For example, you probably don't spend much time thinking about the importance of living in rectangular rooms, trying to minimize body odor, limiting yourself to one spouse at a time, or using credit cards to obtain material goods and services. Although we generally fail to appreciate its influence, our cultural heritage has a pervasive impact on our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Let's look at a couple examples of this influence. In North America, when people are invited to dinner in someone's home they generally show their appreciation of their host's cooking efforts by eating all of the food they are served. In India, this behavior would be insulting to the host, as guests are expected to leave some food on their plates.
Cultures also vary in their emphasis on punctuality.
In North America, we expect people to show up for meetings on time, and if someone is more than 10 to 15 minutes late we begin to get upset. We generally strive to be on time, and many of us are quite proud of our precise and dependable punctuality. However, in many Asian and Latin American countries, social obligations that arise at the last minute are given just as much priority as scheduled commitments. These examples may seem trivial, but culture can also influence crucial matters, such as educational success and physical health. Consider, for instance, recent evidence that Asian American youngsters tend to outperform their white counterparts in American schools, even though many are recent immigrants.