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CHAPTER 01
Intercultural Communication:
Interaction in a Multicultural World
OVERVIEW
Chapter One introduces students to the importance of intercultural communication in today’s
multicultural world. Intercultural communication is put into context first then foundational terms
are introduced and defined. In addition, concepts including culture shock, ethical considerations,
and important implications in the study of intercultural communication are discussed. Finally, a
preview of chapters is provided.
OUTLINE
I. Intercultural communication: Interaction in a multicultural world
II. The global community
III. Growing domestic diversity
IV. U.S. Immigrationl
V. Technology
VI. Defining the concepts
A. Intercultural Communication
B. The dominant culture
C. Co-cultures
D. Society
VII. Venturing into a new culture
A. Reactions to culture shock
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2. Disenchantment
4. Effective functioning
C. Beyond culture shock
2. Guard against ethnocentrism
4. Work to maintain your culture
VIII. Ethical considerations
A. Fundamentalism
B. Relativism
IX. Ethics in Intercultural Communication
A. Be mindful that communication produces a response
B. Show respect for others
C. Search for commonalities among people and cultures
D. Respect cultural differences
E. Accept responsibility for your behavior
X. Studying intercultural communication
A. Individual uniqueness
B. Generalizing
1. Cultural generalizations are approximations, not absolutes
3. Should be supported by a variety of sources
4. Conclusions and statements should be qualified
C. Objectivity
XI. Preview of the book
A. Chapter 02: The connection between human communication and culture
B. Chapter 03: Social organizations and structures
C. Chapter 04: Social organizations and cultural history
D. Chapter 05: Deep structures of culture
E. Chapter 06: Values and cultural patterns
F. Chapter 07: Cultural identity
G. Chapter 08: The role of language in intercultural communication
H. Chapter 09: Cultural diversity and nonverbal communication
I. Chapter 10: Cultural variations in contexts
XII. Summary
ACTIVITIES
Activity 1-1: Improving Intercultural Communication
This activity focuses on the communicative behavior of students and, specifically, those aspects
of their behavior that they would like to change. Before the day of the exercise, ask students to
think of one aspect of their communicative behavior with people from other cultures that they
see as problematic or in need of improvement. Students should be encouraged to talk to their
friends or family members. After students have chosen an aspect of their communication they
feel could be strengthened, they should answer the following questions:
1. What is the communicative behavior that you would like to change?
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2. What are some examples of when you have communicated in this way?
3. How have other people responded to this behavior?
4. What strategies might help you change this behavior?
On the day of the exercise, ask students to break into small groups of four. Each group member
should share what they have written, ask the group for feedback about the strategy they
developed, and solicit other possible strategies. Ideally, each student should walk away from his
or her group with a list of strategies for change.
When the class regroups, instructors can facilitate a large class discussion with student
volunteers. The instructor can act as a probing questioner, asking volunteers the following
questions: What can you do to improve your communication with others? What will you do?
How will you know if you have been successful? What affect will this improvement have on
your relationships with other people?
Additional discussion questions following the exercise:
• How might the specific communication problems students identified affect their
ability to be competent intercultural communicators?
• How might individuals from other cultures perceive their behavior?
• How might the students’ strategies for addressing their problematic behaviors
enhance their effectiveness as intercultural communicators?
A follow-up assignment could be given that asks students to document their attempts at actively
applying one or more of the strategies they developed.
Activity 1-2: Developing intercultural relationships
This activity focuses on how we develop intercultural relationships and the qualities necessary
for the development of those relationships. It asks students to consider their own network of
friends and the extent to which they have developed relationships with people who are culturally
dissimilar. Ask students to respond individually to the following set of three questions. Then
have students divide into small groups of four to six people and respond to the next set of five
questions. As students answer each of the questions, they should consider their own intercultural
relationships. Have each group report some of their findings to the class.
Questions to answer individually:
1. How many relationships with culturally different people do you have (different
ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, degrees of able-bodied-ness, sex, etc.)?
2. What types of relationships are these (e.g., friends, romantic partners, relatives,
acquaintances)? What are some reasons for the network of friends you have
developed?
3. Describe an intercultural relationship that you have and that you find very
satisfying. What makes it so satisfying?
Questions to answer in small groups:
1. List five positive and unique aspects of intercultural relationships.
2. List five reasons why people may be hesitant to develop relationships (platonic or
romantic) with people from other cultures.
3. Which one or two of the above reasons pertain most directly to you? Explain your
answer(s).
4. Many intercultural communication specialists mention open-mindedness as an
attribute necessary for the development of successful intercultural relationships.
