Ten Cultural Values of the U.S.: Communication, Behavior, and Historical Perspectives

Abstract

This study aims to analyze ten American cultural values by examining how they have affected its people's communication and behavior and how their historical experiences have constructed these values. First, I examined previous scholars' search for American identities, such as T. Parsons, Florence Kluckhon, Fredrick Strodtbeck, Geert Hofstede, Edward Hall, and Martin J. Gannon. Referring to their findings and adding a few more elements to them, then, I present ten values of the United States. They are individualism, love of freedom, equalitarianism, reverence of laws, multiculturalism, Puritanism, frontier spirit, pragmatism, respect of science and technology, and belief in the future. These values have molded independent, informal, practical, optimistic, naive, tolerant, dynamic, straightforward, assertive, aggressive, and progressive American characteristics in their way of communication and behavior.