Deck 3: Culture and Interpersonal Communication

Question 1

Which example best illustrates Marshall McLuhan's metaphor of a "global village"?

A) Helmut from Germany and Lin from China developing a friendship through Facebook
B) The UNICEF Tap Project bringing clean drinking water to thousands of children in remote African locations
C) The 2016 Olympic Village in Rio De Janeiro housing participating athletes from every nation
D) McDonald's restaurants expanding to hundreds of countries

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Cultural membership contributes to every person's ____________, the part of the self-concept that is based on membership in groups.

A) privacy management
B) metacommunication
C) social identity
D) mutual endorsement

Answer 2

C

Question 3

You immediately feel a bond with a stranger wearing a shirt with your school's name and mascot. This sense of kinship is common among __________.

A) small groups
B) in-group members
C) dyads
D) out-group members

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What do scholars call the language, values, beliefs, traditions, and customs people share and learn?

A) Intersectionality
B) Culture
C) Intercultural communication
D) Multimodality

Question 5

Research shows that Latinx students in predominantly white schools tend to use which strategy when interacting with the majority culture?

A) Assimilation
B) Provisionalism
C) Separation
D) Accommodation

Question 6

Members of ____________ develop unique patterns of communication and connection.

A) co-cultures
B) dyads
C) salient groups
D) small groups

Question 7

In the classroom, people barely notice Isaac's wheelchair. They are too busy trying to keep up with his quick wit and expert debating skills. But when he is in public, people often focus on his chair. Which concept does this illustrate?

A) Prejudice
B) Assimilation
C) Salience
D) Uncertainty avoidance

Question 8

On a trip to Kyoto, Andrew decides to try sushi for the first time. At a restaurant, he asks the waiter for a fork rather than chopsticks. How would you characterize this interaction?

A) Low in interpersonal significance; low in intercultural significance
B) High in interpersonal significance; high in intercultural significance
C) Low in interpersonal significance; high in intercultural significance
D) High in interpersonal significance; low in intercultural significance

Question 9

High-context cultures tend to value and emphasize ____________.

A) silence
B) straight talk
C) relational harmony
D) nonverbal cues

Question 10

Canadian Antoinette values direct communication and grows impatient when her Korean friend, Min-jun, isn't frank and straight with her. Antoinette appreciates ____________ communication.

A) low power distance
B) high power distance
C) low-context
D) high-context

Question 11

Who is more likely to experience greater communication apprehension when giving a speech in their public speaking class?

A) A British student
B) An Australian student
C) An American student
D) A Korean student

Question 12

When Austrian students frequently question their teachers while Filipino students consider this behavior inappropriate, they are exhibiting values associated with which concept?

A) Power distance
B) Uncertainty avoidance
C) Individualism versus collectivism
D) High versus low context

Question 13

Reba feels comfortable making suggestions to her manager. Reba is likely part of a ___________ culture.

A) low-context
B) high-context
C) low power distance
D) high power distance

Question 14

The Korean language has separate terms for "older brother," "oldest brother," "younger sister," "youngest sister," and so on. Which cultural dimension does this reflect?

A) Low uncertainty avoidance
B) High power distance
C) High context
D) Low individualism

Question 15

Alberto won't work overtime in the hope of getting a raise or promotion. He's more concerned about spending time at home with his family. Alberto is likely from a(n) __________ culture.

A) nurturing
B) achievement
C) low power distance
D) high-context

Question 16

Which communication concept recognizes that one person is a member of various co-cultures?

A) Intersectionality
B) Multimodality
C) Cognitive complexity
D) Code-switching

Question 17

Race is a __________ construction.

A) verbal
B) biological
C) social
D) nonverbal

Question 18

You are non-Native, yet you wore a Native American headdress to Burning Man. This is arguably an act of __________.

A) prejudice
B) cultural appropriation
C) passive aggression
D) ethnocentrism

Question 19

Trevon is black, gay, and Mormon. Disclosing his sexual orientation on social media could be particularly risky because he is a member of multiple __________.

A) genders
B) realities
C) co-cultures
D) families

Question 20

Which group is least represented in media images?

A) Older women
B) Older men
C) Younger women
D) Younger men

Question 21

Mallory, who uses a wheelchair, requested a cubicle closest to the office elevator and speaks openly about her disability with colleagues. Which strategy is she employing at work?

A) Equivocation
B) Assimilation
C) Accommodation
D) Separation

Question 22

Which college group is more likely to overcompensate by studying harder and getting more involved on campus than their other classmates?

