CHAPTER 2. A CONTEMPORARY DEFINITION OF CULTURE CONFLICT
The phenomenon with which the present study is concerned is
the c o n flic t aroused in the adolescent c h ild as he attempts to in te rn a lis e the mores and norms o f the cu ltu re in which he is growing up, but finds these to be a t some degree o f variance with those inculcated in him by his parents. I t has been found to be p a r tic u la r ly strong in children born o f immigrant parents in a host society (e g ., C h ild , 1943). Such an adolescent Is in constant contact with his parents, who have matured in a cu ltu re other than the one he knows, and who, to some e x te n t, whether d e lib e ra te ly or u n w ittin g ly , attempt to impart elements o f i t to him. Concurrently his p erso n ality is being shaped, and he 1s seeking a s e l f - id e n t it y , in the only c u ltu re he knows, while attempting to as sim ila te In to i t by follow ing it s tenets o f behaviour and b e lie f . Where these d i f f e r from the values taught him by his parents, he is in an em otionally d istu rb ing s itu a tio n . His two most important reference groups are making c o n flic tin g demands upon him, and he must resolve the c o n flic t o r remain in a s ta te o f tension. This w i ll be fu rth e r discussed 1n Chapter 5. The aim at present is to spell out what is meant by "cu ltu re c o n f lic t " .
C o n flic t i t s e l f can be conceived o f in at le a s t two ways. I t may r e fe r to a d is p a rity between the social norms o f two c u ltu re s , w ith out reference to the in d ivid u als adhering to those c u ltu re s . For in stance, where cap italism is the norm in one cu ltu re and in another communism
p re v a ils , i t may be said th a t the norms o f the two cultures c o n flic t. I f the two cultures are in close p ro xim ity, and relevan t norms extremely c o n flic tin g , in te rs o c ie ta l tension ensues. Witness West and East Germany.
More relevant fo r the present study perhaps is c o n flic t between the cultures o f the Aborigine and White Australian (Stevens, 1972a).
Psychologically, however, c o n flic t is usually conceived of as occurring within the in d ivid u a l. For instance, Chaplin defines i t as involving "the simultaneous occurrence of two or more mutually antagon is t ic impulses or motives" (Chaplin, 1968, p.102). I t arises when the person has to choose between two mutually incompatible behaviours, the motives fo r each being approximately equally powerful. For the purposes o f the present study, i t is thought o f as occurring when an individual must choose between two incompatible norms to cope with a s itu a tio n . This may occur w ithin one culture. For instance, on seeing a stranger being menaced, should an Australian follow the precept of "S he'll be rig h t, mate," and look the other way, or "Give a man a f a ir go", and In terfere? He w ill feel some c o n flic t, resulting 1n stress which w ill be relieved only when he makes a decision.
Culture c o n flic t may be viewed as a p a rtic u la r form o f th is . I t is the c o n flic t experienced by an individual who Id e n tifie s closely with two cu ltu res, and who finds that each offers a norm o f behaviour fo r a s itu a tio n , but th at they are Incompatible. This form of cu ltu re c o n flic t is that experienced by the adult immigrant whose homeland mores and values are at variance with those of his host society. I t is ex perienced by the Ita lia n who has lived in A ustralia fo r some years, would dearly love to converse with a new a rriv a l 1n Ita lia n on a crowded public transport, yet id e n tifie s s u ffic ie n tly with his society o f adop tion to want not to be regarded as a foreigner by host society peers around him. Such culture c o n flic t also results in stress, which the individual w ill seek to reduce.
I t is important to distinguish the unique circumstances of culture c o n flic t. I t can be conceived of as occurring only where an individual must choose between two mutually incompatible behaviours, and where the norms, value schema, mores, call them what you w i l l ; of one culture from which he derives his own values, dictate that one a lte rn a tiv e should
be chosen; while the norms of a second culture with which he also id e n tifie s s u ffic ie n tly to consider its values his own, ordain that the opposite
course of action should be followed. The essence of culture c o n flic t is that i t occurs as a resu lt of simultaneous id e n tific a tio n by one
individual with two cultures. As Doczy (1967, 1969) points out, assim ila tion d iffic u ltie s experienced by Immigrants are often not the resu lt
of culture c o n flic t, although loosely labelled so. They may arise through a lack of knowledge of the new cu ltu re, so that the immigrant simply
finds himself in a situation with which he has not had to cope before, and has no recourse to acquired norms to guide his behaviour. A newly arrived Southern European in an Australian pub might be an example of th is . Who should buy the drinks? What should be bought? Who should he ta lk to? What should he ta lk about? He is in a state of tension, but not necessarily tension arising from culture c o n flic t.
Conversely c o n flic t experienced by immigrants 1n th e ir host society may not necessarily be culture c o n flic t as they could well have exper
ienced sim ilar stress in th e ir homeland. The mores o f only one society are involved. Thus fa m ilia l stress resulting from the w ife's going out to work cannot always be said to resu lt from culture c o n flic t, as such stress, while possibly orig in atin g from the immigration s itu a tio n , could nevertheless have arisen in the homeland also, had the w ife gone