Interesting reading about Thailand and Thai people

[Confuscious]

Found this book on the internet about Thailand and the Thai people written by a Thai.
Very good lecture (22 pages).

 

NATIONAL CHARACTER IN THE THAI NINE VALUES ORIENTATIONS

Suntaree Komin1 (1990)
 

Link:
http://thaisunset.com/downloads/Suntaree Komin Thai National Character.pdf

"Suntaree Komin, Thai Fulbright Scholar of 1991, has conducted a research study in “Psychology of the Thai People : Values and Behavioral Patterns” in 1990. With her kind permission, TUSEF considers it useful to have an excerpt of the study posted on the website for our Fulbrighters and grantees as well as interested individuals to further explore on their own, similarities and differences. Through respective direct exposure to Thai people and culture, they should be able to gain greater understanding about Thais for increased mutual understanding of people across different cultures, so very much needed in a globalized world of heightened mobility and interactions."

[Patong2021]

I  don't believe that it is relevant today for anything other than an historical reference point.  I am not dismissing the conclusions, but am putting them in perspective. Thailand has undergone significant social changes, The most visible has been the impact of social media. Back in 1990, Thais like other societies socialized very differently than they do today. There was no mobile phone culture, and no social media.  Social mores and customs have changed significantly and social media has been a powerful driver.

 

 This article was first published in the International Journal of Psychology as CULTURE AND WORK-RELATED VALUES IN THAI ORGANIZATIONS  (Suntaree Komin,  June-December 1990).    The data was collected via two nation-wide surveys prior to 1990 and participants were over the age of 21. The participants  would now be in their late 50's to 80's, if they are still alive. Their culture and belief system is different than that of  today's 15-35+ year olds .

 

The paper makes reference to face and ego. Well, the old constructs might  be in use by 75 year olds today, but a 25 year old  behaves differently now. They text and there are social  norms that apply to texts such as the time taken to respond and the types of emojis deemed acceptable or rude.  No one texted back in 1990. There  was no Tinder or Grindr. No one sexted. All of these activities have their own  social norms and acceptable behaviors.   For example, back in 1985, sexual harassment was more common and tolerated. Try that today and the subject will not accept the  behavior. The concept of  loss of face and ego has therefore  adapted accordingly.  

[OneMoreFarang]

This is probably the best book I read about Thailand many years ago.

Some things changed, but I think most of it is still relevant.

What surprised me is that this is available in Thai bookshops.

 

 

[Lorry]

10 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Thailand has undergone significant social changes, The most visible has been the impact of social media. Back in 1990, Thais like other societies socialized very differently than they do today. There was no mobile phone culture, and no social media.  Social mores and customs have changed significantly and social media has been a powerful driver.

A lot of the social changes in Thailand happened mostly during the 90s and early 2000s.

There were no social media then.

[huangnon]

13 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

This is probably the best book I read about Thailand many years ago.

Some things changed, but I think most of it is still relevant.

What surprised me is that this is available in Thai bookshops.

 

 

 

Yep, was an early eye-opener for me too, read it shortly after arriving here 30 years ago.

 

What has changed in that time is the freedom of the press here. There used to be quite a healthy public and press regarding politics, corruption, etc in the 80's-90's. Since then it's been all draconian crackdowns, (probably started by Thaksin pulling advertising from any media outlets critical of his governance). Similarly surprised that this book is still on the shelves.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 minutes ago, huangnon said:

 

Yep, was an early eye-opener for me too, read it shortly after arriving here 30 years ago.

 

What has changed in that time is the freedom of the press here. There used to be quite a healthy public and press regarding politics, corruption, etc in the 80's-90's. Since then it's been all draconian crackdowns, (probably started by Thaksin pulling advertising from any media outlets critical of his governance). Similarly surprised that this book is still on the shelves.

 

And there was no "internet" and no mobile phones when that book was written and when we read it.

In general, I think most journalists in Thailand don't deserve that title. But then, I understand that they are careful what they write, they want to keep their job and health.

