Edward T. Hall’s work classified all cultures as either:
- Contact cultures, such as Latin American, Middle East, Arab countries, French, Greeks, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Russians, Indonesians, Indians, and Hispanics; or
- Non-contact cultures, such as North Americans, Germans, Northern Europeans, Japanese, South Koreans, Hong Kong Chinese, Filipinas, Taiwanese, Thais and Vietnamese.
High-contact cultures might view a person from a low-contact culture as aloof, cold and unfriendly, whereas a person from a high-contact culture might be viewed by a low-contact culture as arrogant, pushy and over-bearing. Keep in mind that social norms or preferences, such as greetings and physical contact, often differ dramatically between cultures.
While these behaviours can be attributed to some cultural groups - we need to be careful that we don't create more stereotypes.