◎   Robert Kohls   译 / 阿诺

本文摘自《新东方英语·中学生》（2009年4月号）

    价值观能决定一个人的行为。那美国人的日常行为又是被怎样的价值观所支配的呢？美国旧金山州立大学国际项目部主任L. Robert Kohls博士总结出了美国人价值观的一些基本特点，以帮助那些初到美国的游客更好地了解美国的文化和价值体系。其实，随着全球化的进程加速，许多国家和地区的人所尊崇的价值观都已具备这些特点了。

    So you're going to visit the United States? Great! But be prepared: the values Americans live by may seem strange to you. As a result, you might find their actions confusing, even unbelievable.

　　Personal Control over the Environment
　　Americans do not believe in the power of fate. They think that everyone should have control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. The problems of one's life are not seen as having resulted from bad luck as much as having come from one's laziness and unwillingness to take responsibility in pursuing a better life.

　　Changes Seen as Natural and Positive
　　In the American mind, change is seen as indisputably good, leading to development, improvement, and progress. Many older, more traditional cultures consider change disruptive and destructive; they value stability, continuity, tradition, and ancient heritage—none of which are considered very important in the United States.

　　Time and Its Control
　　Time is of utmost importance to most Americans. It is something to be on, kept, saved, used, spent, wasted, lost, gained, planned, given, even killed. Americans are more concerned with getting things accomplished on time than they are with developing interpersonal relations. Their lives seem controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make their next appointment on time.

　　Equality/ Fairness
　　Equality is so cherished in the U.S. that it is seen as having a religious basis. Americans believe that all people are created equal and that all should have an equal opportunity to succeed. This concept of equality is strange to seven-eighths of the world which views status and authority as desirable, even if they happen to be near the bottom of the social order.

　　Individualism/ Independence
　　Americans view themselves as highly individualistic in their thoughts and actions. They resist being thought of as representatives of any homogeneous group. When they do join groups, they believe they are special—Just a little different from other members of the same group. In the U.S. you will find people freely expressing a variety of opinions anywhere and anytime. Individualism leads to privacy, which Americans see as desirable. It is not uncommon for Americans to say, and almost to believe: "If I don't have half an hour a day to myself, I go stark-raving mad!"

　　Self-help Initiative
　　Americans take credit only for what they accomplish as individuals. They get no credit for having been born into a rich family but pride themselves in having climbed the ladder of success, to whatever level, all by themselves. In an English-language dictionary, there are more than 100 composite words that have the word "self" as a prefix. The equivalent of these words cannot be found in most other languages. It is an indicator of how highly Americans regard the self-made man or woman.

　　Competition
　　Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual and in any system. This value is reflected in the American economic system of free enterprise, and it is applied in the U.S. in all areas—medicine, the arts, education, and sports.

　　Future Orientation
　　Americans value the culture and the improvements the future will surely bring. They devalue the past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because Americans are hopeful that the future will bring even greater happiness. Since Americans believe that humans, not fate, can and should control the environment, they are good at planning short-term projects.

　　Action/ Work Orientation
　　"Don't just stand there," says a typical bit of American advice "do something!" This expression, though normally used in a crisis situation, in a sense describes most Americans' waking life, where action—any action—is seen as superior to inaction. Americans routinely schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time and aimed at "recreating" so that they can work harder once their "recreation" is over. Such a "no-nonsense" attitude toward life has created a class of people known as "workaholics".

　　Informality
　　Americans are even more informal and casual than their close relatives—the Western Europeans. For example, American bosses often urge their employees to call them by their first names and feel uncomfortable with the title "Mr." or "Ms.". Dress is another area where American informality is most noticeable, perhaps even shocking. For example, one can go to a symphony performance in any large American city and find people dressed in blue jeans. Informality is also apparent in Americans' greetings. The more formal "How are you?" has largely been replaced with an informal "Hi". This is as likely to be used with one's superior as with one's best friend.

　　Directness/Openness/Honesty
　　Many other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing others of unpleasant information. Americans prefer the direct approach. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations, and to consider anything other than the most direct and open approach to be "dishonest" and "insincere". Anyone in the U.S. who uses an intermediary to deliver the message will also be considered "manipulative" and "untrustworthy".

　　Practicality/Efficiency
　　Americans have a reputation for being realistic, practical, and efficient. The practical consideration is likely to be given highest priority in making any important decision. Will it make money? What is the bottom line? What can I gain from this activity? These are the kinds of questions Americans are likely to ask, rather than: Is it aesthetically pleasing? Will it be enjoyable? Will it advance the cause of knowledge? The love of "practicality" has also caused Americans to view some professions more favorably than others. Management and economics are much more popular in the United States than philosophy or anthropology, and law and medicine more valued than the arts.

