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.
Privacy is also very important.
In particular, religion and spirituality are private matters. On the other hand, in many languages other than English, the word privacy does not exist except in the context of forced isolation. In most other cultures, society is group-oriented. The welfare of the group, and cooperation rather than competition, are primary values in African, Arabic, Asian and Latino cultures. Many people from non-Western cultures believe less in control over the future and more in the role of fate.