Intro to culture

kmahussi91

Lesson3-UnderstandingOthers.pdf

Home >History homework help >American history homework help >Intro to culture

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 1/39

Understanding Others Lesson 3

SITUATIONAL JUDGMENT TEST

Read the SJT below and keep it in mind as you go through this lesson. When the lesson is complete, you will get a chance to respond to the questions and check your comprehension before taking the quiz. The SJT is a cumulative exercise that incorporates all lessons so far, so the response choices may also reference previous lessons.

Dierdre is an American worker in a developing country; she is also an avid animal lover and supporter of animal rights. Shortly after her arrival in country, Adan, a local co-worker, takes her out to see "the sights." Toward the middle of the day, he steers her to a small arena filled to the brim with people around a sandpit. When roosters are thrown into the middle of the arena and begin tearing at each other, Dierdre realizes this is a cock-fight. Horrified, she quickly retreats to the street. Adan follows her, asking what is wrong.

Dierdre accuses Adan and his culture of being uncivilized savages, then storms off to go home. Afterward, their work relationship becomes severely strained.

Questions

What is the root of the different reactions displayed by Dierdre and Adan regarding cock-fighting?

2 Whereas Adan considers this a sporting event, Dierdre considers it animal abuse. What explainsthe difference in how they categorize the same experience?

3 By calling Adan an uncivilized savage, Dierdre assigned to him an unflattering characteristic basedon her limited perception of one situation. What specific cultural barrier does this illustrate?

4 How did Dierdre's cultural schema interfere with her objectivity?

5 What strategies might be the best way to try and recover the relationship?

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 2/39

Introduction

In lesson 2 you read a short scenario about an Airman who was helping to improve a rural South American community and who saw himself as a Rescuer. The locals, however, had entirely different views of him!

As humans, we all form opinions and make judgments about other people based on their actions and behaviors and our own pre- existing, personally held ideas or stereotypes. Far too many times, especially in unfamiliar environments, our judgment tends to be too simplistic or wildly inaccurate because it is based on our limited personal or cultural schemas.

Our schemas are essential to successfully navigate our own culture, but can stand in the way of understanding or objectively learning about other cultures. This can make cross-cultural interactions humorous, exasperating, confusing, or even deadly.

In this lesson, we help you focus on strategies to effectively interact with others who are very different from you, in part by recognizing and overcoming the natural tendency to judge based on your own cultural schema.

We will go into more detail about what happens when different cultural schemas come into contact and most importantly, build your awareness of the impact that our individual cultures have on how we think, observe, and process information.

We will talk about what could go wrong in interactions and how to look out for behaviors that can undermine your success. Finally, we will delve again into the OODA Loop, improving your skills of observation and orientation to new situations, by breaking down some interactions step by step.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 3/39

All of this will give you a much stronger chance of effectively interacting with others, successfully accomplishing whatever mission or task is at hand, and ensuring positive, lasting results.

Lesson Objectives

It's important to keep Lesson Objectives in mind as you go through the rest of this lesson. All of your exam questions - and improved life skills - are built around understanding these objectives:

1. Explain how cultural schemas filter information and may interfere with objective observation.

2. Define and recognize ethnocentrism, attribution, and attribution error.

3. Identify concepts and strategies that help to overcome ethnocentrism and understand cultural Others.

4. Describe the mental processes that take place during the Observe and Orient phases of the Cultural OODA Loop (these are describe, categorize, compare, question, interpret).

5. Identify appropriate actions or sources of misunderstanding in a sample cross-cultural situation.

Understanding Others Improves Cross-Cultural Competence

Lesson 1 talked about the different definitions people have of "culture" and the way we use the term in this course. We also discussed the iceberg model of culture and how it represents the more visible and less visible elements of culture. You might ask, however, "How does just knowing the definition or seeing a model help me learn about other cultures or improve my cross-cultural competence?" Well, now you have a place to start.

The key is to remind yourself to look "below the surface." You are aware that common definitions of culture include "above the water" activities and artifacts like food, dancing, folk arts, music, performance, and celebrating traditions. They are more visible, and are things people are usually proud to show off, so they provide you with an entry into learning about that culture.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 4/39

Since you know people usually like to show you parts of their culture that are "above the surface," you can use those opportunities to deepen your cultural knowledge in areas that are usually "below the water." Such knowledge would include why people act or communicate a certain way, and how their beliefs and values are transmitted through the activities you can observe.

HERE is an example of how African Partnership Flight (APF) Rwanda 2019 entailed a series of multi- disciplinary courses and workshops which focused on various aspects of aviation safety. It also included a number of cultural exchanges and engagements which promoted goodwill through mutual interests. It took place in Kigali, Rwanda from 4-8 March, 2019 and was co-hosted by the U.S. Air Force and the Rwanda Defence Force.

Understanding others means learning how to build relationships, how to manage conflict, and how to communicate effectively in another cultural context. Our cultural schemas both help and hinder this process!

How Cultural Schemas Filter Information

You should remember from lessons 1 and 2 that your cultural schemas help you categorize and understand phenomena you encounter every day. They also help you decide how to act in particular situations. Schemas help you when you encounter both familiar and unfamiliar phenomena.

The examples we discussed in lesson 2 - the challenge coins and the concept of sharing - illustrated how your brain builds your schema in a familiar environment.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 5/39

It builds from the 'known' such as what a coin is, by bridging to the 'unknown' such as a colorful version of a coin specific to a military meaning.

