Comm assignment

Stumbling Intercultural Communication ,LARAY 1\1. BARNA Why is it thatcontact with persons from other cul­ tures sooften isfrustrating and fraught withmisun­ derstanding? Good intentions, the use of what one considers to be afriendly approach, and even the possibility ofmutual benefits don't seem to be suffi­ cient - to many people's surprise. Aworse scenario is when rejection occursjust because the group to which a person belongs is"different." It's appropri­ ate at this timeofmajor changes in theinternational scene to take a hard look atS0111e of the reasons for this, New proximity and new types ofrelationships are presenting cornmurucation challenges thatfew people are ready tomeet. THE SIX STUMBLING BLOCKS I. Assumption of Similarities One answer to the question of why misunderstand­ ing and/or rejection occursisthat many people na­ ively assume there are sufficient similarities among peoples of the world to make communication easy.

They expect that simply being human, having com­ mon requirements of food, shelter,security, and so on, makes everyone alike.Unfortunately theyover­ look the fact that the forms of adaptation to these This original essay has been prepared especially for this book.

All rights reserved. Permission to reprintmust be obtained from the authorand the publisher. Professor Barna is Associ­ ate Professor Emerita at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. common biological and social needs and the beliefs, andattitudes surrounding them are vastly different from culture toculture. The biological commonallties are not much help when it comes to communication, where we need to ideas and information, find ways to live and work to­ gether, or justmake the kind of impression wewant to make, Another reason many people are lured into thinking that "people are people" is that it reduces the discomfort ofdealing withdifference. Ifsome­ one acts or looks "strange;'(different from them) it's then possibletoevaluate thisas "wrong" and treat everyone ethnocentrically.

The assumption ofsimilarity does not often ex­ tend to the expectation of a COn11TlOn verbal lan­ guage but itdoes interfere withcaution in decoding nonverbal symbols, signs, and signals.No C1'085­ culturalstudieshaveproven the existence of a corn­ man nonverbal languageexcept those in support of Darwin's theorythat facial expressions areuniver­ sal.' Ekman (1976) foundthat"the particular visible pattern. on the face, the combination ofmuscles con­ tracted foranger, fear,surprise, sadness, disgust, happiness (and probably also for interest) is the same for all members of our species" (pp 19-20).

This seems helpful. until it is realized that a per­ son'scultural upbringing determines whether or not the emotion will bedisplayed or suppressed, as well as on which occasions and to what degree (Ek­ man &Friesen,1969, p. 1). The situationsthat bring about theemotional feelingalsodiffer from culture toculture; forexample thedeath of aloved one may be acause for joy, sorrow, or some other emotion, depending upon the accepted culturalbelief.

Since there seem to be nouniversals or "human nature"that can be used as a basis for automatic un­ derstanding, we must treateach encounter as an in­ dividual case, searching for whatever perceptions and communication means are held in C0111n10n and proceed from there,This is summarized by Vinh The Do: "If we realizethat we are all culture bound and culturally modified, we willaccept the fact that, beingunlike, we do not really know what someone else 'is.' This is another way to view the 'people are people' idea. We now haveto find away Barna! Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication 337 Barna, L.M. (1994). "Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication." In L.A pSamovar and R.E. Porter, Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 7th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. (pp.337-346). 338 Chapter7Communicating Interculrurally.BecomingCompetent to sort out the culturalmodifiers in each separate encounter to findsimilarity'?

Persons from the United States seem to hold this assumption of similarity more strongly than some other cultures. The Japanese, forexample, have the reverse belief that they are distinctively different from the rest of the world.This notion brings inter­ cultural communication problems of itsown. Ex­ pecting no similarities they work hard to figure out the foreign stranger but-dorioiexpect foreigners to be ableto understand them. Thisresults in exclu­ sionaryattitudes and onlypassive efforts toward mu­ tual understanding (Tail 1986, pp. 45-47). As \X/estern trappings permeate more and more of the world the illusion ofsimilarity increases. A look-alike facade deceives representatives from contrasting cultures when each wears Western dress,speaks English, and usessimilar greeting rit­ uals. It is like assumingthat New York, Tokyo, and Tehran are allalike because each has the appear­ ance of a modern city. But without being alert to possible underlying differences and the need to learn new rules forfunctioning, persons going from one city to the other will be in immediate trouble, even when taking on such simple roles as pedes­ trian or driver ..Also, unless a foreigner expects sub­ tle differences it willtakea long time of nonmsu­ lated living in a new culture (not in an enclave of his or her own kind) before he or she can be jarred i11[O­ anew perceptual and nonevaluative thinking.

