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7-1
Chapter 7: Intercultural Communication
Essay Questions
1. Why is intercultural communication increasingly important in our society today?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
2. What are the similarities and differences between dominant cultures and non-dominant cults?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
3. Explain how technology makes the study of intercultural communication important.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
4. Explain differences between assimilation, accommodation, and separation strategies in intercultural communication.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
5. Reveal how ethnocentrism causes potential problems in intercultural communication.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
6. Provide three examples of how stereotyping can cause problems in intercultural communication.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
7. Describe the relationship or connection between ethnocentrism, stereotyping, and prejudice.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
8. What is meant by the ethnocentric perspective? Give one example.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
9. What does “practice personal self-assessment” mean as a strategy for improving intercultural communication?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
10. Explain the notion of code sensitivity.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
11. What does “sensitivity toward diversity” mean?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Remember
12. Why should we strive to avoid ethnocentrism?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
13. Explain and give examples of on-time cultures versus sometime cultures.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
14. Explain and give examples of uncertainty-accepting cultures versus uncertainty-rejecting cultures.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
15. Explain and give examples of individualistic cultures versus collectivist cultures.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
16. Why do people stereotype?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
17. How do on-time and sometime cultures differ? What problems could arise when people of these different cultures interact?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
18. Explain some cultural differences in nonverbal communication. What problems could arise due to these differences?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
19. Why is reflexivity important to improving your intercultural communication?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s level: Understand
True/False Questions
20. Intercultural communication means any communication between persons of different cultures.
21. A non-dominant culture includes women, the unemployed, and the elderly, among other groups of people.
22. A member of a marginalized group who refuses to interact with members of the dominant culture is engaging in an accommodation strategy.
23. The separation strategy of a marginalized group is where the marginalized group member tries to “fit into” the dominant group.
24. A person who believes that their culture is superior to all other groups or cultures is engaging in ethnocentrism.
25. Prejudice is likely to lead to ethnocentrism.
26. If you judge another culture by the belief systems of your own culture you are engaging in cultural relativism.
27. The Korean man who says of his own culture, “Koreans will never be great at basketball,” is demonstrating ethnocentrism.
28. “So what if Native Americans don’t believe in looking an authority figure in the eye; they should if they want to be Americans.” This
sentiment is an example of ethnocentric perspective.
29. Code sensitivity means you should avoid trying to be like members of some cultural group by using their language.
30. Using descriptive feedback means adopting a cognitive style that emphasizes open-mindedness about differences.
31. One reason for the importance of studying intercultural communication is our increasing exposure to people of other cultures.
32. An individual can belong to only one non-dominant culture.
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33. Individualistic cultures place the “I” before the “we.”
34. On-time cultures view time as contextually based and relationally oriented.
35. The United States is an example of a collectivist culture.
36. Individualistic cultures are societies that value individual freedom, choice, uniqueness, and independence.
37. In uncertainty-accepting cultures, people are threatened by ideas from outside and embrace written rules.
38. If someone likes to have lots of rules for behavior and doesn’t like outsiders, he or she is most likely from an uncertainty-rejecting culture.
39. What types of cultures are most likely to tolerate ambiguity, uncertainty, and diversity?
a. uncertainty-accepting cultures
b. individualistic
c. on-time cultures
d. sometime cultures
40. Which of the following is the best example of an uncertainty-rejecting culture?
a. Sweden
b. Japan
c. Denmark
d. United States
41. Which of the following countries would most likely be an on-time culture?
a. Paraguay
b. Oman
c. France
d. Germany
42. Which statement below is not an example of ethnocentrism?
a. If the Japanese would just shake hands like we do—instead of bowing—we would get along better.
b. Don’t you wish everyone in the world would use deodorant and perfume as Americans do?
c. American workers get higher pay for less work than most people in the world.
d. Americans have developed the best civilized society in history.
43. Kevin and Paul are having a conversation in which Kevin says, “All gay men are very effeminate.” What type of intercultural communication
problem might Kevin be engaging in?
a. ethnocentrism
b. stereotyping
c. cultural relativism
d. assimilation
44. ____________ is where you assume that all members group are alike.
a. Prejudice
b. Ethnocentrism
c. Stereotyping
d. Profiling
45. ____________ is where you have a negative attitude toward a group of people just because of who they are.
a. Prejudice
b. Ethnocentrism
c. Stereotyping
d. Profiling
46. The preferred way to avoid an ethnocentric perspective is to
a. be cautious about assuming similarity and recognize differences among people.
b. deny differences because stating that you recognize them can only get you into trouble.
c. assume that other individuals would prefer to think and act as you do.
d. discover what you have in common, but assume that others are fundamentally different.
47. Which of the following is not a strategy for improving intercultural communication?
a. Practice supportive communication and avoid defense communication.
b. Avoid stereotyping and hasty generalizations.
c. Adopt an ethnocentric perspective.
d. Practice personal self-assessment.
48. What is code sensitivity?
a. a cognitive style that emphasizes open-mindedness about differences
b. the frustration and early termination of communication in intercultural communication
c. using words and nonverbal communication that are easy for the interpreter to understand
d. assuming that others think and act as we do
49. Which of the following is not true of a collectivist culture?
a. value commitment to family
b. tend to be loyal to community
c. place a higher value on cooperation
d. high levels of divorce
50. In which type of culture would it be more likely for extended family members to live with nuclear family members?
a. individualistic
b. collectivistic
c. sometime
d. on-time
51. All of these are examples of individualistic cultures except
a. United States
b. Australia
c. Canada
d. China
52. Unique combinations of rituals, religion, thought patterns, and behaviors are known as
a. collectivism.
b. strategies.
c. culture.
d. uncertainty.
