Chapter 6—Cultural Values: Guidelines for Behavior
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Perception is considered selective because ____.
a.
there are too many stimuli competing for the attention of your senses
b.
life’s lessons teach you to see the world in a particular way
c.
culture teaches you the meaning of most of your experiences
d.
once you perceive something in a particular manner that interpretation does not usually
change
2. Because we view the world through a subjective lens influenced by a number of variables, perception
is considered:
a.
selective
b.
learned
c.
inaccurate
d.
consistent
e.
culturally determined
3. Values are important because they inform societies about ____.
a.
what is good or bad
b.
what is worth dying for
c.
how people should treat each other
d.
what is worth protecting
e.
A, B, C, and D
4. Which of the following is not one of the thirteen American values identified by Kohls?
a.
personal control over the environment
b.
formality
c.
competition
d.
self-help
e.
practicality/efficiency
5. Optimism and emphasis on the future reflect which of Kohls American values?
a.
idealism
b.
individualism
c.
time and its control
d.
change
e.
privacy
6. The self-help value according to Kohls, is an outgrowth of ____.
a.
independence
b.
equality
c.
individuality
d.
A and C
e.
A, B, and C
7. Which of the following is true about Hofstede’s dimension of individualism?
a.
the individual is most important unit in any social setting
b.
interdependence rather than independence is stressed
c.
individual achievements are rewarded
d.
A and C
e.
A, B, and C
8. Identify which country is not ranked in the top five in terms of the culture’s emphasis on
individualism?
a.
United States
b.
Austria
c.
Great Britain
d.
Canada
e.
Netherlands
9. Collectivism means the people in a culture place greater emphasis on:
a.
the needs of the in-group over oneself
b.
social norms and duty defined by in-group
c.
beliefs shared with in-group
d.
great readiness to cooperate with in-group members
e.
A, B, C, and D
10. The extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous and unknown situations is
referred to as ____.
a.
uncertainty avoidance
b.
tolerance for ambiguity
c.
equivocality
d.
ethnocentricity
e.
neoplasticity
11. A high power distance culture ____.
a.
holds that inequality should be minimized
b.
believes superiors and subordinates should consider themselves equals
c.
believe that people are not equal but that everyone has a ‘rightful place’
d.
powerful try to appear less powerful
e.
A, B, C, and D
12. In masculine-oriented cultures, women are supposed to be:
a.
men should be assertive, tough, and focused
b.
women should be assertive, tough, and focused
c.
women should be modest, tender, and concerned with quality of life
d.
A and C
e.
A and B
13. Cultures that foster virtues oriented toward future rewards⎯in particular, perseverance and thrift,
reflect what Hofstede called a ____.
a.
short term orientation
b.
future bias
c.
long term orientation
d.
future-oriented
e.
past progressive
14. The World Values Survey defined ____ as ‘a tendency to allow relatively free gratification of basic
and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun.’
a.
indulgent
b.
hedonistic
c.
opportunistic
d.
restrained
e.
secular
15. According to Minkov, which of the following is associated with flexhumility?
a.
self-pride
b.
holistic cognition
c.
religion is important
d.
lower value on education
e.
suicide taboo
16. Monumentalism within a culture, according to Minkov, indicates that members believe ____.
a.
self-concept is flexible
b.
interpersonal competition is encouraged
c.
truth is relative
d.
education is highly valued
e.
A, B, C, and D
17. Identify which of the following is not among the five universal questions for cultures, according to
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck.
a.
what is the character of human nature?
b.
what is the relation of humankind to nature?
c.
what is the value of wealth?
d.
what is the relationship of people to each other?
e.
what is the value placed on time?
18. The human nature orientation of a culture reflects the general belief ____.
a.
that humans are intrinsically evil
b.
that humans are intrinsically good
c.
that humans are a mixture of good and evil
d.
A, B, and C
e.
that good and evil have no meaning
19. In terms of the person/nature orientation, Western cultures traditionally view:
a.
humans as subject to nature
b.
humans in harmony with nature
c.
humans as natures’ providers
d.
humans as master of nature
e.
nature as humans’ provider
20. What time orientation do most Americans in the United States favor?
a.
past
b.
future
c.
present
d.
linearity
e.
polychromic
21. The activity orientation of being-in-becoming ____.
a.
is evident in most Latino cultures
b.
reflects value of spiritual over material life
c.
is reflective of the dominant U.S. culture
d.
stresses development and growth
e.
B and D
22. Low context cultures include all of the following except:
a.
German
b.
North American
c.
Native American
d.
English
e.