The confidence that comes with the myth of sim­ ilarity is much stronger than with the assumption of differences, the latter requiring tentative assump­ tions and behaviors and a willingness to accept the anxietyof "not knowing." Onlywith the assumption of differences, however, can reactions and inter­ pretations be adjusted to fit "what's happening." Withoutit someone is likely to misread signs and symbols and judge the sceneethnocentrically.

The stumbling block of assumed similarity is a troublem, as one English learner expressed it, not only for the foreigner but for the people in the host country (United States or any other) with whom the international visitor comes intocontact. The native inhabitants are likely to be lulled into the expecta­ tion that, sincethe foreign person isdressed appro- priately and speaks somf1 of the language, he or she will also have similar nonverbal codes, thoughts, and feelings. In the United States nodding, smiling, and afflrmative comments from aforeigner will probably be confidently interpreted bystraightfor­ ward, friendly Americans as meaning that they have informed, helped ,and pleased thenewcomer. It is likely, however, that the foreigner actually under­ stood verylittle of the verbal and nonverbal content gJ:"ld was merely indicating polite interest or trying not to embarrass himself orherself or the host with verbalized questions. The conversation may even have confirmed a stereotype thatAmericans are in­ sensitive and ethnocentric. In instances like this, parties seldom compare impressions and correct misinterpretations. One place where opportunities for achieving insights does occur is in' an intercultural communication classroom. Here, forexample, u.s. students often complain that international student members of a discussion or project group seem uncooperative or uninterested. One person who had been thus judged offered the following explanation-' I was surrounded by Americans with whom I couldn't follow their tempo of discussion half of the time. I have difficulty to listen and speak, but also with the way they handle the group. I felt uncom­ fortable because sometimes theybelieve their opin­ ion strongly. I had been very serious about the whole subject but I was afraid I would say some­ thing wrong. I had the idea but not the words. The classroom isalso a good place to test whether one common nonverbal behavior) the smile, isactually the universal sign people asSU111e it to be. The followingenlightening comments came from international students newly arrived in the United States." Japanese student: On my way to and from schoolI have received asmile bynon-acquaintance Amen­ can girls severaltimes. I have finallylearned they have no interest for me; itmeans only akind of greeting to a foreigner. If S0111eone srnilesat a stranger inJapan, especially agirl, she can assume he iseither asexual maniac or an impolite person. Koreanstudent: An American visited rne in my country for one week.His inference wasthat people inKorea are not veryfriendly because theydidn't smile or want to talk with foreign people. Most Ko­ rean people take tune to get to be friendly with peo­ ple. \Xle never talk or smile atstrangers. Arabic student: When Iwalked. around the campus my first day many people smiled at me. Iwas very embarrassed and rushed to the men's roomto see if I had made a mistake with my clothes. But Icould find nothing for them to smile at. Now I am used to all the smiles. Vietnamese student: The reason why certain for­ eigners may think thatAmericans are superficial­ and they are, some Americans even recognize this - is that theytalk and smile too much. Forpeo­ ple 'who come from placid cultures where nonver­ bal language is more used, arid where asilence, a smile, aglance have their ownmeaning, it is true that Americans speak alot. The superficiality of Americans carlalso be detected in their relations with others. Their friendships are, most of the time) so ephemeral compared to thefriendships we have at home. Americans make friends very easily and leave theirfriends almost as quickly, while in my country it takes a long time to find out apossible friend and then she becomes your friend - with a very strong sense of the term.

