Perception of Americans

Every country is known for at least one thing. For instance, China is known for the production of fake goods. As such, people from that country tend to be associated with that which is known for that country. Stereotyping comes from such scenarios, where people are over generally associated with the country’s catchphrase. As such, Indians perceive that Americans are swift, always walking fast through busy streets. Kenyans believe that Americans are distant people who do not want to assassinate others, including their fellow Americans. Both stereotypes may be explained from cultural differentiation principles.

Indians consider that Americans are fast when walking through streets because of differences in perception of time. It is important to note that primarily, Indians view Americans as fast when walking because they walk slowly. Also, walking is a fair representative for doing things between both cultures. Also, the perception of time in India is different from that in western cultures. For instance, the perception of time in India is that time is recurrent – an endless cycle of four stages: appearance, degeneration, end of the universe, and identification of the previous stage. As such, Indians tend to believe in predestines occurrences and avoid many pressures in the world. Besides, Indians believe that doing something slowly is likely to produce excellent results. On the other hand, Americans believe that time is linear. It is a commodity that can be traded for money. Phrases such as I do not want to waste time or save time are very common in American conversations.  Thus, the more activities one can do in a day, the more they are earning potential. However, Americans cannot see that they are in haste than Indians because it has become a norm.

Kenyans believe that Americans are distant people who do not want to assassinate others, including their fellow Americans. The serotype arises from individualist and collectivist contrast. In this case, Kenyan’s focus on collectivism in society while Americans tend to be individualists. In the perception of collectivism, people value group goals, collective social responsibilities, and interdependence between personal relationships. Kenyans, therefore, tend to come close, especially within families, religious groups, and other social gatherings. Unlike Kenyans, Americans value individual goals and the satisfaction of goals for an individual. For instance, people are considered good in America if they can be self-reliant and independent. In Kenya, people are considered good if they are valuable in society through kindness and participation. That is why Kenyans view Americans as distant people, even among themselves. Americans cannot view it that way since it is a natural, cultural framework – they prefer independence and autonomy to reliance on others for wellbeing.

To sum up, Indians and Kenyans perceive Americans as distant people and those who walk very fast. The perception is built on stereotypes, which are prevalent throughout cultures. Collectivism in the Kenyan society reveals that America is among the most individualistic cultures in the world. Indian stereotype reveals the time-value perception in America. It also sheds light on the high productivity in the U.S. It also suggests that Americans are impatient – they will not want to waste time whatsoever. It also shows that Indians have a higher laziness index compared to Americans. From the Kenyan stereotype, one can tell Kenyans are more socially connected, while Americans are socially divided into many levels.