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• How do these values compare to the values taught in U.S. cultural proverbs?
Proverbs and Values
1. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Cleanliness (bathing, being tidy)
2. Time is money. Time thriftiness; productivity
3. A penny saved is a penny earned. Thriftiness
4. Don’t cry over spilt milk. Practicality
5. Waste not; want not. Frugality
6. Early to bed, early to rise, makes Diligence; work ethic
a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.
7. God helps those who help themselves. Personal initiative
8. It’s not whether you win or lose, Good sportsmanship; integrity
but how you play the game.
9. A man’s home is his castle. Privacy; value of personal property;
male superiority
10. You’ve made your bed, now sleep in it. Responsibility; consequences
11. Don’t count your chickens before Practicality; prudence
they are hatched.
13. Might makes right. Superiority of physical power
15. Take care of today and tomorrow Preparation; not procrastination
will take care of itself.
16. Laugh and the world laughs with Pleasant outward appearance and personality
you; weep and you weep alone. preference for being around happy people
Activity 2-10: First impressions
This activity is designed to assist students in their understanding of perceptions and how people
use perceptions to make sense of the world. This activity will also help them understand how
cultural values and beliefs are shaped by their own perceptions. Give each student a copy of The
First Impression Survey. They should be given the following instructions for completing the
form. Answer the following survey by looking around the classroom and by filling in the blanks
with names of people in the class.
First impression survey questions*
Answer the following survey questions by looking around our classroom and writing the names
or descriptions of people in our classroom.
1. Who do you think is bilingual? (Speaks another language other than English)
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2. Who do you think has parents who were not born in the United States?
3. Who do you think likes to play soccer?
4. Who do you think lives in the inner city?
5. Who do you think has more than one sibling?
6. Who do you think attends a mosque?
7. Who do you think has immediate family in another country?
8. Who do you think knows what the Torah is?
9. Who do you think wants lots of children? (More than 3)
10. Who do you think is a basketball fan?
11. Who do you think likes to cook?
12. Who do you think eats tacos frequently?
13. Who do you think knows who Joe Biden is?
14 Who do you think will be absent from class frequently?
Possible discussion questions following the exercise:
• Should people only assess others based on perceived individual characteristics?
• How accurate were your predictions?
• What did you use as the basis for your predictions?
• How could you have made better predictions?
• How did your beliefs factor into your ability to make predictions about other
people?
* Adapted from First Impression. In Julia T. Woods (2000), Instructor’s resource manual for
communication in our lives. Wadsworth.
SUPPLEMENTAL FILMS AND VIDEOS
Arab Americans (1993, 30 minutes)
This instructional video celebrates the cultural heritage of Arab Americans by examining the
traditions each group has brought to the U.S., when and why they immigrated, and how they
have preserved their identity in the process.
Asian American Cultures (1992, 60 minutes)
This instructional video examines similarities and differences across groups of Asians. It not
only considers why Asian Americans are often called the “model minority,” but also illuminates
problems between first and second generations of Asian Americans.
Biculturalism and Acculturation Among Latinos (1991, 28 minutes)
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This film focuses on the Latinos’ struggle with pressures to reclaim and reaffirm their heritage
while simultaneously facing pressures to assimilate into the dominant American culture. This
program examines the question of what part of their culture Latinos feel they should keep and
what to leave behind.
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.
In My Country: An International Perspective on Gender (1993, 90 minutes)
This three volume video set (30 minutes per volume) examines a number of cultural attitudes and
practices related to gender: the division of household labor, types of discipline for boys and girls,
marriage decisions, sexual orientation, the control of money, gendered violence, and care for the
elderly. The video features interviews with people from Zaire, El Salvador, England, Taiwan,
Sweden, Lebanon, Japan, India, China, the Fiji Islands, and Mexico.
In Search of the First Language (1994, 54 minutes)
This NOVA instructional video focuses on the Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan languages,
exploring over 5,000 existing human languages and how they have evolved over the centuries.
Juxta (1989, 27 minutes)
This docudrama observes the complexities of U.S. racism and its psychological effects on the
children of two Japanese women, one of whom married a white American serviceman and
another who married a black American serviceman.
Language and Communication (1983, 30 minutes)
This instructional video examines how the aspirations of a culture are expressed through its
language. Looking at certain African American dialects and the Nuer people, the video
highlights how language and thought reflect and influence culture.
Present Memory (1989, 88 minutes)
This instructional video explores what it means to be Jewish in America. Through interviews
with young and old, assimilated and affiliated, immigrants and American-born Jews, the film
reflects on Jewish identity, the Holocaust, and the establishment of the State of Israel.
Surviving Friendly Fire (1997, 60 minutes)
This film tells the story of ten homeless youths living at a shelter in Hollywood. Their stories of
incredible cruelty and courage reflect those of the 1.4 million homeless youths—a third of whom
are gay or lesbian--living on America’s streets today.
To Conceal and Reveal: The Uses of Communication (1997, 22 minutes)
This instructional video provides a cross-cultural discussion of the icons, symbols, and codes—
all of which are key elements in human communication. It also discusses humor and the desire to
communicate with other cultures.
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.
TEST ITEMS: CHAPTER 02
Multiple-Choice
1. Which explanation accurately reflects the “Interpersonal needs“ use of communication?
(A) it assists in helping us learn about other people; (B) it helps us decide how to present
ourselves to other people; (C) it provides a sense of inclusion and affection; (D) it allows
us to shape the behaviors of others: (E) A and B
2. The idea that “Self is not innate, but is acquired in the process of communicating with
others” best describes what use of communication? (A) person perception; (B) identity;
(C) interpersonal needs; (D) influence; (E) control
3. The definition of communication used in the text includes all of the following ideas
except: (A) dynamic process; (B) share thoughts; (C) using symbols; (D) general settings;
(E) particular settings.