Statements frorn two u.s. students follow> The first comes from someone who has learned to look for differing perceptions and the second, unfortunately, reflects the srumblmg block of assumed similarity, us. student: Iwas waiting for my husband on a downtown corner when aman with ababy and tV\TO young children approached. Judging by small quirks of fashion he had not been in the u.s. long. I have a baby about the same age and in appreciation of his family and obvious involvement as afather I smiled at him. Immediately Irealized Idid the wrong thingas he stopped, looked me over from head to toe andsaid, "Are you waitingfor 111e? You meet me later?" Apparently Ihad actedas apros­ titute would in his country. us. student: In general itseems to me that foreign people are not necessarily snobs but are very un­ friendly.Someclass members have told me that you shouldn't smile atothers whilepassing them by on the street in their country. To me Ican't stop smiling. It's just naturalto be smiling and friendly. Ican see now why so manyforeign people sticktogether. They are impossible to get to know. It's like the Americans are big bad wolves. How do Americaps; break thisbarrier? Iwant friends from all over the world but how do you start to be friends without offending them or scaring themoff -like sheep?" The discussion thus farthreatens the popular ex­ pectation that increased contact with representa­ tives of diversecultures throughtravel,student ex­ change programs, jointbusiness ventures, and so on will automatically result in better understanding and friendship. Indeed, tests of that assumption have been disappointing." For example, research found thatVietnamese immigrants who speak En­ glish well and have the best jobs are suffering the most from psychosomatic complaints and mental problems and. are lessoptimistic about the future than their counterparts who remain inethnic en­ claves without attempting toadjust totheir new homeland. One explanation given isthatthese per­ sons, unlike the less acculturated immigrants, "spend considerable time inthemainstream of soci­ ety,regularly facing the challenges andstresses of dealing with American attitudes" (Horn, 1980, pp. 103-104).

After 24 years of listeningtoconversations be­ tween international and U.S. students and pro­ fessors and seeing the frustrations of both groups as they try to understand each other, this author, for one, isinclined to agreewithCharles Frankel (1965) who says, "Tensions existwithin nations and be­ tween nations thatnever would have existed were these nations not insuch intensive culturalcornmu­ nication with one another" (p. 1). Recent world eventshave proven this to be true. From acommunicative perspective itdoesn't have to be that way. Justas more opportunities now exist forcross-cultural contact so does more infor­ mation about how tomeet thischallenge. There are Barna IStumblingBlocks in Intercultural Communication 339 more orientation and training programs around the country, more courses inintercultural comrnunica­ tion in educational institutions, and more published material."Until-persons can squarely face theakelt­ hood of meeting up withdifference and rnisunder­ standing, however, they will not be motivated to take advantage of these resources.

Many potential travelers who do try to prepare forout-of-country travel(forbusiness conferences, government negotiations, studytours, or whatever) might gather infonnation about the customs of the other country and a smattering of the language, Be­ haviors and attitudesof its people are sometimes researched, but necessarily from asecondhand source, such as afriend who has "been there." Ex­ perts realize that information gained inthis fashion is general, seldom sufficient, and may or may not be applicable to the specificsituation and area that the travelervisits. Also, knowing"whatto expect" often blinds the observer to all but what confirms his or her image. Any contradictory evidencethat does fil­ ter through the screens of preconception islikely to ... be treated as an exception ~U1d thusdiscounted, A better approach is to begin by studying the his­ tory, political structure, art,literature, and language of the country iftime permits. This provides aframe­ work for on-site observations, Even more important ls todevelop aninvestigation, nonjudgmental atti­ tude, and ahigh tolerance for ambiguity -all of which require lowered defenses. Margaret Mead (1960) suggests sensitizing persons to the kinds of things that need co be takenintoaccount instead of developing behavior and attitude stereotypes. She reasons that there are individual differences ineach encounter and that changes occur regularly in cul­ tural patterns, makingresearch information obsolete.

Stewart and Bennett (1991) also warn against providing lists of"do's and don'ts" fortravelers for several reasons, mainlythat behavior isambiguous; the same action can have different meanings in .different situations and no one can be armed with prescriptions for every contingency. Instead they encourage persons to understand theassumptions and values on which their own behavior rests.This can then be compared with what isfound in the other culture, and a"third culture" can be adopted based on expanded cross-cultural understanding (pp.15-16).

