Worldviews and Communication

There are four conditions that should have been met in this case, however full score equivalency was not achieved. Scales are meant to have equivalent measuring elements and origins, as well as findings that are devoid of bias (He & van de Vijver, 2012). However, it is clear that the second requirement was not met due to the presence of bias, which calls the equality of the ratings into question. For starters, the tester did not confirm whether or not sample bias existed. Any confounding cross-cultural disparities in education lead to incomparability of samples in intelligence testing.  The tester failed to confirm if indeed the student did not know what coal was and the distance between New York and Los Angeles or if he was just stubborn. If the former was true, then equivalence is not achieved. Another one is that of the administration bias. It originates from many aspects such as administration conditions, the interaction between tester and student, and communication problems (He & van de Vijver, 2012). These issues were present owing to having a white tester evaluate him. Also, for cooperation to be realized, the tester had to beg Derrick to comply to save her job, which is not optimal for such field work.

The results achieved after this engagement cannot be classified as valid and appropriate for official use. Firstly, it cannot be termed as reliable since if a similar interaction was arranged with a different tester would show different results if the second one overcame the biases of the first tester. Secondly, it fails to reach those thresholds since the criterion used to obtain the results was unorthodox, which is an unfamiliar procedure in the testing of students’ intelligence. The subject could have merely pretended throughout thus failing in evaluating his full capacities. Also, the fact that it does not meet the standards of equivalence questions the results’ validity and appropriateness.

Race was a clear issue at the time as school integration was not fully accepted in South America. Also, the region has had a bad history concerning the relationship between whites and blacks. It is probable that these were the driving forces behind Derrick’s issues with staff members at his school. Therefore, having a white psychologist analyze him would not have been ideal in this case. Derrick only seemed to respond to the tester when she showed that him that held all the power in this case. Seeing that he had some control over a white lady not only shocked him but also it gave him some reassurance in knowing that his rebellion tactics had proven successful. On the other hand, race could have been the reason behind Sherri’s thinking that her test subject was unaware of what coal was or if he had ever heard of New York or Los Angeles.

Each person’s personality can be understood through Kluckhohn’s three dimensions of humanity. According to the universal dimension, both of them reacted to a perceived threat (Leong & Wong, 2003). Derrick was unresponsive owing to the tester being white whereas Sherri begged for cooperation due to a threat to her job. Secondly, each of them belongs to a different group dimension whereby Derrick is unresponsive because of the injustices associated with whites while Sherri expects his cooperation as she is a psychologist. Thirdly, in accordance with the individual dimension, each person’s behavior was driven by their unique characteristics (Leong & Wong, 2003). Derrick was stubborn towards authority while Sherri proved to be soft.

Additionally, the test can be described as high stakes for Derrick since the conclusions made by the tester would be used to make important decisions concerning his education. If he was proven to be only stubborn, punishments would be given out. Conversely, if he was found to have a low IQ, then his advancement would be affected. Moreover, the hierarchical cultural relationship between the two transformed over the course of their interaction. Conventionally, Sherri should have a higher rank order than Derrick, which is defined by rules that they are both aware of. However, this rank order seems to shift when she loses control to Derrick by begging for his cooperation.

Scenario 2

It reveals the presence of emic and etic perspectives on the part of the woman that had gotten married to a Persian. The etic point of view is also known as the outside perspective, which associates cultural practices to external factors (Morris, Leung, Ames, & Lickel, 1999). In the beginning, the woman could not understand anything since upon getting secluded she was left without a translator. It means that her only option was to try to infer clues from nonverbal communication from the other ladies. Therefore, when she saw the aunt nodding and smiling at her, she found it to be a sign of friendship. The same case applied to the older women since she misunderstood the foreigner’s ways and behaviors thereby getting upset and irritated with her. The emic outlook is also known as the inside perspective, which links the understanding of culture to a native’s perspective (Morris et al., 1999). However, with time, she came to realize that the aunt’s habit of nodding and smiling at someone was a show of disapproval. Also, the aunt came to differentiate between the lady’s demeanors with who she really was thereby beginning to like her.

A culture brings about an identity and meaning regarding self-perceptions and how to derive meaning of the interactions with other people, ideas, and the world. In so doing, one gains particular values and worldviews relative to the assumptions and beliefs they hold. Firstly, the woman comes from a culture that can be defined as modern whereby family gatherings do not involve a lot of people in addition to being infrequent. Also, it was new to her to see males and females having to congregate in different parts of the house. Some of the behaviors that seemed okay with her were sitting close to others, spreading her arms eagle style, accepting tea at the first offering, and stretching out legs in front. However, the Persians were accustomed to a different way of life. They were used to regular family gatherings, and women would greet each other with a hug and three kisses to the cheeks. One was supposed to agree to eat something after at least three suggestions besides women being subjected to concealing their legs. Moreover, women were expected to place their arms on their laps.

The communication before and after the woman became enlightened can be further assessed with the help of several aspects. Firstly, there is communication via proxemics, which entails the use of space to realize communication objectives. The woman was used to sitting close to people, which was odd in the Persian culture. Secondly, there is kinesics communication, which entails passing on messages through body movement. Initially, she would sit with her arms spread out, but with time she learned that she needs to place them on her lap. Also, she was used to stretching out her legs, but she became accustomed to folding them. Additionally, she thought that the aunt’s nods and smiles were signs of acceptance, but they were of disapproval. Thirdly, there is the use of paralanguage in communication, which influences an interpretation of a message depending on the properties of speech. For instance, in the Persian culture, scolding one’s children was construed as being tired of being in one’s house. Lastly, there are the high and low context communication factors, which refers to the level of dependence on other factors except speech to convey a message. Initially, the woman could not comprehend or often misconstrued what was being conveyed, but after learning about the culture, she could either hear what was being said or correctly infer what was being passed on.

Scenario 3

Upon sharing with a friend, it became apparent that it is important to maintain an open mindset while interacting with others. A friend that had undertaken a student exchange program in Japan shared the way he got a culture shock in finding the way things were done differently. Firstly, he was amazed at the level of discipline and order he saw. For instance, when riding escalators, one should keep left to allow those in a hurry to use the right side. People also seemed to be extremely polite during conversations. Secondly, he found that advertisements were placed almost everywhere. He also got to experience the public bath houses, where he had to strip in front of others. In brief, he says that the encounter allowed him to learn so many things about the Japanese culture.

References

He, J., & van de Vijver, F. (2012). Bias and equivalence in cross-cultural research. Online readings in psychology and culture, 2(2), 8.

Leong, F. T., & Wong, P. T. (2003). Optimal human functioning from cross-cultural perspectives: Cultural competence as an organizing framework. Counseling psychology and optimal human functioning, 123-150.

Morris, M. W., Leung, K., Ames, D., & Lickel, B. (1999). Views from inside and outside: Integrating emic and etic insights about culture and justice judgment. Academy of Management Review, 24(4), 781-796.