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1.
Define the term culture.
2.
Your _________ is the framework through which you interpret the world and the people
in it.
3.
Briefly describe one way in which mediated interaction is changing the way we
experience the diverse world around us.
4.
Contrast the differences between high-context and low-context cultures.
5.
Provide an example of a high-context culture.
6.
Define and give an example of a collectivist culture.
7.
What term do we use to describe the degree to which members of a culture adapt their
behaviors in order to reduce uncertainty and risk?
8.
In your own words, what is the difference between a masculine culture and a feminine
culture?
9.
Briefly describe the approach to power distance found in the United States.
10.
What do we mean when we say that a culture has a polychronic time orientation, and
what is an example of a culture that fits this description?
11.
Describe one way in which your own generation’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors differ
from those of your parents.
12.
List an example of one group you consider to be your own ingroup and one that you
consider to be one of your outgroups.
13.
What is the difference between ethnocentrism and discrimination, and how are they
related to one another?
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14.
What three changes do intercultural communication training programs focus on?
15.
What do the authors of your textbook mean when they caution not to
overaccommodate?
16.
Explain what we mean when we say that culture is both learned through communication
and expressed through our own communication. Provide an example of something the
media have taught you about your culture, and describe one way in which you express
that cultural attribute.
17.
Citing specific examples to support your answer, explain why it is important to develop
intercultural communication skills.
18.
Reflecting on your own experiences, explain and illustrate how interacting with others
from different ethnic, racial, religious, or cultural backgrounds has helped you to
understand your own culture more clearly and be a more competent intercultural
communicator.
19.
Synthesizing what you know about perception, what connections would you draw
between concepts like ethnocentrism, discrimination, cultural myopia, stereotyping,
prejudice, selective perception, fundamental attribution error, behavioral affirmation,
behavioral confirmation, and self-fulfilling prophecies?
20.
Based on what you learned throughout this chapter, why do you think intercultural
communication competence is considered more important today than it was a generation
or two ago?
21.
Describe and illustrate social identity theory using yourself as an example. How do the
groups you identify with affect the way you perceive yourself and others? Can you
identify ways in which your perception and behavior may change depending on which
group you are with at a given moment?
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22.
Scenario: When Monica arrived in Nepal for her Peace Corps assignment, she realized
she had forgotten the medication she takes for her painful migraine headaches. Luckily,
she was able to get a new prescription sent to a local pharmacy. Unfortunately, when
she went to pick up the medication on a weekday afternoon, the pharmacy was closed
and no hours were posted on the window. Frustrated, she went to a café next door
complaining, “They don’t know anything about customer service—he doesn’t even keep
regular business hours!” A short time later, the pharmacist greeted her with the filled
prescription—the server at the café had phoned him at home and he rushed over to get
her the medication. Question: How does what you learned about
individualist/collectivist cultures and time orientation inform your understanding of this
scenario? Was ethnocentrism or discrimination a factor? What does intergroup contact
theory suggest might be the outcome, for Monica, of this intercultural exchange?
23.
Your friend Jasmine has signed up to study abroad in Japan. Based on what you’ve
learned about high- and low-context cultures, individualist and collectivist orientation,
uncertainty avoidance, power distance, time orientation, and masculine and feminine
cultures, what information would you share to prepare her for the cultural differences
she should expect?
24.
Pulling together what you learned in previous chapters, what advice would you give to
someone who wants to improve his or her intercultural communication competence?
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