ll. Language Differences The remainder of thisarticle will examine some of the variables of the intercultural ccmmunication process itself and pointout danger zones therein. The first stumbling block has already been dis­ cussed atlength, the hazard of assuming similarity instead of difference. Asecond danger will surprise no one: language difference. Vocabulary, syntax, id­ ioms, slang, dialects,and so on, all cause difficulty, but the person struggling with a different language is at least aware of beingintrouble. Aworse language problem is the tenacity with which someone will cling to just one meaning of a word or phrase in the new language, regardless of connotation or context. Theinfinite variations possi­ ble, especially ifinflection andtonal qualities are present, are so difficult to cope with thatthey are often waved aside,This complacency willsto-p a search for understanding, The nationwide misin­ terpretation ofKrushchev's statement "We'll bury you" is a classic example,Even "yes" and "no" cause trouble. \Xlhen anon-native speaker first hears the English phrase, "Won't you have some tea?" he or she listens to theliteral meaning of the sentence and answers, "No," meaning that he or she wants some. The u.s. hostess, on the other hand, ignores the double negative because of common usage, and the guestgets no tea. Also, in some cultures, itispolite torefuse the first or second offer of refreshment Manyforeign guestshave gone hungry because they never got athird offer. This is another case of where "no" means "yes." III.Nonverbal Misinterpretations Learning the language, which most visitorsto for­ eigncountries consider their only barrier to under­ standing, isactually only the beginning. As Frankel (1965) says, "To enter into a culture is to be ableto 340 Chapter 7 Communicating Interculturally:BecomingCompetent hear, in Lionel Trilling's phrase, itsspecial 'hum and buzz of Implication:" (p, 103). This suggests the third stumbling block ,nonverbal misiriterpreta­ tions. People from differentculturesinhabitdiffer­ ent sensory realities, They see, hear,feel, and smell only that which has some meaning or importance for them, They abstractwhatever fitsinto their per­ sonal world of recognition and then interpret it through the frame of reference of their own culture.

An example follows: An Oregon girl in an intercultural communica­ tion class asked ayoung man from SaudiArabia how he would nonverbally signalthatheliked her.His response was tosmooth back his hair, which to her was just a common nervous gesture signifying noth­ ing, She repeated her question three times. He smoothed his hair three times, Then,realizing that she was not recognizing this movement as hisreply to her question, automatically ducked his head and stuck out his tongue slightly inembarrassment: This behavior was noticed by the girl and she expressed astonishment that he would show likingforsome- one sticking out histongue, The lack of comprehension of nonverbal signs and symbolsthat are easy to observe -such as ges­ tures, postures ,and other body movements - is a definite communication barrier. But itispossible to learn the meanings of these messages,usually in in­ formal rather than formalways. It is more difficult to note correctly the unspoken codes of the other cul­ ture that are less obvious such as the handling of time andspatial relationships and subtlesigns of re­ spect orformality IV. Preconceptions and Stereotypes The fourth stumbling block isthe presence of pre­ conceptions and stereotypes, If the label "inscruta­ ble" has preceded the]apanese guest, hisbehaviors (including the constant and seemingly inappropri­ ate smile) will probably be seen as such. The stereo­ type that Arabs are "inflammable" maycause u.s. students to keep their distance or even alertauthori­ ties when an animated and noisy group from the .Middle East gathers,Aprofessor whoexpects every­ one from Indonesia, Mexico, and. many other coun­ tries to"bargain" may unfairly interpret ahesitation or request from aninternational student as amove tomanipulate preferential treatment.

Stereotypes help do what ErnestBecker (1962) asserts the anxiety-prone humanrace must do - re­ duce the threat of the unknown by making the world predictable (pp, 84-89).Indeed, this is one of the basicfunctions of culture: to layout apredict­ able world in which the individual isfirmly ori­ ented. Stereotypes are overgeneralized, second­ hand beliefs that provide conceptual bases from which we"make sense" out ofwhat goes on around USjwhether or not they are accurate or fit the cir­ cumstance, In aforeign landtheir use increases our feeling of security and is psychologically necessary to the degree that we cannottolerate ambiguity or the sense ofhelplessness resulting from inability to understand and dealwith people and situations be­ yond our comprehension, Stereotypes arestumbling blocksforcommuni­ cators because they interfere withobjective viewing of stimuli -the sensitive searchfor cues to guide theimagination towardthe other person's reali ty. They are not easy toovercome inourselves or to correct in others,evenwith the presentation of evi­ dence, Stereotypes persistbecause they are firmly established as myths or truismsby one's own na­ tional culture and because they sometimes rational­ ize prejudices, They are alsosustained and fed by the tendency to perceive selectively only those pieces of new information that correspond to the imageheld.For example , the Asian or Africanvisitor who is accustomed toprivation and the values of self-denial andself-help cannotfail to experience American cultureasmaterialistic and wasteful. The stereotype for thevisitorbecomes a reality. v. Tendency to Evaluate Another deterrent tounderstanding between per­ sons of differing cultures or ethnic groups isthe ten­ dencytoevaluate) to approve or disapprove, the statements and actions of theother person or group Barna / Stumbling Blocks inIntercultural Communication 341 rather than to try to comprehend completely the thoughts and feelings expressed from the world view of the other.Eachperson's culture or way of life always seems right, proper,' and natural. This bias prevents the open-minded attention needed to . look atthe attitudes and behavior patterns from the other's point of view. Amid-daysiestachanges from a"lazy habit" to a"pretty good idea" when someone listens long enough to realize themid-day tempera­ ture in thatcountry isover 115°F. The author, fresh from aconference in Tello where Japanese professors had emphasized the preference of the people ofJapan forsimple natural settings ofrocks, moss, and water and of muted greens and misty ethereal landscapes, visited the Katsura ImperialGardensin Kyoto, At the appointed time ofthe tourayoung Japanese guide approached the group of 20 waiting U.S. Arnericans and re­ marked how fortunate it was that the day was cloudy.

