While in Western culture, direct eye contact is a sign of respect and attentiveness, in other cultures it may be considered disrespectful or an affront. In Western culture, people value the time-efficient behavior. Time is saved, lost, or wasted. It is very important to be on time. Western thinking is often future-oriented.
People plan for the future in many aspects of their lives.
Believing that they, not fate, control the environment, they think they can determine the direction of many areas of their lives. While preventive medicine is an important aspect of health care in the United States, in many other countries it is not practiced. For example, a Central American parent may not give preventive asthma medicine when the child is exhibiting symptoms at the moment. Individualism and autonomy are highly valued in American culture. People s success is judged by their acquisition of possessions, degrees and titles.