Deck 12: Intercultural Communication

Question 1

According to your text, which is true of cultures?

A) Most cultural differences are due to innate predispositions.
B) Cultures are group understandings rather than individual understandings.
C) Cultures affect only a few aspects of our lives; most of what we do is a matter of individual choice.
D) Cultures are very stable and extremely resistant to change.

Answer 1

Cultures are group understandings rather than individual understandings.

Question 2

The example of Native American culture in your book shows that

A) when Native Americans follow traditional cultural patterns they are likely to be misjudged or misunderstood by European-Americans.
B) the Native Americans studied tended to place a high value on boasting, as well as on public displays of accomplishments.
C) the Native Americans studied tended to be more competitive with one another than it is common for European-Americans to be.
D) All of the above

Answer 2

when Native Americans follow traditional cultural patterns they are likely to be misjudged or misunderstood by European-Americans.

Question 3

Which of the following behaviors might be considered rude in Morocco?

A) Asking the time dinner is to be served
B) Complimenting parents on their very young child
C) Making polite conversation during dinner
D) All of the above

Answer 3

All of the above

Question 4

Intercultural identity is

A) a disorientation that occurs as a result of immersion in a new culture.
B) a sense of belonging both to one's own original culture and to a new culture at the same time.
C) a tendency to see everything from the perspective of what is normative in one's own culture.
D) a kind of role-playing demanded by foreigners who are trying to be accepted.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT affected by culture?

A) The way we perceive events and people
B) The roles we are willing to play
C) The degree to which we are goal directed
D) None of the above; i.e., all are affected by culture

Question 6

When Edward Hall says, "If you touch a culture in one place, everything else is affected," he means

A) culture has many facets and all these facets are interrelated.
B) people are very touchy about their cultures and are easily offended when taboos are broken.
C) culture can easily be dismantled and changed.
D) the basis of all cultural understanding is economic.

Question 7

Effort optimism is

A) the belief that hard work will pay off.
B) a feeling of depression that occurs during culture shock.
C) the idea that people should be accepted no matter how different they are.
D) the idea that in the future fate will cause things to improve.

Question 8

The belief that human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that improving a person's surroundings will improve that person is called the:

A) rationality premise.
B) perfectibility premise.
C) mutability premise.
D) effort optimism.

Question 9

The idea that humans are born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control is called the

A) rationality premise.
B) perfectibility premise.
C) mutability premise.
D) effort optimism.

Question 10

The idea that most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis is called

A) rationality premise.
B) perfectibility premise.
C) mutability premise.
D) effort optimism.

Question 11

Which of the following is a characteristic of the thinking of most Americans?

A) effort optimism.
B) collectivism.
C) mutability premise.
D) All of the above

Question 12

Which is a value in individualist countries?

A) Modesty
B) Freedom
C) Thrift
D) Equality in reward distribution

Question 13

Which of the following is true of the behavior of collectivists?

A) They take pride in personal achievement.
B) They have little respect for position, age, sex, status, and authority.
C) They are upset by bribery and nepotism.
D) When group memberships change, their values and personal styles may change as well.

Question 14

Which is true of prejudice?

A) It is usually formed from direct observation of members of out-groups.
B) Its purpose is to help people make accurate assessments about others.
C) It is a product of in-group interaction.
D) All of the above

Question 15

Comparatively, Americans value which of the following language styles?

A) ambiguity
B) directness
C) effusiveness
D) lying

Question 16

Stereotypes fulfill which of the following functions?

A) Reducing anxiety about uncertainty.
B) Making the world seem more predictable.
C) Reducing anxiety about uncertainty and making the world seem more predictable.
D) None of the above

Question 17

Discounting is a cognitive bias by which we

A) dismiss information that doesn't fit a negative stereotype.
B) interpret everything a target group does as negative.
C) interpret others' negative behaviors as internal rather than external.
D) look for differences and ignore similarities.

Question 18

Polarization is a cognitive bias by which we

A) dismiss information that doesn't fit a negative stereotype.
B) interpret everything a target group does as negative.
C) interpret others' negative behaviors as internal rather than external.
D) look for differences and ignore similarities.

Question 19

Which is a stumbling block to intercultural understanding?

