Culture Influence Personality Essay

Introduction

I am an Indonesian and ever since I was young my family has strictly embraced and followed
the indigenous culture and stressed on the importance of following it. We believe that the way we
act, dress and speak in public can both show and help us build and develop our personality.
However, ever since I learned about the United States culture, I noticed a lot of difference in my
culture and what I found in America. The differences come in in terms of cultures between these two
countries.

Respect among Indonesians is a key issue in everything one does, for instance how one
dresses, especially women and girls so as not to cause negative actions from the opposite sex, and
also, how one addresses his or her seniors – we address them by using Sir, Mr., Mrs., and so forth
before their names, which is not the case here in America. Also the family unit is very important in
shaping personalities.

Culture influences personality

One major aspect of personal identity that greatly influences my culture is respect. Children
are strictly taught to uphold manners and conduct themselves well both in private and public.
Respect in the Indonesian culture is a very fundamental point of shaping a person to the point one
becomes an adult from childhood.

Children are from an early age taught the importance of respect within a family setting. This
helps them to carry on with it even when they move out of their parent’s home and become
independent and in some cases move to other countries or regions and encounter other people of
different cultures.

Origins of respect in the Indonesian culture

My culture is greatly influenced by an age’s long interrelation between, our existing first,
from the beginning indigenous customs and various external influences which tend to have a
profound or crucial influence over the way our personalities shape up. Latterell (56) notes, “The
position of Indonesia along a prehistoric trading route belonging to the distant past, before the
collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, connecting the Middle East to the Far East is a key
factor in external influences.”

As a result there was interaction cutting across a multitude of human activities and customs
such as religion (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Confucianism); trade; family life and much more.

Despite this mix of cultures, albeit complex in nature and different from the original culture
it still has a richculture that has strong moral ground which help shape ones personality.The vibrancy
and versatility of my culture can be compared to Indonesia’s natural beauty.

The basis of Indonesian culture and its ability to comply with a fixed standard, regulation, or
requirement of societal norms is the importance put on honor and respect for the individual. This is
also a very key element in Buddhism and Hinduism, which greatly influenced the Indonesian culture.
The teachings of Buddhism greatly stress on respect for all living things and one’s own parents.

These teachings brought forward by the Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama) leads one to try and
find the actual state of the world by making use of wisdom, and therefore be able to distinguish
between right and wrong and upholding each and every life, for example when faced with a
situation of whether killing a mosquito or letting people suffer from malaria. Furthermore Hinduism
stresses on respect of elders (parents, older brother or any one senior than you).

This is a keystone of the Hindu culture and my culture seems to have borrowed most from it.
My culture takes this further by stressing on the importance of loyalty towards one’s own family on
top of everything else and viewing each other as members of one big extended family, this is due to
the fact that they live simple lives a basic amenity enjoyed by Indonesians.

Personality and respect

My personality, the way I carry myself and interact with my elders and how I refer to them
can be hugely attributed to my upbringing, where at the family setup, respect for elders is a very
fundamental aspect of growing up.

This is evident as I learned about the United States, I still practice the teachings impacted in
me. Back at home it is always impolite to refer to anyone older than you by just their first name.

Consequently, it is morally upright for me to continue in the way we are brought up and this
has continued to shape my personality. Furthermore, despite the differences and complexities
between various cultures around the world, my culture teaches us to honor, respect and uphold one
another’s culture and personalities

Conclusion

In Islam, the main keystone is respect for all humanity regardless of the difference in the
normal human ways of life in aspects such as wealth, race, tribe, nationality, color, abilities and so
on. Indonesia being predominantly an Islamic nation greatly focuses on respect as a key cultural
component. The Indonesian culture borrows heavily from various other external factors but a
conclusion can be made that it has focused more on incorporating the religions of these cultures
(Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism) and fusing them with its own indigenous culture to come
out with a strong morally upright way of life and acceptable societal norms.

Respect is by all means the foundation of everything else. However, the variation in
personalities in respect to various cultures is universal and all comes down to the specifics contained
within a specific culture.

Word count: 910

References: (should use 5 references at least )

Latterell, Catherine. ReMix: Reading and Composing Culture. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
Print.