Benett, Milton J. - Becoming Interculturally Competent Flashcards
What is the default condition of a typical, monocultural primary socialization regarding cultural differences?
Denial of cultural difference.
What is the Denial stage in cultural awareness, and how is one’s own culture perceived?
Denial is when one’s own culture is seen as the only “real” culture, with its beliefs and values considered unquestionably true. Other cultures are either unnoticed or seen vaguely as “foreign” or “other.”
How might people in the Denial stage view other cultures or react to cultural differences?
They are generally disinterested or may react aggressively to differences if they feel impacted. In extreme cases, they may see only their own group as fully “human,” and others as lesser beings.
Provide an example of Denial in cultural interactions in the U.S.
Examples include “white flight,” where European Americans avoid neighborhoods with growing diversity, or sudden negative reactions to demographic changes, like an increase in the Latino population.
What is the perceptual limitation associated with Denial, and how can it be resolved?
Denial is marked by an inability, not a refusal, to recognize cultural differences. Resolution involves introducing simple categories to help people start noticing and distinguishing particular cultures.
How does Denial impact one’s ability to differentiate between national cultures?
People in Denial struggle to differentiate between national cultures, such as various countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, or South America. These distinctions are often seen as irrelevant or too complex.
What is the Defense stage against cultural difference?
Defense is a stage where one’s own culture (or an adopted culture) is seen as the only viable or “most evolved” way to live. Cultural differences are acknowledged, but other cultures are viewed as inferior
How does Defense differ from Denial in terms of awareness of cultural difference?
People at Defense recognize cultural differences more than those in Denial, but they experience these differences in a stereotypical, “us vs. them” way, often feeling openly threatened by other cultures.
How do people in dominant cultures typically experience the Defense stage?
They may feel that cultural differences threaten their values, which they perceive as privileges. This can result in negative stereotypes, exclusionary behavior, and sometimes outright attacks on other cultures.
How might non-dominant cultures experience the Defense stage?
They may respond to dominant culture imposition by developing a strong, separate cultural identity, often using positive stereotypes about their own group and negative ones about the dominant culture.
What is the concept of Defense (reversal), and how does it manifest?
Defense (reversal) occurs when someone from a non-dominant or immigrant background adopts the dominant culture’s view, seeing it as superior to their original culture. They may internalize negative stereotypes about their own group.
How does Defense show up in international contexts?
In nation-building, Defense may appear as an attempt to export assumedly superior cultural values to other nations. The polarized worldview can be seen in statements like, “You’re either with us or against us.”
What is the resolution for the Defense stage?
The resolution is developing a more sophisticated understanding of cultural differences and recognizing common humanity across cultures.
How does Reversal appear similar to cultural sensitivity, and what are its limitations?
Reversal may look like cultural sensitivity because it includes a positive view of another culture and critiques of one’s own, but this view is often stereotypical and based on internalized negative stereotypes about one’s original culture.
In what situations is Reversal commonly observed?
Reversal is common among long-term sojourners such as Peace Corps Volunteers, missionaries, corporate expatriates, and exchange students who strongly identify with their host culture.
How can Reversal manifest in domestic multicultural relations?
Individuals from a dominant culture may strongly advocate for non-dominant groups but in a stereotypical way, idealizing one group while negatively stereotyping another, without a nuanced understanding of either culture.
What is the main resolution needed to move beyond Defense and Reversal?
Recognizing the common humanity across cultures is essential, which can be fostered by activities that build mutual dependence regardless of cultural background, setting the stage for a shift to Minimization.
What is Minimization of cultural difference?
Minimization is the stage where a person’s cultural worldview is seen as universally applicable. Cultural differences are acknowledged but trivialized or subsumed into familiar categories, creating an assumption that everyone shares similar values and beliefs.
What are “universal absolutes” in the context of Minimization, and how do they affect cultural understanding?
Universal absolutes are beliefs assumed to apply to everyone, like “everyone is a child of God” or that democracy is universally preferred. These beliefs obscure deep cultural differences, leading to the trivialization or romanticization of other cultures.
How does Minimization manifest in expectations of behavior in intercultural contexts?
People in Minimization expect similarities and may try to correct others’ behavior to match their own cultural norms, such as host families expecting exchange students to adopt their lifestyle. This reflects an unawareness of their own culture as a distinct context.
How does Minimization impact people from dominant cultures versus non-dominant cultures?
Dominant-culture individuals may not recognize their own cultural privilege and expect universal standards to apply to all. Non-dominant cultures may adopt a “melting pot” view, minimizing differences and supporting universal standards, often without recognizing cultural biases in those standards.
What is the main limitation in the Minimization stage, and what is required to progress to a more ethnorelative perspective?
Minimization lacks cultural self-awareness; people must recognize their own culture as a unique context to understand alternative perspectives fully. Developing this self-awareness helps move toward Acceptance and Adaptation in intercultural sensitivity.
How can facilitators help individuals move beyond Minimization?
Facilitators should encourage cultural self-awareness, highlighting that one’s beliefs and behaviors are shaped by their own cultural context. Introducing general intercultural frameworks can also support a shift from Minimization to a more nuanced understanding of cultural diversity.
What is the Acceptance stage of cultural difference?
Acceptance is the state where one’s own culture is experienced as just one of many complex worldviews, viewing others as different but equally human.
What does Acceptance allow people to do with respect to cultural differences?
It allows people to identify how cultural differences operate across a wide range of human interactions, without needing to be experts in any specific culture.