What are some other attributes or ways of thinking that a person should have in
order to develop relationships with cultural different people?
5. Which of the above attributes or ways of thinking do you feel you need to develop
further? Why did you choose these attributes or ways of thinking to work on?
Activity 1-3: Interpersonal communication style
This activity is designed to give students insight into their particular communication style
through the use of a self-reflective questionnaire. While this questionnaire is not specific to
intercultural interactions, helping students identify aspects of their interpersonal communication
style may be a first step in thinking about how they interact with people from diverse cultures.
Before coming to class the day of the exercise, ask each student to respond to the questions listed
on the handout that follows the explanation of this activity. Giving the handout to students in
advance will allow them to spend more time reflecting on their communication behaviors.
On the day of the exercise, students can look over their individual questionnaires and engage in a
ten-minute free write that answers the following questions: What are some of my communication
strengths? What are some of my communication weaknesses? Which weaknesses should I be
most invested in changing in the near future? What strategies can I use to improve my
communication in this area? These free writes can be collected by instructors or kept by students
as an addendum to their questionnaire.
Questions include:
1. When I am talking to another person or group of people…
2. Do I give them full or partial attention?
3. Do I seem at ease or tense?
4. Do I often change the subject without taking the other person into consideration
or do I let others change the subject when they want to?
5. Do I depreciate or magnify the statements of others?
6. Do I smile or frown often?
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7. Do I interrupt often or let people talk as long as they want?
8. Do I show empathy or am I uncomfortable when someone comes to me with a
problem?
9. Do my words tend to lower or raise the other person’s self-esteem?
10. Do I over- or under-use the pronoun “I”?
11. Do I offer supportive remarks, such as “I see” and “Is that so,” or do I listen
silently while others are talking?
12. Do I employ a posture that communicates interest or detachment?
Activity 1-4: What rules, then, can one follow if one is dedicated to the truth?*
This activity is designed to assist students in the process of developing personal and professional
ethics as they become more adept and competent at communicating with individuals with
different cultural backgrounds. Consider the following arbitrary rules of interaction:
• First, never speak a falsehood.
• Second, bear in mind that the act of withholding the truth is always potentially a lie; and
that in each instance in which the truth is withheld, a significant moral decision is
required.
• Third, the decision to withhold the truth should never be based on personal needs, such as
a need for power, a need to be liked, or a need to protect one’s map from challenge.
• Fourth, and conversely, the decision to withhold the truth must always be based entirely
upon the needs of the person or people from whom the truth is being withheld.
• Fifth, the assessment of another’s needs is an act of responsibility, which is so complex
that it can only be executed wisely when one operates with genuine love for the other.
• Six, the primary factor in the assessment of another’s needs is the assessment of that
person’s capacity to utilize the truth for his or her own spiritual growth.
• Finally, in assessing the capacity of another to utilize the truth for spiritual growth, it
should be born in mind that our tendency is generally to underestimate rather than
overestimate this capacity.”
* Adapted from Peck, M. S. (1978). The road less traveled. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp.
62-63.
Activity 1-5: The intercultural file
This activity is designed to assist students in the process of becoming familiar with a culture that
is not their own.
Divide students into small groups of five to seven members at the beginning of the semester.
Assign them to study a culture different than their own through collecting newspaper articles,
magazine articles, and internet searches. Suggest that they choose four or five areas within the
culture to study such as politics, religion, education, family life, art, and/or music. Have them
assemble a file (in a three-inch notebook), to be presented in class at the end of the semester. The
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file should also include a taped interview with a person from the culture they have studied. (This
should be a group interview with more than one person from the group in attendance). Students
might want to bring in traditional dress and food as they make their presentations to the class.
SUPPLEMENTAL FILMS AND VIDEOS
Cold Water (1987, 48 minutes)
This instructional video explores the notions of cultural adaptation and culture shock. The video
features interviews with twelve Boston University students who are living and studying in the
U.S. for the first time. Topics of discussion include: openness/directness, privacy, attitudes
toward time, friendship patterns, informality, competitiveness, and the general lack of awareness
among Americans about the rest of the world.
Communicating Across Cultures (1989, 30 minutes)
This instructional video depicts several misunderstandings that result from different styles of
communication and the discomfort that people often feel when dealing with issues of race and
gender. The video also suggests ways to communicate more effectively with people from
dissimilar cultures and co-cultures.
Voices (1991, 35 minutes)
This instructional video uses interviews with African American, Native American, Asian
American, Latino, and Caucasian men and women to explore the development of self-image and
the role that prejudice plays. The video also considers how other cultures have been stereotyped
and how culture affects professional, academic, and interpersonal relationships.