French
23. The GLOBE Study differentiated between two types of collectivism:
a.
in-group and societal
b.
in-group and out-group
c.
ethnic and inter-ethnic
d.
local and national
e.
selective and exhaustive
24. The following countries belong in same societal group, according to the GLOBE study.
a.
Canada, England, United States
b.
Finland, Sweden, Denmark
c.
Turkey, Egypt, Kuwait
d.
China, Japan, Taiwan
e.
A, B, C, and D
25. In the context of chapter 6, face refers to ____.
a.
a superficial view of someone
b.
how you are perceived by others
c.
the self-image you want to project
d.
A and C
e.
B and C
TRUE/FALSE
1. Perception is learned because once you perceive something in a particular way, that interpretation does
not usually change.
2. Perception is inaccurate because you view the world through a subjective lens influenced by culture,
values, and personal experiences which tend to make you see what you want/expect to see.
3. Cultural patterns are integrated and can be contradictory.
4. According to Kohls, the U.S. values tradition over change.
5. Cultures that promote interdependency and cooperation take a negative view of intra-group
competition.
6. The American preference for a large selection of material items to choose from is illustrated by typical
supermarkets, and the number of choices at Subway.
7. Individual orientation vs. group orientation is thought of as one of the basic pattern variables that
determine human action.
8. Collectivism in the United States is seen in the expectation that employees will change jobs in order to
advance their careers.
9. Countries ranked highest for individualism include Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, and Guatemala.
10. Japan is a low uncertainty culture with many formal social protocols that help to predict how people
will behave in almost every social interaction.
11. Countries whose cultures reflect a comfort with uncertainty (low uncertainty avoidance) include
Greece, Portugal, and Guatemala.
12. Cultures with high power distance emphasize status differences.
13. The United States is among the top five countries for high power distance.
14. A society is called feminine when emotional gender roles overlap⎯both men and women are expected
to be modest, tender, and concerned with quality of life.
15. The indulgence/restraint dimension reflects a cultures orientation toward disciplining the young.
16. Flexhumility cultures place less value on education than monumentalist ones.
17. Confucianism and Buddhism support the notion that human nature is good.
18. Chinese culture has a strong focus on the present time orientation.
19. Most Latino cultures consider the current activity as the one that matters the most.
20. High-context cultures tend to convey meaning through status and informal friends and associates.
21. For low-context cultures, the verbal message contains most of the information and very little is
embedded in the context or the person’s nonverbal activity.
22. Humane orientation refers to the degree to which societal and organizational members acquiesce to
unequal distribution of power.
23. Societal collectivism and in-group collectivism are two terms that mean the same thing.
24. In collectivist cultures, a person’s face is usually derived from his or her own self-effort.
ESSAY
1. What is perception? Explain the characteristics of perception.
2. Define values and provide at least two intercultural examples.
3. Explain what is meant by the term ‘cultural patterns.’ What caveats to the term do the authors present?
4. List and explain at least six of the thirteen values identified by Kohls as “The Values Americans live
by.”
5. Explain how contradictions in the value of equality/egalitarianism explained in U.S. culture?
6. Identify and explain three common U.S. phrases that reflect the American value of directness,
openness, and honesty.
7. Compare and contrast Hofstede’s concepts of individualism and collectivism.
8. What is uncertainty avoidance? Provide an example of a culture that has high uncertainty avoidance
and one that has low uncertainty avoidance.
9. Is the U.S. a high or a low power distance culture? Explain the concepts and justify your answer.
10. Discuss Hofstede’s masculinity/feminity dimension. Provide an example of each.
11. Explain what is meant by the term ‘monumentalism’ and contrast that with the concept of flexhumility.
12. What does your culture tell you about human nature? Give an example of a culture with a different
orientation.
13. Differentiate between the concepts of being, being-in-becoming, and doing.
14. What do the terms high-context and low-context mean? Provide cultural examples of each.
15. How did the GLOBE study extend the previous dimensions of culture?
16. Identify five of the ten GLOBE study cultural dimensions.
17. What are the major characteristics associated with any five of the following GLOBE
societal/geographical groups?
a.
White Dominant
b.
Scandinavia
c.
Central Europe
d.
Eastern Europe
e.
Southern Europe
f.
Africa
g.
the Middle East
h.
Central and South America
i.
Northeast Asia
j.
South and Southeast Asia
18. Explain the concepts of face and face-work. How are they manifest in collectivistic and individualistic
cultures?
19. What is meant by high and low-context cultures? Provide an example of a country in which the
dominant culture reflects high context and one which reflects low context.