellow
countrymen to become even more open and direct. The large
number of “assertiveness” training courses that first appeared in the United States in the late 1970’s reflects such a commitment.
Americans consider anything other than the most direct and open approach to be “dishonest” and “insincere” and will quickly lose
confidence in and distrust anyone who hints at what is intended
rather than saying it outright. Anyone who, in the United States, chooses to use an intermediary to deliver the message will also be considered “manipulative” and “untrustworthy.”
12. Practicality/Efficiency
Americans have a reputation for being an extremely realistic,
practical and efficient people. The practical consideration is likely to be given highest priority in making any important decision in the United States. Americans pride themselves in not being very
philosophically or theoretically oriented. If Americans would even admit to having a philosophy, it would probably be that of
pragmatism.
Will it make any money? Will it “pay its own way”? What can I gain from this activity? These are the kinds of questions that Americans are likely to ask in their practical pursuit, and not such questions as: Is it aesthetically pleasing? Will it be enjoyable? or Will it
advance the cause of knowledge?
This practical, pragmatic orientation has caused Americans to
contribute more inventions to the world than any other country in human history. The love of “practicality” has also caused Americans to view some professions more favorably than others. Management and economics, for example, are much more popular in the United
States than philosophy or anthropology, and law and medicine are valued more than the arts.
Another way in which this favoring of the practical makes itself felt in the United States is a belittling of “emotional” and “subjective”
evaluations in favor of “rational” and “objective” assessments.
Americans try to avoid being “too sentimental” in making their
decisions. They judge every situation “on its own merits.” The
popular American “trial-and-error” approach to problem solving also reflects the practical approach. This problem-solving approach,
actually invented in the United States, suggests listing several
possible solutions to any given problem, then trying them out, one-by-one to see which would be most effective.
13. Materialism/Acquisitiveness
Foreigners generally consider Americans much more materialistic than Americans are likely to consider themselves. Americans would like to think that their material objects are just the “natural
benefits” which always result from hard work and serious intent – a reward, they think, which all people could enjoy were they as
industrious and hard-working as Americans.
Bu, by any standard, Americans are materialistic. This means that they value and collect more material objects than most of the
world’s people would ever dream possible to own. It also means they give a higher priority to obtaining, maintaining and protecting their material objects than they do in developing and enjoying
interpersonal relationships with people.
The modern American typically owns:
?one or more color television sets
? a tape recorder and a record player
? a video cassette recorder
?an electric hair dryer
?an electronic calculator
?an expensive camera
? a clothes-washer and dryer
? a vacuum cleaner
? a powered lawn mower (for cutting grass)
? a refrigerator, a stove
?one or more automobiles
?and a telephone. Many also own a personal computer and electric dish-washer.
Since Americans value newness and innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones.
A car may be kept for only two or three years, a house for five or six before trading it in for another one.
COMPARISON
Now that we have discussed each of these 13 values separately, if all too briefly, let us look at them in list form (on the left) and consider them paired with the counterpart values from a more traditional country (on the right).
U.S. Values Some Other Country’s Values Personal Control over the
Environmental/Responsibility Fate/Destiny
Change Seen as Natural
And Positive Stability/Tradition/Continuity Time and its Control Human interaction Equality/Fairness Hierarchy/Rank/Status Individualism/Independence Group’s Welfare/Dependence Self-Help/Initiative Birthright Inheritance Competition Cooperation Future Orientation Past Orientation Action/Work Orientation “Being” Orientation Informality Formality Directness/Openness/Honesty Indirectness/Ritual/”Face” Practicality/Efficiency Idealism/Theory Materialism/Acquisitiveness Spiritualism/Detachment Which list more nearly represents the values of your native country?
Application
Before leaving this discussion of the values Americans live by, consider how knowledge of these values explains things about Americans.
One can, for example, see America’s impressive record of scientific and technological achievement as a natural result of several of these 13 values:
First of all, it was necessary to believe (value #1) these things could be achieved, that Man does not have to simply sit and wait for Fate to bestow them or not bestow them, and that Man does have control over his own environment (and his own destiny) if he is willing to take it. Other values which have contributed to this record of achievement include (#2) an expectation of positive results to come from change (and the acceptance of an ever-faster rate of change as “normal”); (#3) the necessity to schedule and plan one’s time; (#6) the self-help concept; (#7) competition; (#8) future orientation; (#9) action/work orientation; (#12) practicality; and (#13) materialism.
Another example was given by a recent Egyptian visitor who shared his amazement at a scene he witnessed while visiting the gift shop at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He saw a young American mother bending down to talk to and to reason with what he guessed to be her four-year-old son. He overheard her saying to the boy, “Tommy, if you buy that model airplane with your money now, then a bit later, when your sister wants to stop and have a Coke, you are not going to have enough money left to buy one.” He was amazed because he said, “In my country, the mother would never have said a thing like that. In the first place, she would not have given the little boy “his own money” to manage. Instead, she would have managed the money, and when he wanted the model airplane, she would have bought it for him. Then later, when he wanted a Coke, she would have bought that for him, too.”
He could see, having just read “The Values Americans Live By,” that in America it is very important for this young mother to teach her son to be independent and to learn, as early as possible, to manage his own money. He could also see that at least six of the 13 values on our list were involved in what he had just witnessed: (#1) personal control over the environment/responsibility; (#5) individualism/independence; (#6) self-help; (#8) future orientation; (#12) practicality; and (#13) materialism.
You can do the same sort of exercise as you consider other aspects of American society and analyze them to see which of the 13 values described in this paper apply. By using this approach, you will soon begin to understand Americans and their actions – and even to predict what those actions will be. As you come to understand Americans, they will seem less “strange” than they did at first, when you were judging them using the value system of your own country.
By L. Robert Kohls, 1988; reprinted with permission.