Deck 12: How Can We Become Ethical Intercultural Communicators

Question 1

_______ is a set of standards that upholds the community's expectations concerning "right" and "wrong" conduct.

A) Ethics
B) Ethical universalism
C) Ethnocentrism
D) Justice

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to the five-phase, ethical decision-making schema, in which phase would we gather facts from different sectors such as cultural/religious, everyday people, and the conflict parties themselves?

A) Problem recognition phase
B) Information search phase
C) Construction of alternatives phase
D) Implementation phase

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Regarding a cultural value clash, the _______ position tends to reflect an individualistic, small power distance worldview and the _______ position tends to reflect a collectivistic, large power distance worldview.

A) meta-ethical; ethnocentric
B) ethnocentric; meta-ethical
C) particularistic; impartial
D) impartial; particularistic

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A person whose philosophy is reflected in statements such as "There should be one clear standard that all people in all cultures go by" operates from what ethical position?

A) Ethical relativism
B) Ethical absolutism
C) Colonial ethnocentrism
D) Ambivalent ethnocentrism

Question 5

Ethical absolutism emphasizes the principles of right and wrong in accordance with a set of _______ fixed standards regardless of cultural differences.

A) marginally
B) universally
C) relatively
D) ambivalently

Question 6

One of the positive aspects of _______ is that one set of fixed standards applies in all situations, preserving cross-situational consistency.

A) ethical absolutism
B) ethical universalism
C) meta-ethics
D) parallel thinking

Question 7

When asked if he thought a certain behavior which is commonly practiced in another country was right or wrong, Sven responded by stating that no matter what country or culture it takes place in, it's always wrong. Sven is most likely operating from the position of

A) ethical ambivalence.
B) meta-ethics.
C) ethical absolutism.
D) ethical relativism.

Question 8

A person whose philosophy is reflected in statements such as "Without understanding the cultural traditions and values, we cannot judge fairly" operates from what ethical position?

A) Ethical relativism
B) Ethical absolutism
C) Colonial ethnocentrism
D) Ambivalent ethnocentrism

Question 9

The role of cultural context is maximized in the ethical _______ position and minimized in the ethical _______ position.

A) colonialist; relativist
B) relativist; ethnocentric
C) relativist; absolutist
D) relativist; colonialist

Question 10

When asked if she thought a certain behavior was right or wrong, Yessenia responded by stating that she must know in what culture the behavior had occurred. Yessenia is most likely operating from the position of

A) ethical ambivalence.
B) ethical universalism.
C) ethical colonialism.
D) ethical relativism.

Question 11

One potential problem with the ethical _______ position is that it can result in the continuation of intolerable cultural practices, because it allows culture to play a critical role in judging right and wrong.

A) relativism
B) absolutism
C) colonialism
D) ambivalence

Question 12

Regarding ethical approaches, _______ is an ideal goal to strive for because it highlights an integrative, culture-universal and culture-specific ethical framework.

A) ethical relativism
B) derived ethical universalism
C) ethnocentrism
D) ethical absolutism

Question 13

_______ refers to cultivating an ethical way of thinking and living that transcends any particular ideological position.

A) Ultra-ethics
B) Meta-ethics
C) Universalism
D) Absolutism

Question 14

When analyzing an ethical case, multiple layers must be considered including the _______ layer (including the interpersonal messages that were exchanged) and the _______ layer (including formal institutional actions such as court rulings).

A) chrono; macro
B) macro; chrono
C) micro; exo
D) exo; micro

Question 15

_______ thinking refers to mentally substituting a person from your close family or friendship circle into a problematic event and cross-checking whether you still would make the same attributions or decisions regarding the event or people involved.

A) Telegraphic
B) Vertical
C) Parallel
D) Alternative

Question 16

_______ skill involves stepping into the mindset of the other cultural person to imaginatively view the same event.

A) Perspective thinking
B) Parallel thinking
C) Ethical absolutism
D) Perception checking

Question 17

When we behave _______ in an intercultural situation, we tend to judge the other person's behavior based on our own cultural standards and personal preferences.

A) ethically
B) inclusively
C) mindfully
D) mindlessly

Question 18

Conflict _______ refers to how different membership groups view the meaning of the conflict, the conflict story, and how conflict should be managed.

A) absolutism
B) universalism
C) reality
D) justice

Question 19

_______ is the learned ability of par¬ticipants to accurately understand the self-experiences of others from diverse cultures and, concurrently, the ability to convey their under¬standing responsively to reach the "cultural ears" of the unfamiliar others.

A) Cultural empathy
B) Ethnocentrism
C) Mindful listening
D) Ethical absolutism

Question 20

The "I" in the ODIS method involves

A) generating multiple interpretations to explain the behaviors.
B) integrating an ethnocentric mindset.
C) moral inclusion.
D) an individualistic value system.

Question 21

In ethical absolutism, the importance of cultural context is maximized.

Question 22

One of the advantages of an ethical absolutism position is the way it takes the role of culture and ethnorelative thinking seriously.

Question 23

The ethical relativism position states that the role of culture must be considered an important factor in judging behavior.

Question 24

According to Chapter 12, the ethical relativism position has both pluses and minuses in making intercultural ethical judgments.

Question 25

One of the limitations of the ethical relativism position is that it uses fixed standards in judging all actions across all cultures.

Question 26

Ethical and competent intercultural communicators emphasize the optimal integration of knowledge, ethnorelative attitude, culture-sensitive interaction skills, and communicating ethically and respectfully with culturally dissimilar others.

Question 27

According to Chapter 12, while individualists apply the "particularistic" standard to make ethical decisions, collectivists apply the "impartial" standard.

Question 28

In practicing parallel thinking, we try to imagine the perceived problematic event happening to a close ingroup member and thus motivate ourselves to generate multiple perspectives in analyzing the situation.

Question 29

Perspective thinking means trying to take on the perspective of the other cultural person by stepping into their mindset and "heartset."

Question 30

In applying the ODIS method in a question of culture and ethics, the first step (represented by "O") is to object to any unacceptable cultural practice.

Question 31

Compare and contrast the ethical relativism and ethical absolutism positions.

Question 32

Discuss some of the strengths and limitations of the ethical absolutism position.

Question 33

Discuss some of the strengths and limitations of ethical relativism.

Question 34

Identify an ethical dilemma and describe the different perspectives that an ethical absolutist and an ethical relativist would have on the dilemma. (Note: You may choose to describe a sample scenario here.)

Question 35

(Describe a current ethical intercultural controversy here). Evaluate this ethical dilemma using 2 of the 10 questions that the textbook suggests when considering culture-based ethical situations. What would be your decision?