Chapter 2: Culture and Interpersonal Communication
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Enculturation is __________.
a) the transmission of culture from one generation to another
b)
c) communication between persons of different cultures
d) all that a social group has produced and developed
2. Acculturation is __________.
a) the transmission of culture from one generation to another
s culture through contact with other cultures
c) communication between persons of different cultures
d) all that a social group has produced and developed
3. In a culture with a collectivist orientation, __________.
a) high importance is placed on the individual person
b) high importance is placed on the group
c) communicators rely heavily on the explicit meanings of the words used
d) communicators are highly materialistic
18
4. Maintaining a positive public self-image is __________.
a) important in individualist cultures
b) important in low-context cultures
–
5. A high-context culture most likely is also a(n) __________ culture.
a) collectivist
b) individualistic
c) ethnocentric
d) competitive
6. If Brian lives in a high-power-distance country, which of the following countries might
he live in?
a) Mexico
b) Denmark
c) New Zealand
d) Sweden
7. Which of the following is listed as a low-power-distance country?
a) Sweden
19
b) Mexico
c) Brazil
d) India
8. Cultures fostering a short-term orientation believe that __________.
a) they should invest in education
b) humility is a virtue only for women (not men)
c) marriage is a practical arrangement
d) saving for the future is vital
9. Cultures fostering a long-term orientation believe that __________.
a) marriage is a moral arrangement
b) humility is a virtue only for women (not men)
c) old age is an unpleasant time of life
d) saving for the future is important
10. Cultures high in indulgence __________.
a) save for the future
b) emphasize the gratification of desires
c) attribute success to luck
d) believe in freedom of expression
11. The top value in the workplace, selected by Asian executives, was __________.
a) hard work
b) freedom of expression
c) honesty
d) self-discipline
12. Intercultural communication is __________.
a) the transmission of culture from one generation to another
b)
c) communication between persons of different cultures
d) all that a social group has produced and developed
13. The model of intercultural communication in this chapter indicates that __________.
a) culture only impacts our communication experiences when speaking with a person
from another country
b) intercultural communication is a rare experience
c) each communicator is, to a large extent, a member of a different culture
d) our daily lives are not impacted by cultural differences unless we live in a foreign
country
14. Knowing your tendency toward ethnocentrism __________.
a) is depressing
b) may help you avoid it
c) will hamper intercultural communication
d) can only happen after living in other cultures
15. An example of mindlessness is __________.
a) forgetting where you left your key
b) failing a test
c) ignoring differences among cultures
d) being afraid to touch a child whose parents died of AIDS in another country
16. In a mindful state, we __________.
a) are irrational
b) resort to a critical-thinking mode
c) recognize that other cultures are inferior
d) ignore barriers and gateways to intercultural communication
22
17. When you assume that all persons covered by the same label are the same, you
__________.
a) are assuming universal meanings
b) are stressing unity
c) reduce the likelihood of misunderstanding
d) are guilty of stereotyping
18. A left-handed person eating with the left hand in a Muslim culture is __________.
a) a sign of politeness
b) universally expected
c) a religious norm
d) considered obscene
19. Culture shock refers to __________.
a) different electrical voltage in different countries
b) a psychological reaction to being in a very different culture
c) a pleasant sense of excitement at being in a different culture
d) an unusual reaction not normally felt by most people experiencing a new culture
20. Which of the following statements accurately describes culture shock?
23
a) It has no effect on your ability to communicate.
b) It is a psychological reaction you experience when encountering a culture very
different from your own.
c) There are three main stages to culture shock: honeymoon, crisis, and recovery.
d) In this day and age, it is rare for someone to experience culture shock.
21. __________ refers to the biological distinction between male and female and is
determined by genes.
a) Sex
b) Gender
c) Culture
d) Ethnocentrism
22. __________ is learned from culture and may be considered a cultural variable.
a) Sex
b) Gender
c) Culture
d) Ethnocentrism
23. Which of the following metaphors for culture suggests that cultures blend into one
amalgam and lose their individuality, but the blend is better than any one of the
ingredients?
a) salad
b) melting pot
c) tree
d) organism
24. Which of the following metaphors for culture suggests that a culture is made up of
pieces of different shapes, sizes, and colors, and the culture as a whole is more beautiful
than any individual piece?
a) mosaic
b) melting pot
c) tree
d) organism
25. __________ is a classification of humans on the basis of their physical and biological
characteristics.
a) Race
b) Culture
c) Gender
d) Ethnic identity
True/False Questions
26. Culture, in the context of this chapter, refers to the fine arts, as in music, drama, and
dance.
27. Enculturation, acculturation, and intercultural are the steps in a model of cross-
cultural communication.
28. U.S. society has moved from a view that people should retain their native cultural
ways to a perspective that expects people from another culture to adapt to their new U.S.
culture.
29. High-context cultures are also collectivist cultures.
30. You are likely to see a classroom teacher being challenged in a high-power-distance
culture.
31. Low-ambiguity-tolerant cultures create very lenient, unclear rules for communication
that are easily broken.
32. The Occupy movement throughout the United States was an example of a low-
ambiguity-tolerant culture.
33. Long-term-orientation cultures promote the importance of future rewards.
34. The United States is known as a long-term-orientation culture.
35. Mexico is among the top 10 countries that foster an indulgent culture.
36. People in cultures high in restraint lack control of their lives and have little leisure
time for fun activities.
37. Susan is ethnocentric if she tends to see her own culture as superior to that of others.
38. You should avoi
28
39. According to the text, there are six general stages to culture shock.
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
40. __________ includes everything that members of a social group have produced and
developed, including their values, beliefs, artifacts, art, and religion.
41. __________ refers to the biological distinction between male and female.
s culture is modified through direct contact with
another culture is __________. The process by which all that a culture has produced is
transmitted from one generation to another is __________.
43. Derek lives in a collectivist culture and therefore is responsible for the __________.
44. A(n) __________ organization tends to emphasize the bottom line; a(n) __________
organization is more likely to emphasize worker satisfaction.
45. In a low-context culture, most information is stated __________.
46. Organizations with a(n) __________ culture look to profits in the future.
47. The number-one value in the workplace, selected by American executives, was
__________.
48. Most people are somewhere along a(n) __________ of ethnocentrism.
49. Being reluctant to swim after a mental patient has been in the pool is an example of
__________.
50. The __________ is the first stage of culture shock.
Essay Questions
51. List and define (in your own words) each of the seven metaphors of culture.
52. Identify something in your own experience that demonstrates enculturation. How has
it been impacted by acculturation?
53. Select two of the seven cultural differences detailed in the text. Discuss your personal
culture and how it relates to the two selections. Provide a specific example for each.
32
54. Reflecting on your own culture and communication that you engage in, would you
describe it as high-context or low-context, and why?
55. Discuss three actions/events in your life that would determine if you are fostering a
short-term or long-term orientation.
56. Describe an event/occurrence when you experienced culture shock. Explain the event
in detail through the stages of culture shock.