A World of Diversity vol. 1-2 (1996, 45 minutes, 22 minutes per volume)
This instructional video explores how culture affects the way people interpret actions and
behaviors. Volume 1 presents three critical incidents in which people from diverse cultures have
difficulty communicating with one another. Volume 2 discusses basic intercultural
communication skills.
Ability Issues in the U.S. (1992, 60 minutes)
This instructional video discusses the culture of the disabled, issues of accessibility, and
problems of social interaction. The video also suggests what society must do in order to provide
people with disabilities with the same opportunities available to other citizens.
Valuing Diversity: Multicultural Communication (1994, 19 minutes)
This instructional video dramatizes situations in which communication is impaired by cultural
differences. The video demonstrates how to communicate with others without resorting to
“child–speak” and illustrates how cultural differences in body language affect communication.
Voices (1991, 35 minutes)
This instructional video uses interviews with African American, Native American, Asian
American, Latino, and Caucasian men and women to explore the development of self-image and
the role that prejudice plays. The video also considers how other cultures have been stereotyped
and how culture affects professional, academic, and interpersonal relationships.
I’m Normal, You’re Weird: Understanding Other Cultures (1997, 23 minutes)
In this instructional video a group of aliens prepare to take human form by rehearsing their new
roles and learning the complexities of diverse human cultures.
Positive Images: Portraits of Women with Disabilities (1989, 58 minutes)
This film provides positive and realistic images from the lives of women with disabilities.
Despite the fact that 20% of Americans have disabilities, the social, economic, and political
issues confronting people with disabilities are striking and worthy of discussion.
Unfinished Diary (1986, 55 minutes)
This docudrama explores language and gender, exile and immigration. In the film, a Chilean
émigré shows her struggle to make a film about the isolation of Chilean exiles. While her
English-speaking, filmmaker husband criticizes her subjectivity, she must also contend with her
French-only-speaking son.
Café au Lait (1994, 94 minutes)
This film is a high-spirited, frank comedy about race, romance, and family in Paris. Lola, an 18-
year-old West Indian woman; announces her pregnancy to her two lovers: Felix, who is a white,
Jewish bike messenger enamored by African American hip-hop; and Jamal, who is a black law
student from a wealthy diplomatic family. Beyond an unsanitized view of race relations, the film
presents a unique family situation and nicely points out that in confrontation begins the discovery
of a common humanity.
Who’s Going To Pay for These Donuts, Anyway? (1992, 58 minutes)
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of her search, the film explores cultural identity, family, racism, mental illness, and the
internment camp experience.
Wilderness (1991, 50 minutes)
This film documents archaeological and historical evidence that Native Americans lived in a
highly developed societies–and that vastly more tribe members died as a result of European
settlement than had previously been suspected. It also documents that Puritan prejudices helped
generate the pernicious image of the “savage Indian” ending with the 1890 massacre at Wounded
Knee.
TEST ITEMS: CHAPTER 01
Multiple-Choice
1. Which of the following is an example of global interconnectedness presented in the text?
(A) the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Tsunami; (B) The European Union’s Sovereign Debt
crisis; (C) the debate on U.S. Immigration policy; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C
2. By 2050, world population growth is expected surpass____: (A) 5 billion; (B) 6 billion;
(C) 9 billion; (D) 15 billion; (E) 16 billion
3. What percentage of the U.S. population is made up of minorities? (A) 12%; (B) 15%;
(C) 25%; (D) 35%; (E) 40%
4. To what does the “cultural generation” gap refer? (A) decreasing U.S. population under
45 years of age; (B) increasing U.S. population under 45; (C) increasing U.S. population
45 and older; (D) A and B; (E) A and C
5. _____ involves interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol
systems differ enough to alter communication events. (A) intercultural communication;
(B) internationalization; (C) globalization; (D) cultural divides; (E) Egoism
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Answer: A Content: pg. 8
6. What is the preferred term for the group that “generally exercises the greatest influence
on beliefs, values, perceptions, communication patterns, and customs of a culture?”
(A) mainstream culture; (B) dominant culture; (C) umbrella culture; (D) meta culture;
(E) mega culture
7. Culture shock refers to: (A) major changes originating within one’s home culture; (B) a
mental state experienced by an individual when transitioning between a familiar culture
to an unfamiliar culture; (C) major changes originating outside one’s home culture;
(D) the perception that one’s home culture is overwhelmed by external cultural forces;
(E) C and D
8. At what stage of culture shock does a person begin to recognize the reality of the new
setting? (A) adaptation; (B) exhilaration; (C) disenchantment; (D) adjustment;
(E) effective functioning
9. Early conceptualizations of culture shock included this concept, although subsequent
research failed to support. (A) re-entry shock; (B) the U model; (C) the W model; (D) B
and C; (E) A, B, and C.