This brought hesitant smilesto the group who were lessthan pleased at the prospect of ashower. The guide's next statement wasthat the timing of the summer visit was particularly appropriate inthat the azalea and rhododendron blossoms were gone and the trees had not yet turned totheir brilliant fall col­ ors, The group laughed loudly, now convinced that the youngman had a finesenseofhumor. Iwinced at his bewildered expression, realizingthat had I come before attending the conference Iwould have shared thegroup's inference that he could not be serious.

The communication cutoffcaused byimmediate evaluation is heightened when feelings and emo­ tions are deeplyinvolved; yet this is just the time when listeningwithunderstanding is most needed. As statedby Sherif, Sherif, and Nebergall (1965), "A person'scommitment to hisreligion, politics,values of his family, and his stand on the virtueof his way of life are ingredients.in his self-picture - intimately felt and cherishedvtp. vi). Ittakes both the aware­ ness of the tendency to close our minds and the courage to riskchanging our own perceptions and values to dare to comprehend why someone thinks and actsdifferently fromus. Religious wars and ne­ gotiation deadlocks everywhere are examples of this, On an interpersonal levelthere are innumerable illustrations of the tendency to evaluate,resultingin a breach in intercultural relationships. Two follow:" us. student: APersianfriendgotoffended because when we got in an argument with a thirdparty, I didn't take his side. He says back horne you are sup­ posed to take a friend's or family's side even when theyarewrong. When you get home then you can attack the "wrongdoer" but you are never supposed to go against a relativeor afriend to astranger. This I foundstrange because even if it is 111y mother and I thinkshe iswrong, Isay so, Korean student: When Icall on my Americanfriend he said through Window, "Iam sorry. Ihave no time because of my study." Thenhe shut thewindow, I couldn't understand through my cultural back­ ground. House owner should have welcome visitor whether he likes or not and whether he isbusy or not. Also the owner never speaks without opening his door.

The admonition toresist thetendency toimme­ diately evaluate doesnotintend tosuggest that one should not develop one'sown sense ofright and wrong. The goal is to lookandlisten empathically rather than through athick screen of value judg­ ments thatwould cause one to fail to achieve a fair and totalunderstanding, Once comprehension is complete it can be determined whether or not there is a clash in values or ideology. Ifso,some form of adjustment or conflict resolution can be put into place.

VI. High Anxiety High anxiety or tension, alsoknown as stress, iscorn­ man incross-cultural experiences due to the num­ ber ofuncertainties present.'The two words, "anxi­ ety" and"tension;' are linked because one cannot be mentally anxiouswithout also being physically tense. Moderate tension and positiveattitudes pre­ pare one to meet challenges withenergy. Too much anxiety or tension requires some form of relief whichtoo often comesin the form of defenses, such Chapter 7Communicating Interculturally.BecomingCompetent as theskewing ofperceptions, withdrawal, or hostil­ ity. That's why it is considered a.serious stumbling block.As statedby Kim (1991): Stress, indeed, isconsidered to beinherent in inter­ cultural encounters, disturbingthe internal equi­ libriurn of the individual system. Accordingly, to be interculturaliy competent means to be able to manage sucb stress) regain 'internat balance, and carry out tbecommuriicanon'process in sucb a way thatcontributes to successful interact/on out­ comes (p. 267). High anxiety or tension, unlike the other five stumbling blocks (assumption of similarity, lan­ guage, nonverbal misinterpretations, preconcep­ tions and stereotypes, and the practice of immediate evaluation), is not onlydistinct but often underlies and compounds the other stumbling blocks. The use of stereotypes and evaluations are defense mechanisms inthemselves toalleviate the stress of the unknown or the intercultural encounter,aspre­ viously explained.

If the person was tense or anx­ ious to beginwith these would be usedevenmore.

