Lauren Bryie

Cherrie Chavez
Bill Richards

Communication in Intercultural Relationships

Chapter 12b

The Acculturation Process (Laurens part):

-Has multiple dimensions or factors associated with it:

1) The ability to deal with psychological stress
2) Skill in communicating with others both effectively and appropriately
3) Proficiency in establishing interpersonal relationships

-Is it important to maintain ones cultural identity and to display its characteristics?
-Should people believe it is important to maintain relationship with the outgroups?

-Assimilation occurs when it is deemed relatively unimportant to maintain ones original

cultural identity but it is important to establish and maintain relationships with other cultures.
-Integration occurs when an individual or group retains its original cultural identity while
seeking to maintain harmonious relationships with other cultures.
-Separation occurs if a culture doesnt want positive relationships with another culture
and wants to keep its cultural characteristics.
-Segregation occurs when the separation occurs because the more politically and
economically powerful culture does not want the intercultural contact, such as the treatment of
the African Americans.
-Seclusion occurs when a non-dominant group chooses not to participate in the larger
society in order to keep their own way of life, such as the Amish.
-Marginalization occurs when individuals or groups neither retain their cultural heritage
nor maintain positive contacts with other groups, creates confusion and alienation.

Becoming an Interculturally Competent Communicator (Cherries part)

-Acculturation can be a difficult process. Young Yun Kim and Brent Ruben us a the term
intercultural transformation to describe how people move past their own cultural framework to
and incorporate other cultural perspectives.

-Interculturally competent communicators integrate a wide variety of cultural knowledge

and use it to respond emotionally and behaviorally. Despite their competence ethical dilemmas
do arise;

1) When in Rome do as the Romans do- in other words should one abandon their own culture to
adapt to the dominant one?
 2) If all cultures have differing beliefs, values, and norms does that mean there are no rights
and wrongs?

3) Should all intercultural contacts be encouraged? Ex; Culture box- In Africa marriage and
religion are sacred when a western traveler comes and speaks about how they dont believe in
marriage or religion they can be seen as shocking and even dangerous.

-Its also important to consider the circumstances under which immigrants have come to
a particular country and how difficult it must be for people to give up their culture.

Cultural Values: Relative or Universal? (Bills part)

An Ethical Question: Can one judge the people of a culture when their behaviors are
based on a radically different set of beliefs, values, and norms or are there values that
transcend the boundaries of cultural difference?

Two Values That Transcend Culture (David Kale):

-the struggle to improve ones world and maintain dignity
-living at peace with oneself and others

Ethical Intercultural Communicators must reconcile:

-tolerance of cultural differences
-the need to hold on to own critical cultural values

Intercultural Interactions: Delights and Ethical Dilemmas

Traveling to other cultures offers positive opportunities, but also raises ethical questions
that must be confronted, including:
-naive tourists unprepared for culture and language differences
-prejudiced tourists
-ethical complexity of missionary work
-environmental and cultural destruction
-destruction of indigenous cultures

Personal Codes of Ethics--Four Key Points (David Kale):

-address people of other cultures with respect
-accurately describe the world as you see it
-encourage people of other cultures to express their own unique natures
-strive for identification with people of other cultures

Summary
Two Tools to Improve Intercultural Competence:
-Behavioral Assessment Scale for Intercultural Competence (BASIC)(respect,
empathic sense, manage interactions, tolerate uncertainty, non-evaluation)
-Distinguish among Description, Interpretation, and Evaluation
 Concluding Remarks:
Intercultural Communication Competence is essential for:
-personal survival
-professional success
-national harmony
-international peace

There is no longer a single racial or ethnic group with an overwhelming numerical and political
majority. Pluralism is the reality