4. Which component of communication is most accurately represented If Andy is trying to
decide how to explain a change in plans to Bill and Chris. (A) messages; (B) encoding;
(C) decoding; (D) feedback; (E) noise
5. Noise in communication could be: (A) a bad telephone connection; (B) other
conversations; (C) being cold or hungry; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C
6. Andy asked Bill to tell Chris about the plan. Bill nodded in agreement. The nod is:
(A) Bill as receiver; (B) noise; (C) encoding; (D) feedback; (E) decoding
7. The idea that communication is a dynamic process is reflected in: (A) messages sent can’t
be unsent; (B) communication is an ongoing activity; (C) sending and receiving messages
involve a host of variables simultaneously; (D) A and B; (E) A, B, and C
8. When the authors refer to words that mean different things in different languages, to what
characteristic of communication are they referring? (A) communication is contextual;
(B) communication is symbolic; (C) communication is dynamic; (D) communication is
static; (E) A, B, and C
9. The idea that you might talk differently in front of a few people than you might in front
of hundreds is reflects what characteristic of communication: (A) contextual; (B) source-
centered; (C) dynamic; (D) symbolic; (E) receiver-centered
10. Of the following, which example(s) reflect the contextual characteristic of
communication? (A) a conversation at a restaurant; (B) a conversation at church;
(C) a conversation at work; (D) A, B, and C; (E) None of the above
11. Most communication behavior is: (A) innate; (B) inborn; (C) learned; (D) habitual; (E) A
and D
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12. Culture is accurately reflected in which of the following statements? (A) culture is innate;
(B) culture and communication are inseparable; (C) culture is monolithic; (D) culture
includes opera but not sporting events; (E) A and C
13. A good analogy for the relationship between a culture and a group of people would be:
(A) a car and its driver; (B) gasoline for an engine; (C) a mind and its body; (D) self and
brain; (E) personality and self
14. The definition of culture preferred by the authors includes all of the following concepts
except____. (A) the biological parts of human life; (B) subjective elements; (C) the non-
biological parts of human life; (D) objective elements; (E) A and D
15. What is the basic function of culture? (A) to teach people how to adapt to their
environment; (B) to teach people ethical behavior; (C) to perpetuate itself; (D) to
differentiate one group from another; (E) to satisfy ego and identity needs
16. Element(s) of culture include: (A) social organizations; (B) religions; (C) values; (D) A
and B; (E) A, B, and C
17. Proverbs ____: (A) are oversimplifications of a people’s values and beliefs; (B) are
learned easily and repeated with regularity; (C) with similar ideas are often found in
different cultures; (D) B and C; (E) A, B, and C
18. Pinocchio’s nose is an example of ____. (A) learning culture through proverbs;
(B) learning culture through folktales, legends, and myths; (C) learning culture through
art; (D) deceitfulness; (E) public shame
19. Which of the following is not true about culture: (A) culture is transmitted from
generation to generation; (B) culture is based on symbols; (C) culture does not have
boundaries; (D) culture is an integrated system; (E) culture is dynamic
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20. How cultural traits “make sense” in that culture’s context reflects culture as: (A) an
integrated system; (B) internalization; (C) structuration; (D) ideation; (E) perpetuation.
True/False
1. A sense of self is acquired through the process of communicating with others.
2. All people, regardless of culture, have a need to communicate and interact with others.
3. Encoding is an external activity.
4. Skype is a software application that allows people to communicate with live audio and
video in real-time. Skype uses a different channel than typical face-to-face interactions.
5. Every communicative event is characterized by a multitude of competing stimuli.
6. Not every culture uses symbols.
7. Most communication behavior is innate or inborn.
8. All of our messages, to some degree or another, do something to someone else.
9. The authors argue that improving intercultural requires a clear understanding of the
phenomenon of culture.
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10. Culture is made up of only those objective elements which have increased the probability
of survival in the past.
11. History, unlike religion and culture, give objective guidance for daily life.
12. Values reflect culture, but they play no role in perpetuating the culture.
13. Language is fundamental to the functioning of culture.
14. Schools represent informal ways of learning culture.
15. Because of the brevity of proverbs, their influence is often overlooked.
16. Folktales are often simple morality lessons focusing on what the culture’s perspective is
on right and wrong or good and evil
17. Art is influenced by culture, but the relationship is not reciprocal.
18. Television has been directly linked to socialization.
19. As people grow up, they learn symbols but not the cultural meaning of those symbols.
20. Historically, societies have insisted that religions adapt their own cultural traditions rather
than the other way around.
Short Answer/Essay
1. What is the relationship between communication and identity?
2. Discuss at least two of the four uses of communication presented in chapter two.
3. Provide a definition of communication and compare to the one presented in the text.
4. What are the major components of communication?
5. Provide an example of how noise might impact the encoding and decoding process..
6. Define individualism and collectivism. Provide at least two specific cultural examples of
each.
7. What does it mean to say communication is contextual? Include examples based on
location, occasion, time, and number of participants.
8 Is communication behavior mostly learned or mostly innate? Explain.
9. What are the functions of culture?.
10. List and describe at least three of the five elements of culture discussed in the text.
11. Defend the idea that culture is learned.
12. What are proverbs and what impact do they have on culture? Provide at least one
example of a native and non-native proverb.
13. How do folktales, legends, and myths “teach” culture?
14. Does art reflect culture or does culture reflect art? Use examples in your explanations.
15. What is the role of the mass media in culture?
16. Explain why culture is dynamic.
17. Provide at least two examples of how culture is an integrated system.
