Iceberg model of culture

The iceberg model of culture is used in cultural studies to visualize the relationship between immediately perceptible and hidden culture and the related causes of intercultural communication conflicts.

The iceberg metaphor (iceberg model) originated with E. Hemingway, who used it in the 1930s to illustrate his literary style. He believed that an author need not reveal all the details about his main character. It would be sufficient if only the tip of the iceberg, about one-eighth, could be seen.

Tip of the iceberg

This metaphor was later applied to S. Freud’s theory of consciousness, which is the basis for the iceberg model of culture. Freud developed the theory that human action is only consciously determined to a small extent and, against this background, designed the structural model of the psyche. Here, the „ego“ (reality principle) corresponds to the conscious area of the personality, which decides which parts of the unconscious personality areas („id“ (pleasure principle) and „superego“ (morality principle)) are realized in the perceptual world. Compared to an iceberg, the conscious „I“ thus occupies only the smaller, visible part, the tip of the iceberg above the surface of the water. The unconscious realms of „id“ and „superego“ make up the larger portion hidden below the surface of the water.

Below the surface

Following Freud’s instance model, E. Schein further developed the iceberg model in relation to organizational culture. Generalized to

culture, it looks like this: The smaller part of the iceberg, its tip, stands for the visible and audible, i.e. quickly recognizable part of the culture (language, appearance, behavior, …). The much larger part of the culture (norms, values, beliefs, ideals, traditions, experiences, role models, …), on the other hand, lies hidden „under the water surface“ and is thus not immediately perceptible. However, it significantly influences the small perceptible part and is thus often the cause of intercultural communication conflicts due to its „invisibility“. Knowledge about the hidden cultural aspects and a sensitive handling of them can reduce the danger of such misunderstandings.

Literature

Schein, Edgar H. (2006): Organizational culture.

Motsching, Renate; Nykl, Ladislav (2009): Constructive communication.