Falling prey to the aura of similarity is also aprotec­ tion from the stress of recognizing and accom­ modating todifferences. Different language and nonverbal patterns are difficult to use or interpret under the bestofconditions. Thedistraction of try­ ing to reduce the feeling of anxiety (sometimes called"internal noise")makesmistakes even more likely. Jack Gibb(1961) remarks, Defense arousal prevents thelistener from, concen­ trating upon the message. Not only do defensive communicators send off multiple value, motiue, and affect cues> but alsodefensive recipients dis­ tort uibat they receive. As aperson becomes more and more defensiue, be becomes less and less able to perceive accurately the motives) tbe values> and tbeemotions of tbe sender (pp. 141-148). Anxious feelingsusually permeate both parties in an intercultural dialogue. The hostnational is un­ comfortable when talking with aforeigner because he or she cannot maintain the normal flow of verbal and nonverbal interaction. There are language and perception barriers;silencesare too long or too short; proxemic and other norms may beviolated.

He or she is also threatened by the other's unknown knowledge, experience, and evaluation - the visi­ tor's potential forscrutiny and rejection of theper­ son and/or the country. The inevitable question "Howdo you like it here?" which the foreignerab­ hors, is a quest forreassurance, or atleast a"feeler" that reduces.the.unknown. The reply is usually more polite than honest but this is seldom realized. The foreign members of dyads are even more threatened. They feelstrangeandvulnerable, help­ less to cope with messages thatswamp them.Their own "normal" reactions are inappropriate. Their self-esteem isoften intolerably undermined unless they employ such defenses aswithdrawal intotheir own reference group or into themselves, screen out ormisperceive stimuli,userationalization or over­ compensation, orbecome aggressive or hostile. None of these defenses leads to effective communication. Culture Shock. If aperson remains in aforeign culture over time the stress of constantly being "on guard" to protect oneself againstmaking "stupid mistakes IItakes its toll and he or she willprobably be affected by"culture fatigue;'usuallycalled cul­ ture sbock. According toBarna (1983): ... the innate pbysiological rnaheup of tbe human animal issuchthat discomfort of varying degrees OCCU7"S in tbe presence of alien stimuli. V?itbout the normal props of one's own culture there is un­ predictability> beiplessness,a threat to self-esteem, and ageneral feeling of "walking on ice"- all of uihid: are stress producing (pp. 42-43). The result ofseveral months of this sustained anxiety ortension (or excitation ifthe high activa­ tion isperceived positively) is that reserve energy supplies become depleted, the person'sphysical ca­ pacity is weakened, and afeeling ofexhaustion, des­ peration, or depression may takeover(Selye, 1969).

He or she, consciously orunconsciously, would then use psychological defensessuchas those de­ scribed previously. If thistemptation isresisted, the Barna IStumbling Blocks inIntercultural Communication 343 sojourner sufferingfrom the strainofconstant ad­ justment may find his or her body absorbing the stressin the form of stomach or backaches, insom­ nia,inability toconcentrate, or other stress-related illnesses (Barna,1983, pp. 29-30).

The following account by a sojourner to the United Statesillustrates the trauma of culture shock:

Soon afterarriving in the u.s. fromPeru, I cried al­ most every day. I was so tenseI heard without hear­ ing, and this made me feel foolish. I also escaped intosleeping more than twelve hours at a time and dreamed of my life, family, and friendsin Lima. After three months ofisolating myselfin the house and speaking to no-erie, Iventured out. Ithen began to have severe headaches. Finally I consulted adoctor, but she only gave me a lot of drugstorelieve the pain. Neither my doctor nor my teachers ever men­ tioned the two magic words that could have changed n1Y life: culture shock! When Ilearned about this I to see thingsfroma new point of viewand was better able to accept 111)7se1f and my feelings, I now realize most of the Americans I met in Lima before J.came to the U.s. were also in one of the stages ofcultureshock. They demonstrated asome­ what hostileattitude towardPeru,which the Peru­ vians sensed and usually moved from an initially friendly attitudeto a.defensive, aggressive attitude or to avoidance.TheAmericans mostlystayed within the safe cultural familiarity of the embassy com­ pound. Many seemed to feel that the difficultiesthey were experiencing in Peru were specially created by Peruvians to create discomfort for "gringos." In other words,theydisplaced their problem of adjust­ ment and blamed everything on Peru.?