     这么说你要去美国了？好极了！不过，得先做好心理准备：美国人所遵循的价值观或许在你看来有些奇怪。要是那样的话，你可能会觉得他们的行为令人困惑甚至难以置信。
    
    个人左右环境
    美国人不信“命”。他们认为每个人都应该掌控环境中任何可能对他(或她)产生潜在影响的事物。某个人生活中的问题与其说是坏运气带来的，倒不如说是他懒于、不愿承担起追求更好生活的责任而造成的。

    “改变”必然而积极
    在美国人的心目中，“改变”毫无疑问是件好事，它能带来发展、改善和进步。很多更为古老、更为传统的文化认为“改变”就意味着混乱和破坏；他们推崇稳定、延续、传统和历史遗产——在美国人看来，这些没有一个是十分重要的。

    时间及时间管理
　　对大多数美国人而言，时间极其重要。人们要准时、合拍、省时、用时、耗时、浪费时间、耽误时间、争取时间、计划时间、限定时间，甚至打发时间。和发展人际关系相比，美国人更看重按时做完事情。人们的生活似乎被手腕上戴着的那块小小机械所操控，那个小东西会令他们突然终止讨论，以准时赶赴下一场约会。
　　

    平等/公平
    “平等”在美国备受珍视，都到了被认为是有宗教基础的地步。美国人相信人人生而平等，人人都应当享有获取成功的平等机会。这种平等的观念对世界上十有八九的民众而言都很难理解，他们认为地位与权力是值得追求的，哪怕他们自己碰巧身处社会的最底层。

    个人主义/独立自主
     美国人认为自己的思想和行为都是高度个人化的。他们不愿意仅仅被当作是同一类人的代表。当他们真的加入团体时，他们认为自己是特别的——与同一团体的其他成员多少有些不同。在美国，你随时随地都会发现人们在自由发表着各式各样的观点。个人主义带来个人隐私，而美国人对此非常看重。美国人常常会这么说，甚至这么认为：“我如果每天不能有半小时的独处时间，就会发疯！”

    自立进取
    美国人只对他们作为个人所取得的成就感到自豪。他们不以出身豪门为荣，而以仅凭己力攀成功的阶梯为傲，无论攀到的是哪个高度。在英文字典中，有超过100个以“self”为前缀的复合词。很难在其他大多数语言中找到和它们相对应的词语。它表明了美国人对那些靠自我奋斗获得成功的人是多么地尊敬。

   竞争
    美国人相信竞争能够把任何个人、任何体制的长处充分发挥出来。这种价值观体现在美国经济制度中就是自由企业制度，被用于美国的各个领域——医疗、艺术、教育、体育等之中。

    未来至上
     美国人看重未来必将带来的文化与进步。他们贬低过去，并在很大程度上忽视当下。人们甚至不太留意眼前的快乐，因为美国人期待未来会带来更大的幸福。由于美国人相信人类——而非命运——可以并且应该掌控环境，所以他们很擅长制定短期项目的计划。

    行动/工作至上
     “别光站着！”是一句典型的让人“做点儿什么”的美国式建议。这句话虽然通常用在紧急情况下，但从某种意义上，这句话也道出了大多数美国人的清醒生活。在这种生活中，人们认为行动——任何行动——总是比不作为要好。美国人例行公事般地把一天的活动安排得满满的。任何休息放松都要有时间限制并且意在“调剂身心”，以使他们在休整之后能够更加卖力地投入工作。正是这种“不能胡闹”的生活态度造就出了一大批被称为“工作狂”的人。

     不拘小节
     比起他们的西欧近亲来，美国人更加不拘小节和随意。比如，美国老板常会要求下属直接称呼他们的名字，而不太习惯被称作“先生”或“女士”。衣着是美国人随意性最引人注目的又一个领域，甚至也许可以说有些令人震惊。比如，在任何一个美国大城市的交响音乐会，你都会看到现场有人穿着蓝色的牛仔裤。美国人打招呼的方式也很随便。较为正式的“你好吗？”已经基本上被非正式的“嗨”所取代。不论是对好朋友，还是对上司，人们都会这么打招呼。

     直接/坦率/诚实
     在许多国家，人们在告诉别人不太好的消息时，会采用一种比较委婉，有时甚至是高度礼节性的说辞。美国人则更喜欢直言不讳。他们倾向于直截了当地提出反对意见，倾向于把所有不是最直接最坦白的表达方式视为“不诚实”、“不真诚”。在美国任何通过中间人来传话的人也会被视为“有控制欲”、“不值得信任”。

     讲求实际/效率
     美国人素有注重实际、讲求实用及追求效率的美誉。在做任何重大决定的时候，人们可能优先考虑的总是较为实际的问题。能赚到钱吗？底线是什么？我从这个行动中能得到什么？这些都是美国人可能会问到的问题，他们不会问：它能带来美的享受吗？它会令人愉快吗？它会让人增长知识吗？对“实用性”的喜好使美国人对某些职业尤为偏爱。在美国，管理学与经济学比哲学和人类学要受欢迎得多，法律与医学也比艺术更受重视。