Thai and Western, a spec of cultural contrast.

Strong cultural differences exist between Thai and western societies, recognition of this leads to better relationships. Here are just some nuances that we find interesting.

Strong cultural differences exist between Thai and western societies. Respect and obedience to elders and the need to return favors are all strong themes in Thai culture. Mutual dependence, reciprocity and the principal of being practically and morally indebted form the underlying themes. Thailand is often considered more of a particularist society, in which people look at a situation in terms of relationships. This contrasts to many western societies which are often more universalistic in nature. That is, people tend to view a situation in terms of universal standards and principals that should not be wavered from because of relationships with the people involved.

People from 38 different nations were asked if their friends were given the right to expect protection from them after they had been responsible for hitting a pedestrian with their car. While ten per cent or less of Westerners replied in the affirmative, nearly four times as many Thais replied that their friend had the right to expect such loyalty. Thais are far more relationship orientated than their Western counterparts. An often quoted phrase is that "A universalist will say of a particularist 'they cannot be trusted because they will only help their friends; a particularist will say of universalists 'you cannot trust them; they would not even help a friend.'"

A sterotypical view of Thai people…