Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Chapter Exercises
Chapter 3: Context, Perception, and Competence
Exercise 1: Culture and the World Wide Web
Purpose
To examine culture’s influence on the information presentation design of web pages.
Instructions
1. Go online to http://www.abyznewslinks.com, select a U.S. national news site, such as CNN.com, and
then select a national news site from another country (preferably an Eastern country, such as China
or Japan). Alternatively, you may go to http://news.aol.com/ (English) and http://news.sina.com.cn/
(Chinese). Or you may select a multinational corporation and find two versions of its website, one in
English and the other in another language. Be sure to choose a news source in a language that is not
your own so that you can focus specifically on the layout, design, and images.
2. Be observant! Pay close attention to details! Examine the use of imagery and animation, as well as
the layout on the page.
3. For each page, make a list of characteristics that catch your attention. Compare to see whether they
are similar or different on the two pages. Jot down visual features that compare or contrast the
selected pages. For example, you may notice that Chinese pages use more imagery and Chinese
pages are divided into many independent spaces, while on U.S. pages the layout is arranged around a
focal point of the page.
U.S. web page
Other Culture’s web page
Imagery:
Animation:
Layout:
Other:
Conclusions
Answer the following questions:
1. What evidence do you find that supports (or rejects) the hypothesis that culturally specific patterns of
attention may be affected by the perceptual environment of that culture?
2. With regard to the World Wide Web as a global medium, does your discovery answer the questions of
whether it is a culturally characteristic perceptual environment or whether there is an emerging web
style that transcends cultural boundaries?
3. What issues arise with regard to making web communication more effective across cultures?
4. How do your findings in this exercise shed light on strategies for effective communication between
you and people of other cultural backgrounds?
Exercise 2: Differing Perceptions
Purpose
To understand how our perception of an image can influence what we see
Instructions
1. Using a search engine that provides image results, such as Google Images, search for images of
“Young Girl-Old Woman Illusion” and “Rubin’s Vase.”
2. When you look at these images, what do you see?
3. In the “Young Girl-Old Woman Illusion,” individuals see an old woman, and/or a young woman, and in
the “Rubin’s Vase” illusion, individuals can either see a vase and/or two faces.
4. If you only identified one of the images in your first glance, do you see the second now that it has
been pointed out?
Conclusions
1. We often perceive the same image (or idea, event, behavior, etc.) differently from other people.
2. There is often more than one “correct” way to perceive an image (or idea, event, behavior, etc.)
differently.
Exercise 3: Observation and Interpretation
Purpose
To recognize how differing interpretations can be assigned to the same observation
Instructions
1. Make a list of observations about life in the United States (see example below).
2. Come up with two differing interpretations that could each be used to explain this observation.
Example:
Observation
Interpretation #1
Interpretation #2
People are always going somewhere
Busy, industrious people
Don’t appreciate the present
Conclusions
1. How might these different interpretations affect communication?
2. Why is it important to consider how our personal interpretations influence our perceptions?
Exercise 4: Food Prejudices
Purpose
To investigate your own food prejudices
Instructions
1. Make a list of exotic foods you enjoy.
2. Think about when you learned to enjoy them.
3. Now list foods that you may be unwilling to try.
4. What reasons do you have for not wanting to try them?
Example:
Exotic Food Enjoyed
Calamari (squid)
Exotic Food Unwilling to Try
Snails
Exercise 5: Intercultural Communication Ethics: Rajpal and Balbir
Purpose
To consider how ethics apply in intercultural settings
Instructions
Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow.
Preface
In South Asian cultures, the most important social unit is the extended family. Unlike the nuclear family,
which includes only a married couple and their children, the extended family includes relatives—aunts,
uncles, cousins, and grandparents. When South Asian families immigrate to a new country, they keep the
values and behaviors associated with the extended family. For example, decisions for the entire extended
family usually are made by one person, generally the most financially secure male. Also, the individual
incomes of the family members are often added together and spent on behalf of the entire family.
