Characteristics of Eastern Culture

have strong and fanatical beliefs in religion. Besides, the cultural ethics in this society are also very strict. They promote loyalty, obedience, hate lies, and favor men over women.

2.2. Characteristics of Eastern culture

As presented in the previous sections, Eastern culture is a culture that is large in scale, territory, diverse in color and has existed for a very long time in terms of history. Therefore, generalizing the characteristics of this culture is not simple. Besides, there are currently many ways to generalize the characteristics of Eastern culture. However, within the framework of the research topic, the author would like to choose to generalize Eastern culture with four main characteristics: Eastern culture has a strong agricultural and rural character; Eastern culture focuses on community and emotional behavior, flexibility in relationships between people; Eastern culture is harmonious, follows nature, takes advantage of nature to serve human life, and Eastern culture promotes traditional values, does not like change 7 . Specifically:

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2.2.1. Eastern culture has strong rural agricultural characteristics.

The rural agricultural character is the most prominent feature, the most visible identity of Eastern culture. First of all, Eastern society is an agricultural society. The traditional production of Eastern societies is mainly agricultural production. Moreover, the natural conditions here are extremely favorable for the development of agriculture. That is why Eastern culture has been an agricultural culture from the very beginning, and this feature is evident here until now. Thus, agricultural production is closely associated with Eastern countries and is the basis for creating a type of agricultural-based culture, creating the identity

7 Prof. Dr. Mai Ngoc Chu (editor) (2008), Introducing Oriental Culture , Hanoi Publishing House

Agricultural and rural characteristics in Eastern culture. Agricultural and rural characteristics are expressed in many cultural aspects:

 First of all, the agricultural-rural character is reflected in the material culture related to the basic needs of people such as eating, wearing, and living. The main food source of Eastern people is rice - a product of wet rice plants and cereals produced by agricultural production. Eastern people often eat rice with self-sufficient foods such as vegetables, fish, and some types of poultry meat... Spices such as chili, pepper, herbs, curry... which are products of agricultural production, are also commonly used in many places. Because the food is self-sufficient, it is often fresh, raw and people often eat it hot. In addition, the way Eastern people dress and live is also very suitable for agricultural production. They use neat, convenient clothes, wear warm clothes in winter and cool clothes in summer. Most people in this area live in a certain location. It is usually a spacious and airy one-story house or a stilt house that is convenient in all aspects.

 Not only associated with material cultural factors, the nature of rural agriculture is also expressed in folk beliefs and cultural activities. The two most common types of beliefs in the East are nature worship and fertility worship. It is very reasonable for Eastern people to worship nature because agricultural production, especially early agriculture, depends heavily on nature. If the weather is favorable, the harvest will be good, but if there is a natural disaster, most of the time there will be a total loss. That is why in all Eastern countries, people worship gods related to agricultural production such as the god

Earth, Rain God, River God, Wind God... Associated with nature worship are a series of agricultural festivals such as water-splashing festivals, harvest festivals, rain-praying festivals... In addition to nature worship, another popular belief is fertility worship. With the meaning of "fertility" - "many", "real" - "bloom", this belief expresses the desire to reproduce, maintain and develop life. In farming life, people want nothing more than good crops, abundant livestock, and many children, so people here have elevated fertility thinking to become an important belief of theirs.

 In addition, the agricultural-rural character is also expressed through folk cultural activities such as singing, dancing, and musical performances. Forms such as antiphonal singing, lullabies, and nursery rhymes of Eastern countries, especially in Southeast Asian countries, all carry the rhythm of Eastern labor. That is the rhythm of agricultural labor such as plowing, harvesting, etc.

2.2.2. Eastern culture emphasizes community and emotional and flexible behavior in relationships between people.

Firstly, because the main production is agriculture. Production depends a lot on nature. On the other hand, the nature of the Eastern region is erratic, with many natural disasters, so to achieve high productivity, fight natural disasters, pests, etc., people must use the collective strength of the whole village and commune. This has formed a lifestyle that emphasizes community. This cultural trait has made each person think of the community and the collective when acting. And because of that, Eastern people often emphasize the obligations and responsibilities of the community and the collective.

Second, Eastern people mainly depend on each other and live in a communal spirit, so they treat each other very affectionately. Any problems that arise are resolved very flexibly. People live together with love, rely on each other, and help each other in times of difficulty and hardship. Therefore, behaving flexibly and valuing affection is one of the typical cultural traits of Eastern people.