I am not a fan of social media. But it seems that helped to expose some corrupt officials and other crimes.

[Crossy]

You mean that "Private Dancer" isn't the ultimate Thai documentary??

[maesariang]

17 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

I  don't believe that it is relevant today for anything other than an historical reference point.  I am not dismissing the conclusions, but am putting them in perspective. Thailand has undergone significant social changes, The most visible has been the impact of social media. Back in 1990, Thais like other societies socialized very differently than they do today. There was no mobile phone culture, and no social media.  Social mores and customs have changed significantly and social media has been a powerful driver.

 

 This article was first published in the International Journal of Psychology as CULTURE AND WORK-RELATED VALUES IN THAI ORGANIZATIONS  (Suntaree Komin,  June-December 1990).    The data was collected via two nation-wide surveys prior to 1990 and participants were over the age of 21. The participants  would now be in their late 50's to 80's, if they are still alive. Their culture and belief system is different than that of  today's 15-35+ year olds .

 

The paper makes reference to face and ego. Well, the old constructs might  be in use by 75 year olds today, but a 25 year old  behaves differently now. They text and there are social  norms that apply to texts such as the time taken to respond and the types of emojis deemed acceptable or rude.  No one texted back in 1990. There  was no Tinder or Grindr. No one sexted. All of these activities have their own  social norms and acceptable behaviors.   For example, back in 1985, sexual harassment was more common and tolerated. Try that today and the subject will not accept the  behavior. The concept of  loss of face and ego has therefore  adapted accordingly.  

25yo Thais are similar to westerners. Thai culture is dying.

[Felt 35]

[timendres]

9 hours ago, maesariang said:

25yo Thais are similar to westerners. Thai culture is dying.

 

Not even close to true. I have spent ten years hiring kids fresh out of college.

Sure, the "context" changes, and the world is moving faster and getting smaller.

But as I read the paper from 1990, I kept nodding and seeing its relevance even today.

25yo Thais are interpreting the modern world within the framework of their culture and,

in my humble opinion, managing it better than their western counterparts.

[Patong2021]

For historical relevance. this paper  based on surveys from 1988-1989.

Texting  was first introduced to the world in 1999 and took off in 2000 in the western/Japanese influenced  societies. SMS is what made texting easy, and  this required a 2G network. Unfortunately, there was no option for group chat or emojis and messages had to be 160 characters or less.    3G was only fully rolled out in Bangkok  2010 and it took some time to get the national network established.  In December 2011, ToT released 3G on HSPA+ technology  which allowed the start of texting as we know it today. It took another year for the network to  have broader service in Thailand.   This means the culture truly changed  in 2012 because 3G allowed the internet access needed for  everything we see people socializing on today. Line Thailand only started in 2011 and didn't get a foothold in Thailand until 2012. Facebook started in Thailand in 2015, The two most popular popular social platforms in Thailand are Line and Facebook. This is when social culture truly changed. Thais did not  rely on social media like they do today, prior to 2012-2014.

[Confuscious]

8 hours ago, timendres said:

 

Not even close to true. I have spent ten years hiring kids fresh out of college.

Sure, the "context" changes, and the world is moving faster and getting smaller.

But as I read the paper from 1990, I kept nodding and seeing its relevance even today.

25yo Thais are interpreting the modern world within the framework of their culture and,

in my humble opinion, managing it better than their western counterparts.

What's astonish me is that this dissertation was written by a Thai and not a foreigner.
What made this Thai student write such a paper about his own people?

 

[maesariang]

14 hours ago, timendres said:

 

Not even close to true. I have spent ten years hiring kids fresh out of college.

Sure, the "context" changes, and the world is moving faster and getting smaller.

But as I read the paper from 1990, I kept nodding and seeing its relevance even today.

25yo Thais are interpreting the modern world within the framework of their culture and,

in my humble opinion, managing it better than their western counterparts.

In your opinion. Mostly the same, less aggressive.