Milton Bennet of the Intercultural Development Research Institute suggests the issue with the cultural iceberg metaphor is that it likens culture to a tangible object, “Comparing culture to an iceberg floating in the sea implies that culture is an actual thing. In other words, the biggest parts of a culture are not immediately visible to the untrained eye, and to learn those parts takes time and exposure.ĭr. The iceberg is chosen because of the popular notion that the visible part that sticks above the water is just 10% of an iceberg’s full size, and the other 90% could extend in just about any shape or direction, invisible to us below the surface. The invisible part of the iceberg is said to represent less noticeable aspects, such as religion, politics, social etiquette, work ethic, childrearing beliefs, notions of modesty, and the nature of friendship. These things are there for you to see, understand, and repeat. The visible aspects are easily accessible to cultural outsiders: things like art, music, literature, food, dance, holidays, gestures, and anything else you can pick up within a short time in a new place. The core of the idea is that for each distinct culture, there are visible and invisible aspects. The Problem With The Cultural Iceberg Metaphorįor many years the “iceberg” metaphor has permeated cultural studies. Here you will also find a summary of the iceberg model of culture. Please have a look at two other EU Commission funded projects: Please also visit the link below for examples of conscious and unconscious elements of culture. To gain an understanding of the “iceberg model” of culture (Edward T. In a cultural background where parents value the concept of pocket money for their children it is less likely that parents will advise their children about any arranged marriages and one could also presume that the structure of this society is focused more on individualism rather than collectivism (please see “cultural dimensions” for further details on these terms). This behaviour can be linked to the cultural value of “independence” when raising children. This would be situated above the waterline in the iceberg model. For example, one can observe that parents give their children pocket money. The most important part of culture is internal and hidden (Hall, 1976). The iceberg model also demonstrates the “hidden nature” of our values. And other explanations are possible for this behaviour too for example, the specific person might not like to eat meat because they are vegetarian. Some religious beliefs, for example, that some animals are unclean (below the waterline) lead to observables like the avoidance of certain food we can observe this behaviour, but without other cultural clues we may not be aware that this is linked to a person’s belief. Someone may be wearing a religious symbol, which is observable if we are familiar with this conscious religious symbol. For example, in the case of religion, rituals and symbols may be conscious while beliefs may be unconscious. Please note: The “iceberg model” is not perfect some cultural elements can be evident both above and below the waterline. When discussing behaviour, beliefs, values and norms and thought patterns, one needs to consider the iceberg/onion model. Also, like an iceberg, the conscious elements only represent a small part of culture and it is only from delving deeper and understanding the elements below the surface that a richer understanding of culture can be formed. Just as an iceberg has a visible (cultural aspects we are conscious about) section above the waterline and a larger, unseen (cultural aspects we are unconscious about) section below the waterline, so too can culture be described as having some aspects that are conscious (observable elements of culture which we are conscious about) and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited (elements of culture that we are less conscious about).
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