2.2.3. Eastern culture is harmonious, follows nature, and utilizes nature to serve human life.

The attitude of harmony with nature in Eastern culture has been formed for a long time. In Eastern religions and in most traditional Eastern philosophical doctrines, people are not opposed to the natural world but are always considered an element, a part of the natural world. The reason is that agricultural production depends a lot on nature. If the weather is favorable, people will have a good harvest, but if there is a flood or natural disaster, they can lose everything. Therefore, in the hearts of the people, nature is always supreme, and they often have the idea of subduing rather than conquering nature.

In addition, Eastern people often take advantage of and exploit nature to serve their lives. Their material life has always been closely linked to nature. From daily activities such as eating, wearing, living to means of transportation, houses... they all exploit natural materials. That is why in the lifestyle, aesthetics and beliefs of Eastern people, nature has a great influence and occupies a very important position.

2.2.4. Eastern culture emphasizes traditional values and dislikes change:

First of all, Eastern culture emphasizes traditional values. The reason for this is because the life of Eastern people from ancient times has mainly relied on agriculture. All experiences in cultivation and animal husbandry were completely drawn from life by previous generations and passed down orally to the next generation. These are valuable achievements that when applied to actual production often bring success. That is why, from generation to generation, the thinking of Eastern people has been formed to respect and cherish traditional values.

Besides, the life of farmers needs stability. People are often afraid of unusual things happening. They want life to be peaceful, without disturbance. Therefore, a stereotyped lifestyle, afraid of change, has been formed in the Eastern people from generation to generation.

II. Theory of food consumption behavior

1. Basic theory of consumer behavior

1.1. Concept of consumer behavior

In the previous period, when the relationship between producers and consumers was tilted towards the producer, producers produced what they wanted and did not care much about the needs of consumers. However, in the current period, when the relationship between producers and consumers is tilted completely towards the consumer, producers will have to produce according to the needs of the market and specifically the needs of consumers. Therefore, a science has emerged to study consumer behavior with many different arguments, the basis of which is the concept of consumer behavior .

consumption . Specifically, in the book “Consumer Behavior and Related Issues” 8 , “Consumer behavior” is defined as “ the mental and physical activities of consumers and organizational customers in making decisions and carrying out the purchase, payment, and use of goods and services ”. Mental activities in this definition include determining the appropriateness of product or service categories, inferring the quality of products or services from advertising information, and evaluating actual experiences with products or services. Physical activities in consumer behavior include visiting stores, reading customer reports, talking to salespeople, and placing orders.

In addition, the American Marketing Association also provides a definition of consumer behavior. It is " the dynamic coordination of emotions and knowledge, behavior and environment by which people control the exchange between aspects of their lives" 9. This definition shows that consumer behavior is a coordination of thoughts, feelings, actions and environment.

around people. The word “dynamic” in this definition explains that the thoughts, feelings, and actions of individuals, groups, and societies are always changing. For example, the Internet has changed the way people search for information about products and services since its inception.

The above definitions all have their own views on consumer behavior, but in general, both of these definitions indicate that consumer behavior is first of all the mental and physical actions of customers. Second, those actions are aimed at making product choices.

8 Leo G. Schiffman, Consumer behavior, Person Prentice Hall, 9th edition

9 American Marketing Association - http://www.marketingpower.com/

products and services, purchasing those products and services, using and evaluating them, and disposing of them after use.

1.2. Elements of consumer behavior

Identify needs

Select

Evaluate your options

Purchase decision

To easily follow and grasp the factors that make up consumer behavior in general, here, the author would like to present a model of the factors that make up consumer behavior as follows:

Consumer behavior

Use

Evaluation of disposal after use

Figure 1 : Model of factors constituting consumer behavior

( Source: author's own synthesis)

Consumer behavior is made up of a series of four actions: choosing products and services, purchasing those products and services, using them and evaluating, and disposing of them after use. 10

10 Philip Kotler (2005), Marketing Essentials , Statistical Publishing House

1.2.1. Choosing products and services

The product choice process is a cognitive process for consumers. This process can be broken down into three steps as follows:

 Identify needs:

In the first step, the consumer determines whether for some reason he is dissatisfied and wants to improve his situation. For example, internal drives, such as hunger or thirst, may tell the consumer that he needs food or drink. In addition to factors that arise internally, external factors can also trigger consumer needs (for example, advertising and marketing of new products by companies can trigger consumer needs and desires).

 Search for information:

Once a consumer has identified their needs and wants, they will search for information about possible solutions. The sources used to obtain information may be simply information they remember from previous experiences (memory) or they may make a great effort to locate information from external sources (Internet searches, talking to others, etc.). How much effort a consumer puts into searching depends on factors such as: the importance of satisfying the need, familiarity with existing solutions, and the amount of time available to search.

 Evaluation of options:

The consumer's search effort may result in a range of options from which the consumer can choose. In choosing a product, the consumer must go through two levels. At one level the consumer can make

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