Define+the+term+culture+and+cultural+norms.

= Culture = The world culture itself is not easily definable. **Matsumoto (2004)** mentions a book that contains 128 definitions just for the one word. A common way we use culture today can describe food, clothes, religion, rituals etc. This culture that we see however, is seen as being "surface culture" because it is so immediately visible. For example, food in Thailand is drastically different than it is in my home country, the USA. I notice this cultural difference because it is so different than might, and yet so immediately recognizable. Continuing on the idea of surface culture, there is also a "deep culture," as defined by **Kuschel (2004)**. Deep Culture can define what causes these regional differences in culture, what has allowed them to survive in their environment and how it has shaped the people it influences. Kuschel goes against seeing culture strictly as an explanation for behaviour and see it more as a way that certain factors result in certain behaviours. **Lonner (1995)** defines culture as being a set of rules which guide interactions and behaviour in a given society. While **Hofstede (2002)** defines it as being "mental software" or a series of socio-culturally shared schemas that are shaped over generations and shared through common interactions and reactions. Naturally for something that is not easily definable there are many definitions and explanations.

explicit and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their survival, involving attitudes,values, beliefs, norms and behaviours." With culture being seen as dynamic is to say that it is constantly changing in response to environmental and social changes. Culture can also be seen as the whole of Thai culture or down to just what life at ISE is like. Places such as ISE can have a written set of rules (explicit) and those that are only understood (implicit).
 * Matsumoto (2004)** probably developed the most expansive definition of culture. On the surface he sees it as "a dynamic system of rules,

= Cultural Norms = Behaviour patterns that are typical to specific groups. Such as culture is and of itself passed down by generation so are the cultural norms. They are controlled by the "gatekeepers" such as parents, teachers, elders etc. They can control almost every element of the culture such as marriage, communication, how food is eaten, social class structure and its effect on interclass communication and the list goes on.