Within the family, gender roles are well defined in South Asian cultures. Men are the leaders and they
make the major decisions, provide for the family, and are the heads of the family. Women are generally
submissive and obedient, their job is to take care of the family and perform household duties. Still,
women do have high status because they bear the family honor.
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Marriages are still frequently arranged, and divorce is very rare in traditional South Asian cultures. There
is strong pressure on couples to stay together as divorce will reflect badly upon the whole family. The
brothers and sisters of a woman who left her husband will find it difficult to arrange marriages for
themselves. Because divorce is not an acceptable course of action, these cultures have established other
ways to deal with marital problems. In India, for example, the traditional method of mediation involves
male elders considering the conflict, deciding who is guilty, and then deciding how the wife and/or
husband should change their behavior to correct the problem. The mediators may independently gather
facts, but they may not talk with the woman.
Case Study
Rajpal, a woman of South Asian descent, was born in India but raised in the United States. Growing up in
the United States, she acquired many U.S. values and customs. When she was 18, she married Balbir, a
man who was raised in India and whom she had never met prior to the marriage. Now, they have been
married for 3 years. However, Rajpal is unhappy with her marriage. She has told her family how she feels,
but they have blamed her for the failing marriage. Balbir has traditional Indian expectations of the
relationship. The marriage is acceptable to him. He wants to have a stable family so that he can sponsor
his parents as immigrants.
Rajpal asks you to intervene as a mediator. She tells you that they have totally different backgrounds and
that Balbir dictates what she should do.
Questions
1. What is your response to Rajpal’s request? How does the fact that they are living in the United States
affect your interpretation of the situation?
2. What ethical considerations guide your decision?
Source: Case study developed by Fred E. Jandt from “Culture and Conflict in Canada: Tradition and Transition,”
by Michelle LeBaron, in Fred E. Jandt and Paul B. Pedersen (Eds.), Constructive Conflict Management: Asia–
Pacific Cases (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996), pp. 63–75.
Exercise 6: Intercultural Communication Competence
Purpose
To help you assess your intercultural communication competence at the beginning of the course
Instructions
1. Answer each question as you honestly believe you would react. Choose only one answer for each
question.
2. There is a scoring guide following the questionnaire. Note the number of points for each selection,
then add the points from each pair of questions, and transfer that total to the chart following the
guide.
3. Use the questions in the “Conclusions” section to help you interpret your score.
Questions
1. You want to take a picture of a child. You take out your camera, but just as you are about to take the
picture, an old man quickly comes over and starts shouting at you.
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
A. You hesitate and decide not to photograph that child, but you look around for another child to
photograph.
B. You are aware that the old man does not want you to take the photo. You can’t understand why,
but you apologize and put your camera away.
C. You wait until you think the man can’t see you and then take the picture anyway.
2. You are visiting a holy temple and notice shoes lined up outside the door.
A. You walk into the temple with your shoes on because it seems silly to you to take them off.
B. You take off your shoes like you have seen other people do and then walk into the temple.
C. You hesitate as you are about to enter and then decide not to go in because you don’t want to take
your shoes off.
3. Assume you are a heterosexual man living in another country. You tell your friend, who is a native
citizen of that country, that you were promoted in your job. He congratulates you by giving you a
warm hug.
A. You accept the hug and hug him back, thanking him for his congratulations. You offer to buy him a
cup of coffee.
B. You’re startled, but you let him hug you. However, you are a bit embarrassed about it and your
actions show it.
C. You are embarrassed, so you push him away and assume that he is a homosexual.
4. You have been living and working in Greenock, Scotland, for over a year, but now your company
wants you to move to their offices in New London. Some people from Glasgow (a few friends and
some friends of friends) invite you to a restaurant there. You arrive and find a farewell party in your
honor. There are flowers, music, and wine. One of the guests whom you have never met before
hands you a gift.
A. You thank him for the gift and feel pretty good about yourself and what you did while you were in
Scotland.
B. You thank him but tell him that you can’t accept the gift because your company does not allow you
to accept gifts from the local people.
C. You thank him but while you are talking later with one of your Scottish friends, you make fun of the
stranger because you think it was stupid for him to give a gift to someone he had never met
before.
