Individual

An individual person is at the crossroads of many different cultures of all the groups s/he is a member of. In combination with personality s/he turns all those influences into an individual culture (even if culture is a characteristic of a group of people). The individual culture may also be imagined as a cultural backpack, the result of the individual history of dealing with other people. The perception of your individual culture refers to your self-image, how you see yourself and how you think others see you. This may well include elements that you are not aware of but do play a role in your thinking and acting.

Individual identity is not something that stands on its own, although it may be perceived as such (bottom of the triangle model of culture). At the other three layers of the triangle model people try to define their identity in an exchange between the individual and the group (member of a family or of a working group; job; nationality). Identity is of course more complex than the four layers of the triangle model but the model does show at least four major aspects.

Education and upbringing build on what is already available, ultimately the biological level of the new-born baby. Experiences in the pre-adult years may well have a lasting impact on the rest of one’s life, in particular the development of values and beliefs.

Personal development is a wider concept than education and upbringing, involving more actors than parents and teachers. It also includes personal achievements or activities, not or hardly involving other people. Furthermore, personal development may refer to things that have happened to you (and he lessons drawn from that experience) or things as a result of a deliberate initiative of oneself.

Learning about culture is also learning about you and provokes thinking about yourself. Learning about culture is also a personal journey and will continue through your whole life. Culture affects a person’s lifestyle and his relationships with other people.