Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Test Bank
Chapter 2: The Cultural Context
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following types of cultures emphasize individual goals over group goals?
a. individualistic
b. large power distance
c. small power distance
d. high-context
2. Which of the following statements best describes a collectivistic culture?
a. Emphasis is placed on individuals’ goals over group goals.
b. People communicate using a restricted code.
c. People are taught to be creative, self-reliant, competitive, and assertive.
d. Stresses values that serve the in-group.
3. Which of the following statements best describes an individualistic culture?
a. It stresses approval of the outgroup.
b. People are seen as interdependent with others.
c. Self-concept is consistent with public behavior.
d. People communicate using a restricted code.
4. Which of the following countries is the most individualistic?
a. United States
b. Japan
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
c. Russia
d. Brazil
5. Which of the following countries is the most collectivistic?
a. United States
b. Japan
c. Russia
d. Canada
6. Which of the following statements best describes a high-context culture?
a. It stresses approval of the out-group.
b. People are seen as interdependent with others.
c. Self-concept is consistent with public behavior.
d. People communicate using a restricted code.
7. Which of the following statements best describes a low-context culture?
a. People communicate using a restricted code.
b. Nonverbal code is the primary source of information.
c. Verbal code is the primary source of information.
d. Heavy reliance on the contextual elements of the communication setting.
8. Which one of the following countries is considered a high-context culture?
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. Canada
b. South Korea
c. England
d. Saudi Arabia
9. Which one of the following countries is considered a low-context culture?
a. Germany
b. Spain
c. China
d. Vietnam
10. Which of the following statements best describes a large power distance culture?
a. Inequalities among people are expected and desired.
b. Inequalities among people should be minimized.
c. People communicate using “powerful” messages (e.g., direct, assertive).
d. People communicate using “powerless” messages (e.g., indirect, hesitant).
11. Which of the following statements best describes a small power distance culture?
a. Inequalities among people are expected and desired.
b. Inequalities among people should be minimized.
c. People communicate using “powerful” messages (e.g., direct, assertive).
d. People communicate using “powerless” messages (e.g., indirect, hesitant).
12. Which of the following countries is considered large power distance?
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. Great Britain
b. Scotland
c. Finland
d. Mexico
13. Which of the following statements best describes a strong uncertainty-avoidant
culture?
a. Uncertainty is seen as a normal part of life.
b. Uncertainty is seen as a continuous threat.
c. Most of the population experiences communication apprehension.
d. Few people experience communication apprehension.
14. Which of the following statements best describes a weak uncertainty-avoidant
culture?
a. Uncertainty is seen as a normal part of life.
b. Uncertainty is seen as a continuous threat.
c. Most of the population experiences communication apprehension.
d. Few people experience communication apprehension.
15. Persons who are certainty oriented undertake activity that ______.
a. maintains clarity
b. is socially prescribed
c. is hierarchically prescribed
d. is monochronically prescribed
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
16. In December 2015, for the first time in history, women in Saudi Arabia were allowed
to vote and hold political office. This is an example of the concept that cultures are
______.
a. unstable
b. democratic
c. fluid
d. gendered
17. Because of the defeat in the Civil War, the institution of slavery, and relative poverty,
the Deep South is the most ______region in the United States.
a. individualistic
b. collectivistic
c. blended
d. adaptable
18. Gingee’s parents are teaching them the importance of family lineage and ancestry.
Gingee is encouraged to play with children who are part of the same educational and
economic circles they are. Gingee is from a/an ______ culture.
a. out-group
b. adaptable
c. individualistic
d. collectivistic
19. Zeke lives in a culture where they are independent and can pursue their own goals;
however, they are also seen as equal to, and the same as, others in their culture. Zeke
lives in a ______ culture.
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. horizontal collectivistic
b. horizontal individualistic
c. vertical individualistic
d. vertical collectivistic
20. A cultural orientation in which the individual sees the self as an integral part of the
in-group but the members are different from one another is a ______ orientation.
a. Horizontal Individualism
b. Vertical Collectivism
c. Horizontal Collectivism
d. Vertical Individualism
21. New research suggests that the individual’s self is more fundamental to self–
definition across cultures than is the collective self. This means the individual self is
______.
a. a blend of individual- and collective-ness
b. pandemic
c. pancultural
d. culturally protected
22. Before the exam begins, Gomez complains that the lectures were boring, the
chapter readings too long, and the test will probably be filled with trick questions.
Gomez is exhibiting ______ communication.
a. self-protection
b. self-affirming
c. self-enhancement
d. self-serving
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
23. According to the text, there is an unspoken belief among the Japanese that putting
deep feelings into words somehow lowers or spoils their value. Understanding gained
without words is more precious than that gained through talking. This is an example of
the consequences of communication in a ______ culture.
a. high context
b. low context
c. pancultural context
d. nonverbal
24. According to the Chinese Value Survey, the way children should behave toward
their parents, living or dead, as well as toward their ancestors surpasses all other
cultural ethics. This is called ______.
a. Respect for tradition
b. Filial piety
c. Protecting your “face”
Multiple Select
1. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Schwartz identified ten basic personal values that he
argues are universal and recognized across cultures. He believes there are three
universal requirements of human existence. Which of the following are included in his
values?
a. the needs of individuals as biological organisms
b. the fundamentals of coordinated social interaction
c. the needs of individuals as psychological organisms
d. survival and welfare needs of groups
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
True/False
1. The most relevant feature of individualism, as defined in the majority of the studies, is
valuing personal independence.
2. Individualism is linked to a sense of duty to group, interdependence, harmony, and
working with the group.
3. Individualism and collectivism are not mutually exclusive; that is, they can coexist
within a person of any culture.
4. Within a low-context culture, interactants primarily will look to the physical,
sociorelational, and perceptual environment for information.
5. In a low-context communication, the verbal code is the primary source of information.
6. In China, a dominant cultural value is filial piety (obedience to parents, respect for
parents, honoring of ancestors).
7. Cultures with a smaller power distance emphasize that inequalities among people
should be minimized.
8. In cultures with a strong uncertainty avoidance orientation, uncertainty is seen as a
normal part of life, where each day is accepted as it comes.
9. Cultures with a strong uncertainty avoidance orientation sense that uncertainty in life
is a continuous threat that must be fought.
10. During intercultural communication, higher uncertainty is usually associated with
lower anxiety.
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
Essay/Short Answer
1. Define and describe the essential differences between individualistic and collectivistic
cultures.
2. Define and describe the essential differences between high and low context cultures.
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
3. Define and describe the essential differences between large and small power
distance cultures.
4. Identify and analyze an event in which you witnessed self-enhancement and one of
Constantine Sedikides’ three communicative strategies.
5. Schwartz’s 10 Basic Human Values rank differently across individuals and groups.
Choose your top 3 values and explain the reasoning for your selections.