5. You ask directions with much difficulty in a foreign language; the person you ask directs you to the
wrong place.
A. You decide that from now on you will always ask two or three people for directions.
B. You get very angry and assume that the man gave you the wrong directions on purpose. You
decide to avoid asking the native people for advice in the future.
C. When you end up at the wrong place, you assume you asked the question incorrectly or you
misunderstood when the man answered you. You decide to ask directions from someone who can
speak your native language from now on.
6. Assume you are a man who has been out on a date with a village girl. It had been an enjoyable
evening, and you think that she likes you. However, when you try to kiss her good night, she pushes
you away and runs into her house, slamming the door behind her. You ______.
A. assume that she is “cold” and that she doesn’t like people from your country
B. realize that it must not be the custom in this culture to kiss on the first date. You plan to phone her
tomorrow, apologize, and ask for another date
C. assume that you have done something wrong during the evening; maybe she didn’t enjoy the date
as much as you did
7. You are about to enter a restaurant in a foreign city. Near the door is an old woman who looks as if
she hasn’t eaten for many days. She comes up to you with her hand extended, begging for money.
A. You put a coin into her hand, look at her, and wish her a good day.
B. You push her aside and tell her to leave you alone.
C. You toss a coin at her and go quickly into the restaurant without looking back.
8. You are in a Spanish town with a friend. You enter a local bar that mostly serves tourists. You notice
that there are only two kinds of music: Spanish and country–western. Your friend tells you that he
wished the bar had rap music.
A. You insist that the bar owner play some rap music for your friend.
B. You tell your friend he can either listen to Spanish music or leave without you.
C. You have a conversation about music with the bar owner and point out to him that he might get
more business if he included some rap records. You say you’d like to stay longer, but your friend is
getting bored, and you leave together.
9. You are in Athens and need to change some of your money to drachmae (Greek currency). You enter
a store and show a bill to the cashier, and she jerks her head up and down as if (in your opinion) to
say “OK.” You hand her the money. She looks puzzled and hands it back.
A. You figure that she doesn’t like people of your nationality, give her a dirty look, and leave.
B. You give her the money back again and add a little extra for a tip.
C. You find a Greek who speaks your language to help you.
10. You’ve invited a local businessman and his family to your home for dinner. The food is prepared and
ready by 7:30 p.m., but your guests don’t arrive until 9:30. You try to keep the food warm until they
come, but you end up burning it.
A. You don’t say anything. You serve your guests their plate of burned food, but in your mind you
blame them for what happened to the food.
B. You are angry and tell your guests how rude they have been to you.
C. You offer refreshments, suggesting that you all go out to your favorite restaurant. You tell them
that you ruined the meal, and you’re very sorry.
11. In a foreign city, you are a passenger on a bus crowded with many people. You have to get off at the
next stop. You signal the bus driver, and he slows the bus down but doesn’t stop. You jump off while
the bus is still moving past your stop.
A. You are puzzled and decide that next time you will watch other people getting off buses to see
how they signal the driver to stop.
B. You shrug your shoulders and walk away.
C. You become angry at the bus driver and yell a few bad words at the bus as it departs.
12. The oldest son of a local family invites you to his home to meet the rest of his family. Another guest,
an elderly man who is also a local resident, arrives at the same time you do. You both enter the room
where the family is waiting. The other guest greets the grandfather, then the father, and finally the
son. It is now your turn to introduce yourself.
A. You greet your host and hope he will introduce you to the rest of the family and the guest.
b. You hesitate, then turn and greet the family in the same order as you saw the guest do.
c. You notice that the other guest greeted the grandfather and father first, but you assume they have
met before. You greet your host first.
13. At a party at the home of a host national (native resident of a country), you are watching people do
some local dances. Suddenly, your host takes you by the hand and asks you to join the dance.
A. You get up reluctantly, stiffly try a few steps to please him but quickly sit down again.
B. You shake your head “no” because you don’t want to make a fool of yourself.
C. You get up, glad you’ve been asked to join the festivities. Even though you’re not very good, you
try the steps and stay up for the next dance.
