Some American psychological traits [Part 2]

Relaxed - Americans do not change their words when talking to superiors. The American mentality of rising up begins with loving yourself.

An American family. (Source: williampeaceblog)

Relaxed - Americans do not change their language when talking to superiors, and can always use slang. They dress freely. They sit comfortably in chairs, lean their shoulders against the wall, and put their feet up on the desk. But there are limits. At home, you have to sit up straight, and you tell a judge not to use slang. When a boss goes into the staff room and puts his feet up on the desk, it shows an equal intimacy; but if the staff does the same, it is too much. When a teacher is comfortable with intimacy (telling students to call him intimately like: Call me Janet = just call me Gianit) but not the students can be casual.

Some researchers have commented that Americans are the opposite of the Japanese: Americans appear very “open” and friendly on the outside, but are closed on the inside. Every American says they want to live comfortably.

In reality, they sometimes do the opposite. They clean their houses carefully, eat dinner at 6 o'clock sharp, and do not receive strangers. Whenever they sit still, their limbs itch and they have to do something. A group of Italian journalists who lived in the US for six months lamented: "Oh my God, we don't understand how Americans can continue such non-stop activities."

…Comfortable but planned, everything is planned in advance (including career, children, retirement), weekly and monthly calendars are filled with plans (personal can be more than social).

The psychology of progress – The psychology of progress of Americans begins with self-love. Due to the fierce competition leading to not achieving what one wants, many people suffer from nervous breakdowns, especially women.

Foreigners often think that Americans create their own problems. They eat well, have jobs, what more could they want? They don’t realize that wealth creates special problems. “Money isn’t everything.” Although many Americans know this, they still think that if they had a little more money, they would be happier. Perhaps there is a problem with American culture: the focus on individual achievement has led to the neglect of important aspects of life.

Ways to cultivate oneself - Popular psychology in the US produces a series of books to prepare “personal happiness”, teaching the right way to think to succeed in life. Americans are quite selfish, but those “philosophical” books still teach about “thinking about yourself”, such as: How to refuse without worrying, No longer dependent on each other, Women who love too much.

For half a century, Dale Carnegie's best-selling manual has been How to Win Friends and Influence People . Weekend classes in this and many other versions teach techniques for becoming happy, wealthy, sexually satisfied, etc.

Therapists - In other countries, when people are mentally unstable or anxious, they often seek out friends and relatives. In the US, people seek out therapists (psychiatrists, psychologists, college graduates with a degree in family therapy or a degree in social work). They believe that these professionals have deep expertise and are therefore effective. They are willing to pay $80 per hour for psychotherapy. It is not certain that the treatment will be effective, but they will certainly feel better, and for some people, there is no other way.

Exercise - Some people treat or prevent illness this way. After a few generations of driving cars and living in one-story houses, Americans may lose their sense of physical well-being. A decade ago, doctors discovered that post-industrial civilization had created people who were physically unfit, that Americans had bad hearts and muscles; it seemed that American men were dying suddenly.

To cure these defects, people do aerobic exercise (increase the pulse for a period of time to force the heart to work fully, stimulate the brain to produce sedatives) and many other methods: endurance running, stationary cycling, swimming, dancing...

Diet - Half of American women consider themselves overweight. In a country where people eat a lot and want to look slim, never label an American as overweight. Americans, especially women, follow diets to lose weight and then chase the pounds. There are two best-selling books: cooking books and diets. The rate of pot bellies in America is quite high. People have a false stereotype about pot bellies: they are metabolic problems, not gluttony.

Worship of youth - In a young country, people believe in youth, believing that young people have more new ideas and new techniques. There are young people who have a few gray hairs and immediately dye them. In the subconscious, there is a notion that "new" means "better". There is a talented editor who is disappointed in her career, just because she is 40 years old and has not been appointed as editor-in-chief; she thinks it is difficult to have another opportunity because most newspapers are looking for editors-in-chief who are 35 years old or younger.

Anti-aging and surgical facial rejuvenation have become popular among the middle class. Skin care companies sell millions of dollars worth of anti-wrinkle creams with questionable effectiveness. Gray hair is rare because so many people dye their hair. Old people don’t wear miniskirts, but they still wear bright colors. Everyone wants to be complimented on looking young.

Old age is seen as the end of contribution. In a society that values success, those who have ceased to contribute are rarely noticed. Yet there are still old people who contribute, who go here and there, who take action.

There are people who are admired by young people for their life experiences. American society will have to care for many old people who have no money and no health.

Source