People in different cultures are wired to perceive stimuli in many different ways. The climatic conditions, a way of life and societal expectations influence how people react to stimuli. How the cultures’ experience and talk of pain influence how individuals of the specific culture experience pain. It is a significant influencer of people attitudes towards image, texture, taste and pain sensations. History and cross-cultures affect changes in sensory stimuli to taste and pain.
Culture Differentiation in Pain
Cultural upbringing and social values influence how different people express pain. However, the perception of pain in any culture varies with socioeconomic status, education, age, and gender (Yina Ma, 2015). The relative power of the person in pain also affects pain perception. Some cultures encourage the expression of pain whereas some emphasize on its suppression. In the Mediterranean, South-east Asia and Middle East regions, cultures underline the repression of pain and children be educated on the importance of bravery and not crying. In the contemporary European and American cultures, people express pain by letting it out and seeking help from others. Changes in the society and cultural dilution have seen doctors and nurses as speakers of people’s nature of pain, the intensity and duration. Cultural influences on brain activity shape perception of pain to conform to the societal norm (Yina Ma, 2015).
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Culture Differences in Taste
What is tasteful in some cultures may be distasteful in others. There is no clear comparative difference in taste preferences across cultures. Different Cultural beliefs on food, health, and preservation of the environment are some of the defining characteristics of differences in taste. Some cultures value animal life whereas others consume just about anything. The French eat food the Americans consider as unhealthy. However, there is a paradox in how a majority of the French remain healthy whereas some Americans get obese from eating ‘healthy’ food. The Indians generally prefer sour and bitter tastes, which is a common occurrence in other European populations. A comparative study between Japanese and Thai cultures suggests a difference in taste due to the findings that, Thai culture consumes spicy food four times as much as Japanese culture does (Shizuko et al. 2017).
References
Yina Ma, Shihui Han. (2015) A Culture-Behavior-Brain Loop Model of Human Development Trends in Cognitive Sciences 19(11) 666-676, 2015
Shizuko Satoh-Kuriwada et al. (2017) Differences in Taste Perception and Spicy Preference: A Thai-Japanese Cross-cultural Study Chemical Sciences 43 (1), 65-74, 2017