A) Younger students
B) Older students
C) Transfer students
D) First-generation students

Question 23

"I'm sorry" can mean different things to a Japanese and an American speaker due to cultural differences in __________.

A) uncertainty avoidance
B) power distance
C) verbal codes
D) intersectionality

Question 24

What do linguists call the practice of adapting your manner of speaking to the context?

A) Intersectionality
B) Code-switching
C) Multimodality
D) Multiplexity

Question 25

According to cross-cultural research, who might be expected to be comfortable with the smallest zone of personal space?

A) Shondra from Chicago
B) David from Seattle
C) Chen from Shanghai
D) Marisol from Mexico City

Question 26

Avoiding eye contact with an American interviewer when answering questions could be interpreted as a sign of __________.

A) ambition
B) insincerity
C) respect
D) extroversion

Question 27

Which is an example of nonverbal communication whose meaning remains constant across cultures?

A) Closing the physical gap when conversing with another
B) Prolonging eye contact
C) Smiling
D) Making the "OK" sign by joining thumb and forefinger

Question 28

Asking a black colleague how she got her job is an example of __________.

A) a microaggression
B) cultural appropriation
C) equivocation
D) ethnocentrism

Question 29

When attempting to communicate in an unfamiliar language, the __________ is especially high.

A) level of uncertainty
B) tolerance for ambiguity
C) degree of motivation
D) capacity for open-mindedness

Question 30

Prejudice is directed toward members of which group?

A) Code-switchers
B) Significant others
C) Out-group
D) In-group

Question 31

At an outdoor café in France, you hear an American ask, "Why doesn't everyone just speak English?" This question reveals which attitude?

A) Prejudice
B) Ethnocentrism
C) Confirmation bias
D) Provisionalism

Question 32

Ill-informed members of your group tour to Thailand continue to make blunders when interacting with locals. You wish that they had done more to learn about Thai culture and customs in advance to increase their __________.

A) multimodality
B) self-disclosure
C) proxemics
D) mindfulness

Question 33

For the first few weeks after transferring from a fine arts program to an engineering major, you felt confused, depressed, and lonely. What do scholars call this rocky adaptation period?

A) Mindfulness
B) Mindlessness
C) Culture shock
D) Shell shock

Question 34

Members of co-cultures develop unique patterns of communication and connection.

Question 35

Consistent with an enduring stereotype, people from New York City are typically more assertive than those from the Upper Midwest.

Question 36

Skin color is perceived as a significant co-cultural identifier.

Question 37

People from varied backgrounds rarely share enough common ground to make relationships work.

Question 38

A low-context culture relies heavily on subtle, often nonverbal cues to maintain social harmony.

Question 39

Communicators in collectivistic cultures feel loyalties and obligations to in-groups.

Question 40

Race is a biological designation scientifically determined by physical traits, cultural traits, and ancestry.

Question 41

Those who identify as multiracial report greater self-esteem, well-being, and social engagement than multiracial people who identify with only one group.

Question 42

Millennials tend to have a greater desire to make social connections at work than previous generations.

Question 43

Organizations have cultures that can be just as distinctive as those of larger societies.

Question 44

Code-switching decreases the chances of achieving your communication goals.

Question 45

People of all cultures convey messages through facial expressions and gestures.

Question 46

Swedes tend to talk more, faster, and louder than Americans, who value silence and dislike interrupting.

Question 47

Open-mindedness is especially important in intercultural work teams.

Question 48

Competent intercultural communicators resist ambiguity.

Question 49

People in cultures that are low in uncertainty avoidance are less threatened by the new and unexpected.

Question 50

In countries that welcome uncertainty, people have a strong need for clearly defined rules and regulations.

Question 51

Race describes the degree to which people identify with a particular group, usually on the basis of nationality, culture, or another unifying characteristic.

Question 52

Low-context communicators value self-expression and persuading others to accept their point of view.

Question 53

Who coined the metaphor of a "global village," and what does it mean?

Question 54

Explain the relationship between in-groups, out-groups, and social identity.

Question 55

What is the difference between a culture and co-culture?

Question 56

Identify 5 cultural values and norms.

Question 57

Explain the relationship between race and ethnicity.

Question 58

Identify 5 elements of intercultural communication competence.

Question 59

According to co-cultural theory, communicators interacting with members of the dominant culture have 3 primary strategies. Define these and provide an example of each.