Self-help control

The importance Americans place on self-help and personal achievement is an outgrowth of the values of independence, equality, and individuality, which are exemplified in commonly heard expressions such as “being self-reliant,” “stand on your own two feet,” or “don’t depend on others.” In the United States, your family name or the school attended will normally only help you to get an initial introduction or interview. Any subsequent gain must be earned through personal merit. Theoretically, the concept of equality underlying U.S. societal organization provides everyone the same opportunity for material and social improvement. One just has to work for it. The opportunity to go from rags to riches remains a fundamental American belief and can actually be seen in the political careers of Presidents Clinton and Obama. Both started from humble beginnings and went on to ultimately sit in the Oval Office. The nineteenth-century English poet William Henley succinctly captured this U.S. value of self-mastery when he wrote, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

Competition and free enterprise

A positive attitude toward competition is an integral part of life in the United States and is taught from early childhood on. Whether it is through childhood games or being continually asked to answer questions in the classroom, a competitive nature is encouraged among American children. People are ranked, graded, classified, and evaluated so that everyone will know who the best is.

The media continually provides “Top 10” lists of people, schools, hospitals, movies, vacation locations, and endless others. The U.S. economic system  free market enterprise  is based on competition, and the U.S. government is constantly touting free and open markets. The assumption is that individuals, left to their own means, can more ably and quickly achieve their desired goals. Moreover, the system is considered “fair” because everyone has the same opportunity. This competitive spirit can create problems for Americans when they interact with people who do not share the value. For instance, in some cultures, a person’s social and economic stature can be a product of family connections, schools attended, length of time with an organization, or even age. In these cultures, competition based on personal merit can be a secondary consideration. Additionally, cultures

that promote interdependency and cooperation take a negative view of intra-group competition.

Future orientation

An old adage holds that Americans are not especially interested in history because they have so little of it. While that is somewhat of an overstatement, it does point out that in the United States what lies ahead usually takes precedence over the past. What is going to happen holds the greatest attraction because, it seems, whatever we are doing is not quite as good as what we could otherwise be doing or will be doing in the future. Change, taking chances, a stress on youth, and optimism are all hallmarks of U.S. culture and reflect the value placed on the future. As a people, Americans are constantly thinking about what is coming. Very young children even play with the toys (dolls, cars, guns, and so on) that rush them toward, and prepare them for, adulthood. What you want, you want now, so you can dispose of this moment and move on to the next. In the classroom, U.S. students longingly watch the clock as it counts the minutes to the end of class  and cues them to move on to another class or activity.

Adler and Gunderson aptly capture the U.S. forward-looking focus when they observe, “Future-oriented cultures justify innovation and change mostly in terms of future economic benefits” [28].