Culture shock is a state ofdis-ease, and, like a disease, it hasdifferent effects,different degrees of severity, and different time spans fordifferent peo­ ple. It is the least troublesome to those who learn to accept cultural diversity withinterest instead of anx­ iety and manage normal stress reactionsby practic­ ing positive copingmechanisms, suchasconscious physical relaxation (Barna 1983, pp. 33-39). Physiological Reactions. Understanding the physiological component of thestumbling block of anxiety/tension helps in the search for ways to lessen itsdebilitatingeffecrs'(Serye, 1974, 1976). It is hard tocircumvent because,as human animals, our biological systemis set so thatanything that isper­ ceived as being "not normal" automatically signals an alert (Toffler, 1970, pp. 334-342;Ursin,1978). De­ pending on how serious the potential threat seems to be,extraadrenalin and noradrenalin pour into the system; musclestighten;the heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rateincrease, thedigestive process turns off, and other changes occur(Oken, 1974). This "fight or Hight" responsewas useful, actually a biological gift for survival or effectivefunctioning, when the need was forvigorous action.However, if the "danger" is toone's social self, whichis more often the case in today's world,too much anxiety or tension just gets in the way. This is particularly true in anintercultural settingwhere the need is for un­ derstanding) calmdeliberation, and empathy in or­ der to untangle misperceptions and enter into smoothrelationships.

All is not "doom and gloom" however. P.s stated by Ursin (1978), "Thebodily response tochanges in the environment and to threatening stimuliis sim­ plyactivation" (p. 219).Researchers believethat in­ dividuals control their emotional response to that activation by their own cognitions (Brown,1980; Keating, 1979; Schachter and Singer, (1962)). If a person expects something to beexciting rather than frightening, he is more likely to interpret the so­ matic changes that he feels in his body as excite­ ment. Selye(1978) would label that "the good stress" thatdoes much less harm unless itcontinues for some time without relief. Feeling "challenged" facilitates functioning as opposed to aperson who feels"threatened" (Lazarus, 1979).

Peoplealso differ intheirstress tolerance. '~hat· ever the reasons, everyone knows people who "fall apart at the least thing" and others who seem un­ flappable in any crisis. If you are one of theformer there arepositive ways tohandle the stress of inter­ cultural situations, whether these be one-time en- 344 Chapter 7 Communicating Interculturally:BecomingCompetent counters; frequent dialogues in multicultural set­ tings like aschool or workplace, vacation trips;or wherever. For starters: you can find opportunities to become familiar with many types of people so that differences become normal and interesting instead of threatening. And you can practice body aware­ ness sothat changes that signify astress reaction can be identified and counteracted. CONCLUSION Being aware of the six stumbling blocks is certainly the first stop in avoiding them, but itisn't easy, For most people ittakes insight, training, and some­ times analteration of long-standing habits or think­ ing patterns before progress can be made. The in­ creasing need for global understanding, however: gives all of us the responsibility for giving it our best effort. We can study other languages and learn to expect differences in nonverbal fonns and other cultural aspects. We can train ourselves to meet intercultural encounters with more attention to situational de­ tails, We can use aninvestigative approach rather than stereotypes and preconceptions, We can gradu­ ally expose ourselves to differences so that they be­ come less threatening. 'Yve can even learn to lower ._ our tension level when needed toavoid triggering defensive reactions, The overall goal should be to achieve inter­ cultural 'communication competence, which is de­ fined by Kim (1991)as "the overall internal capa­ bility of an individual to manage key challenging features of intercultural communication: namely, cultural differences and unfamiliarity, intergroup posture, and the accompanying experience of stress"(p. 259). Roger Harrison (1966) adds a final thought: . . .the communicator cannot stop at knowing that tbe peoplebe is working with have different customs, goals, and tbougbt patterns from his own. He must beable to fee! bis w~y into intimate contact untb these alien ualues, attitudes, and feel­ ings, He must be able to work wz'th tbem and untbiri tbem, neitherlosing his own valuesin tbe confrontation nor protecting himself bebind a wall oj intellectual detacbmeru (p. 4). NOTES 1. See CharlesDarwin, T7Je Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (NewYork: Appleton, 1872); Irenaus, Elbl-Eibesfeldt, Ethology:'[he ..Biology of Be­ bauior (NeVl7 York 'HaIr; Rinehart &Winston, 1970); Paul Ekman and \v.lllace v:Priesan, "Constants Across Cultures in the Face and Emotion,"jownal ofPerson­ ality and Social Psycbology, 17 (1971), pp. 124·-129. 2.Personal correspondence. Mr. Do isMulticultural Specialist, Portland Public Schools, Portland, Oregon. 3.Takenfrom student papers in a course oninter­ cultural communication taught by the author, 4. Ibid, 5.Ibid.

