47 Examples of Cultural Context

John Spacey, updated on August 29, 2022

Cultural context is the set of information meanings that exist between people in any given situation. This influences all interactions between people including communication, society and business interactions. Cultural context is also important to understanding what has occurred for the purposes of interpretation and analysis. For example, cultural context is important to understanding things like politics, history, human behavior, organizations and societies. The following are common examples of cultural context.

Attitudes	Behavioral Norms
Beliefs	Body Language
Clothing & Fashion Norms	Collectivism
Communication Norms	Countersignaling
Customs	Directness & Candor
Food & Beverages	Formal / Informal Communication
Frames of Reference (i.e. common knowledge in a culture)	Gestures
Groupthink / Pressure to Conform	High-Context Culture (e.g. based on relationships and common understanding)
Holidays	Humor
Hygiene Factors (e.g. situations that a group view as completely unacceptable such as wearing shoes in the house in Japan)	Individualism
Language	Lifestyle
Long-term Orientation	Low-Context Cultures (transactional and highly inclusive)
Mannerisms	Non-visual Communication
Pastimes	Personal Space
Politeness	Power Distance
Reading Between the Lines (subtle communication in an indirect culture)	Responsibilities
Risk Taking Attitudes / Behaviors	Roles
Saving-Face	Sensibilities (i.e. what is considered common sense)
Shared Experiences (how do people build trust and a sense of shared identity?)	Signaling / Humility
Social Context (cultures adapt to different social situations)	Social Expectations
Social Status (what earns respect)	Stories
Symbols	Traditions
Uncertainty Avoidance	Values
Wit

Overview: Cultural Context
Type	Culture Characteristics
Definition	The set of information meanings that exist between people in any given situation.
Related Concepts	Culture Characteristics »