A) prejudice
B) assumption of similarity
C) ethnocentrism
D) All of the above

Question 20

The belief that if one of "them" is rude, it's because they're that way by nature; if one of "us" is rude, it's because we're under stress is an example of

A) discounting.
B) fundamental attribution bias.
C) polarization.
D) assumption of similarity.

Question 21

The draw-back-to-leap model holds

A) people should think before they rush into a new situation.
B) brief periods of culture shock are necessary for adaptive change.
C) when in a new culture it is a good idea not to be too friendly at first but to bide your time until you have more information.
D) prejudiced people misjudge one another based on little real information.

Question 22

A symptom of culture shock are feelings of

A) helplessness and lowered self-esteem.
B) excitement and euphoria.
C) confidence and competence.
D) superiority and arrogance.

Question 23

Which of the following groups shows the greatest cultural distance?

A) U.S. American/British
B) American Catholic/American Baptist
C) Western/Asian
D) Urban American/Rural American

Question 24

Which is NOT a factor associated with successful cross-cultural adaptation?

A) A positive attitude by host nationals to foreigners
B) Open-mindedness on the part of the sojourner
C) Staying away from host nationals and communicating primarily with fellow sojourners
D) All of the above

Question 25

When people refer to the global village, they mean:

A) We are becoming more isolated from one another.
B) In the future, big cities will fade and small towns will become the norm.
C) The media distort the true economic conditions of the U.S.
D) The world is shrinking daily because of advances in telecommunication and transportation technologies.

Question 26

According to Wieder and Pratt, members of the Osage people often believe that engaging in conversation entails substantial obligations.

Question 27

According to Wieder and Pratt, Native Americans of the Osage people are silent when among European-Americans but very quick to initiate conversation with other Native Americans, even if they've never met before.

Question 28

Research has shown that the idea that there are cultural universals is a myth.

Question 29

In every culture that has been studied, public speakers begin speeches by trying to increase their credibility by emphasizing their expertness.

Question 30

Rather than having only one identity, most people have overlapping cultural identities.

Question 31

American beliefs about age may induce psychological states of "oldness."

Question 32

The best way to prepare for intercultural contact is to memorize lists of dos and don'ts that tell you what is permissible or forbidden in that culture.

Question 33

To a collectivist, an individualist's initial friendliness may seem superficial and fleeting.

Question 34

Individualists seem most comfortable in horizontal relationships.

Question 35

Collectivists respect and defer to status and power.

Question 36

All meanings are directly translatable: what can be said in one language can be said in another.

Question 37

Prejudices are the products of in-group interaction more often than the result of direct contact with out-group members.

Question 38

Ethnocentrism is the anxiety that comes from living in a foreign culture that lacks familiar signs and symbols.

Question 39

The greater the cultural distance between two groups, the easier it will be for them to adapt to one another.

Question 40

Americans are polychronic, especially when it comes to interpersonal behavior.

Question 41

Smiling is a good example of an expression that means the same thing in different cultures.

Question 42

Members of polychronic cultures like to do one thing at a time and value speed and directness.

Question 43

Sojourners interested in acculturation should expose themselves as much as possible to host social communication.

Question 44

People who wish to cope with diversity should avoid role-taking.

Question 45

A person who values harmony, modesty, moderation, thrift, and the fulfillment of others' needs is most likely to be a member of a collectivist culture.

Question 46

As a culture, Americans believe that the average person is irrational and cannot be trusted to make good decisions.

Question 47

As a culture, Americans believe that most human behavior is innately predetermined.

Question 48

One of the major complaints of minority cultures is that their history has been rendered invisible by dominant groups.

Question 49

The better we feel about ourselves, the more likely we are to feel good about others.

Question 50

In collectivist cultures, written contracts are very important.

Question 51

Define culture. What are the four characteristics of culture?

Question 52

What three reasons does your text give for learning to communicate interculturally?

Question 53

Give at least one example of how culture affects perception, role identity, notions of the self, and language.

Question 54

What are some of the differences between collectivists and individualists? How might each misunderstand the other?

Question 55

What kinds of attitudes diminish intercultural understanding?

Question 56

What five cognitive biases are used to maintain prejudices? Name, define, and give an example of each.

Question 57

Name five ways people can become more comfortable with diversity.