14. In a foreign town, you board a bus, take your seat, and the person next to you smiles a greeting.
A. You smile, nod your head, and say hello. You try to begin a conversation in the language of the
country, even though you realize that your vocabulary is limited to only a few words.
B. You smile back and nod hello, hoping the passenger won’t want to talk to you.
C. You look away and pretend that you didn’t see him because you don’t want to try to talk to him.
15. You are at a bar. You need to use the rest room. You ask a bartender to tell you where it is. He points
to the exit. You walk outside and find no rest room, only the wall of the building. Many men and
some women are using the wall as a toilet.
A. You are disgusted and decide to go back to your hotel.
B. You decide to wait because you would be embarrassed to expose yourself. You go back to the bar.
C. You decide that this is the custom, and you join the others at the wall.
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
16. You are walking to a nearby village when you see a couple going in the same direction as you. The
peasant woman has some heavy-looking baskets tied to her back, and the man walking with her is
carrying nothing.
A. You walk up to the couple and offer to carry some of the load. The man vigorously shakes his head
and motions for you to leave.
B. You go up to the man and yell at him for treating his woman like a packhorse.
C. Although you feel sorry for the woman, you assume this is the custom. You greet the couple and
walk on, figuring it’s not your place to interfere.
Scoring Guide
4. a = 3, b = 0, c = 1
6. a = 1, b = 3, c = 2
14. a = 3, b = 1, c = 0
Add up your score for each pair of questions and circle the total:
Self-awareness (Questions 1 and 2): 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Empathy (Questions 7 and 8): 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Adaptability (Questions 9 and 10): 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Conclusions
1. Go back and re-read Questions 7 and 8. These questions are used as an assessment of empathy.
Empathy here is defined as responding from an understanding of another person’s perspective and
feelings. Notice though that, if you acted differently out of respect for the local culture’s customs,
your score would be low. Comment on this contradiction. What other intercultural communication
skill areas affect the empathy score?
2. The higher the number, the greater your skill in this area. Which areas do you need to improve?
3. Consider your weak skill areas. Briefly describe a few situations that you have been in where your lack
of skill caused communication problems. What could you have done to improve the situations?
Source: Adapted from Overseas Diplomacy: Guidelines for United States Navy and excerpted in David S.
Hoopes and Paul Ventura (Eds.), Intercultural Sourcebook: Cross-Cultural Training Methodologies (Chicago:
Intercultural Press, 1979), pp. 89–101.
Exercise 7: Traveling Across Cultures
Purpose
To examine culture’s influence on our perception of places visited
Instructions
1. Find someone who has been abroad and ask that person to compare his or her perceptions of his or
her home country with the perceptions of the place he or she most recently visited abroad.
2. Specifically, discuss the person’s perceptions of buildings, clothing, food, and people.
3. Ask the person how intercultural communication competence was used when abroad. Be sure to
define intercultural competence for the individual.
Conclusions
Answer the following questions:
1. Based on the individual’s reflection on their experiences, how do you think the various steps of the
perception process have been impacted by culture?
2. What intercultural communication skills were useful during the individual’s’ visit abroad?
Exercise 8: Heritage and Perception
Purpose
To examine our own cultures’ influence on our perceptions.
Instructions
1. Assess your own cultural heritage (think of the ethnic heritage of your parents and extended family,
as well as the ways you perceived that cultural heritage growing up).
2. Reflect on how such heritage is currently impacting your perceptions.
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Conclusions
Answer the following questions:
1. How is perception affected by the various cultures you have come into contact with?
2. How have you built intercultural communication skills based on your family heritage?
Exercise 9: Intercultural Communication Competence and Multiculturalism in
Popular Culture
Purpose
To examine how multicultural individuals and cultural competence are presented in popular culture
Instructions
2. Examine the characters in the show or film. Are they culturally competent? Are they presented as
multicultural individuals (“one who respects cultures and has tolerance for differences”)?
Conclusions
Answer the following questions:
1. What can we learn from watching media representations of cultural difference?
2. Why does it matter how cultural competence and multiculturalism are presented in popular culture?