6. See for example: Bryant Wedge, Visitors to the United States and How They See Us (Princeton, N]: D. Van Nos­ trand Company, 1965); and Milton Miller et al., "The Cross-Cultural Student: Lessons in Human Nature," Bulletin of Menninger Clinic (March 1971). 7.One good sourceis the Intercultural Press, Inc., P.o.

Box 768, yarmouth, Maine 04096 U.S.A. 8.Taken from student papers in a course oninter­ cultural communication taught by theauthor, 9. Personal correspondence, REFERENCES Barna, L. M.(1983). "The Stress Factor in Inter­ cultural Relations," In D, Landis and R. \X~ Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of Intercultural Training, Vol.

II. New York: Pergamon Press.

Becker, E. (1962). 77:Je Birth and Death of Meaning. New York: Free Press, Brown, B. B. (1980). "Perspectives on SocialStress." In H. Selye (Ed.), Selye's Guide to Stress Research, Vol. 1,New York Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Ekman, P.(Summer 1976). "Movements with Precise Meanings ,"jounw.l of Communication, 26 34) '- Barna / Stumbling Blocks in InterculturalCommunication Ekman, P., and Friesen, \iZ (1969), "The Repertoire of Nonverbal Behavior -Categories, Origins, Us­ and Coding," Serniotica 1. Frankel, C. (1965). The Neglected Aspect of Foreign Affairs. Washington, D,C.: Brookings Institution. Gibb.].R (September 1961). "Defensive Communi­ cation." [ournal of Communication 2. Harrison, R(1966). "The Design of Cross-Cultural Training: AnAlternative to the University Model.' In Explorations in Human RelationsTraining and Research, Bethesda, MD: National Training Laboratories, NEA NO.2. Horn, J(Iune1980). "Vietnamese Immigrants: Do­ ingPoorly by Doing Well." Psychology Today. Keating, J.P.(1979). "Environmental Stressors: Mis­ placed Emphasis Crowding asStressor." In 1.G. Sarason and C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Stress and Anxiety, Vol. 6. Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere Publishing. Kim. Y Y (1991). "Intercultural Communication Competence: A Systems-Theoretic View," In S. Ting-Toomey, and F. Korzenny (Eds.), Cross­ CulturalInterpersonal Communication (Inter­ national and Intercultural Communication An­ nual, Vol. XV). Newbury Park, CA ..:SagePublica- tions, Inc. 't Lazarus, R. S, (November, 1979). "Positive Denial: The Case for Not Facing Reality." Psychology Today. Mead, M, (1960). "The Cultural Perspective," In Communication or Conflict. MaryCapes (Ed.), Associated Press. Oken, D, (1974), "Stress - Our Friend, Our Foe." In Blue Print for Health, Chicago: Blue Cross Association, Schachter, S., and Singer,]. E.(1962). "Cognitive, So­ cial and Physiological Determinants of Emo­ tionalState." Psychological Review 69, Selye, H, (September 1969). "Stress: It's a G,AS." Psy­ chology Today. Selye, H, (1974). Stress V?itbout Distress. New York: J.B. Lippincott. Selye, H. (1976). The Stress of Life, New York: McGraw-Hill. Selye,H, (March 1978), "On the Real Benefits of Eustress." Psychology Today. Sherif, C. W, Sherif, \xZ, and Nebergall, R(1965). At­ titude and Attitude Change. Philadelphia: \Xi': E, Saunders Co, stewart, C., and Bennett, M, (1991). An-zeri:c6'ln Cultural Patterns, Yarmouth, Maine: Inter­ cultural Press,Inc.

Tai, E, (1986). "Modification of the Western Ap­ proach to Intercultural Communication for the Japanese Context." Unpublished master's thesis, Portland StateUniversity, Portland, Oregon. Toffler, A. (1970). Future Shock. New York: Bantam Books. Ursin, H, (1978). "Activation, Coping and Psycho­ somatics." In E. Baade, S, Levine, and H. Ursin (Eds.), Psychobiology of Stress: AStudy of Coping Men. New York:Academic Press. 346 Chapter7Communicating lnterculturally:BecomingCompetent