10. The process of learning to live in a new culture is referred to as: (A) immersion:
(B) acculturation; (C) emulation; (D) integration; (E) inclusion
11. A conviction that one’s own culture is superior to all other cultures is known as:
(A) ethnocentrism; (B) egoism; (C) endoculturalism; (D) multiculturalism; (E) pleurisy
12. Which ethical approach supports the view that “ethical principles are universally
applied… and timeless moral truths are rooted in human nature and independent of the
conventions of particular societies?” (A) fundamentalism; (B) relativism; (C) moral
absolutism; (D) A and C; (E) none of the above
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13. The philosophical perspective of relativism can be succinctly summarized as: (A) no
single morality; (B) no moral framework that is more correct than any other; (C) true
moral codes apply to everyone; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C
14. The idea that “one must suspend judgment of other people’s practices in order to
understand them in their own cultural terms” is referred to as: (A) cultural relativism;
(B) altercentrism; (C) objectivism; (D) cultural perceptualism; (E) foundationalism
15. A variation on “the golden rule” can be found in which of the following religions?
(A) Buddhism: (B) Hinduism; (C) Islam; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C
16. Cultural generalizations should be considered: (A) absolute representations;
(B) approximations; (C) indiscriminately; (D) on an individual basis; (E) C and D
17. If a generalization must be made, it should: (A) be supported by a single reputable
source; (B) focus on the primary values and behaviors of a particular culture; (C) be
based on historical accounts; (D) based on immediate perceptions; (E) be plausible
18. The state of being just, unbiased, and not influenced by emotions or personal prejudices
is also known as: (A) objectivity; (B) relativity; (C) selflessness; (D) adjudicating;
(E) mindfulness
19. To be objective, one must: (A) have an open mind; (B) avoid being too judgmental;
(C) use a consistent metric; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C
True/False
1. Globalization, domestic diversity, and immigration make acquiring intercultural
communication skills imperative.
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2. Higher education has resisted globalization.
3. By 2023, minorities are expected to constitute the majority of all U.S. children under the
age of 18.
4. Technology has enabled ordinary individuals cheaply and quickly to organize themselves
around a common interest, ideology, or social cause.
5. Technology has brought greater polarization throughout the world, though this is less true
within the U.S. society.
6. The definition of intercultural communication involves interaction between government
representatives of different nations.
7. The authors prefer the term “dominant culture” over other terms such as mainstream or
umbrella culture because it clearly indicates that the group being referred to generally
exercises the greatest influence on the beliefs and values of a culture.
8. While a person who is disabled would not be considered a member of a co-culture,
someone with an identifiable ethnic background would.
9. Culture shock is caused by the transition from a familiar culture to an unfamiliar one.
10. The second stage of culture shock is the crisis period.
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Answer: True Content: pg. 11
11. Learning about the language of a host culture is all about language acquisition.
12. Working to maintain your culture while living in another culture is not helpful.
13. Cultural relativism is the idea that timeless moral truths are rooted in human nature.
14. Generalizations are based on limited data.
15. Objectivity refers to the state of being “just, unbiased, and not influenced by emotions or
personal prejudices.”
Short Answer/Essay
1. Discuss why it is important to acquire intercultural communication skills. Be sure to
include the concepts of globalization, domestic diversity, and immigration.
2. How have advances in technology affected impacted intercultural communication?
3. Compare and contrast the concepts of “dominant culture” and “co–culture.” Provide
examples.
4. What is the definition of society introduced by the authors? Be sure to include both the
general and specific perspectives.
5. What is culture shock? How does it affect people?
6. Describe the stages of culture shock and provide examples for each?
7. What are some of the recommendations offered in the text to function effectively in a
second culture? List and describe two.
8. What is meant by the term, ethics? How do the authors define it?
9. List and define the basic functions of culture. Provide an example for each.
10. Differentiate between the concepts of moral absolutism and moral relativism.
11. List and explain at least two of the five recommended practices for interacting ethically
with people of diverse cultures.
12. Compare and contrast the concepts of individual uniqueness and generalizations.
13. What are the four precautions a person should take when making generalizations about
intercultural communication?.
14. What is objectivity? What role does objectivity play in intercultural communication?