Take a look at the image below. Who is this person? What can you assume from her outfit? What can you assume from where she is and what she is doing?

If this image offers you information that is new to you, such as the existence of a female lifeguard wearing what looks like Muslim clothing (as opposed to smaller swimsuits), then that bit of information was not in your schema before. It surprises or shocks you.

In terms of the Cultural OODA Loop, you have Observed a phenomenon, but now must successfully Orient it.

We often interpret things that surprise us or don't make sense to us as not normal, or undesirable or not making sense. In most cases, they simply aren't yet part of our cultural schemas, but they are part of other people's schemas. The people on the beach in Australia in the photo above have probably already seen a Muslim woman in a full-body lifeguard uniform. Muslim women lifeguards in special uniforms are already part of their schemas.

The following text explains a bit more about these groundbreaking women:

It's not just Germany that's getting creative in trying to integrate its Muslim population. The Australian state of New South Wales has launched a training initiative called "On the Same Wave" designed to integrate Australians of different ethnic backgrounds into its iconic Surf Live Saving program. Seventeen young Muslim men and women have graduated, after a rigorous, eight-week training course, to become Australia's first Muslim lifeguards. Women were encouraged to participate, and could wear the Islamic Council of Australia-approved "burqini," a full-body swimsuit that covers the hair. The suit was designed by a local fashion entrepreneur, Aheda Zanetti, and over 9,000 have been sold. Her label, Ahiida, offers "dynamic swimwear and sportswear for today's Muslim female."

It's heartening to think that Cronulla beach (south of central Sydney), the site of Australia's deeply disturbing race riots in December 2005, will be host to the first successful contingent of Australian Muslim lifesavers. [1]

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 6/39

Next we'll talk about what happens when your schema overlaps with others' schemas.

How Cultural Schemas Filter Information (continued)

Schema Overlap:

In lesson 2 we talked about shared schemas equating with a shared culture.

Another way to think of shared schemas is as overlapping schemas. Even though not everyone's schemas are exactly alike, most Americans share particular parts of the broader American macro-culture with a majority of people in our society. These shared elements give us the impression of sharing a common culture. We understand the woman in the first photo below is a lifeguard because of the colors she is wearing and the words on her uniform and surfboard, as well as the setting on the beach.

Those parts of the scene that are familiar to most Americans overlap with the schemas of the people on the beach for whom a Muslim female lifeguard in a special uniform is not new.

If you felt a bit of "culture shock" from the first photo, that was the part of your schema that didn't yet overlap with Australians' versions of lifeguards on a beach. The good news is that there was still some overlap!

What sort of impression do you think cultural Others form of Americans/American lifeguards when they see an image such as the one on the right above? Remember that they will interpret clothing and behavior from their cultural perspective, not from ours.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 7/39

Cultural schema differences can be cultural speed bumps; they slow us down, but they don't prevent us from proceeding. If you "Stop" at the known or familiar limits of your schema, you will limit your effectiveness in interacting with others.

In this simple example, that didn't happen! You were able to continue interpreting the photo even though you were slowed down by the image of something new. You would certainly be able to interact appropriately on that beach based on the original overlapping parts of your schemas, along with the new overlap created by the mental bridge you just made to a new image of 'lifeguard.'

Now apply this to a work situation or an unfamiliar cultural interaction. When encountering a conflict or obstruction that makes you feel frustrated, try to step back from your emotions and think in terms of building your schema.

Then you can continue to gather information, orient to the situation, and build relationships that will help you understand others.

How Cultural Schemas Filter Information (continued)

Categorization: The idea of overlapping schemas also dovetails nicely with the idea of Cultural Domains and helps understand another way our schemas filter information which is by categorization.

Whereas schema is your mental mechanism for comparing and categorizing, Cultural Domains are one tool you might use to begin your comparing and categorizing of something you are seeing. For instance, lifeguards on a beach might fall under the overarching domain of Sustenance & Health (protection of life). You were familiar with the idea of a person on the beach whose job it is to watch swimmers and prevent or overcome emergencies.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 8/39

That familiarity of the concept of lifeguards you used to interpret what you saw represented the presence of shared or overlapping schemas.

Lesson 1 showed the example of a religious school. All children need to be educated to be good members of their society, and that universal need to educate children provides an initial schema overlap - in other words, a similarity to your own culture. That particular overlap falls into the cultural domain of Learning & Knowledge. From there, we expand our understanding of others by looking at why this particular domain is expressed in the way it is in relationship with other domains, such as History, Resources, etc.

For example, in an area without much technological development or infrastructure, where people's livelihood depends on crops and livestock, a high emphasis on advanced mathematics in school may seem counterintuitive and unnecessary.

In a culture such as the United States, with advanced technological infrastructure and livelihoods that depend more and more on specific technological knowledge, emphasis on advanced math in school is understandable and highly desirable.

Therefore, if you observe a classroom where students are learning ways to gather, conserve, and use local water sources, you might be tempted to make a comment such as "These people might go further in life if they spent some time on simple math." That would be a failure to correctly categorize local environmental realities and priorities for daily living in that environment, and would be based on your personal schema.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 9/39

Challenge Coin Scenario

Click on the image to begin!

Note--the following activity may not work in all web browsers. If you see nothing after clicking, then try another browser.

1 What role did schema play in the conflict between Susan and her Aunt?

2 What could Susan have done differently to prevent the conflict?

3 What could Susan's Aunt have done differently to prevent the conflict?

4 What would you do in this situation?

In summary, you've learned your cultural schema filters information in different ways

from known to unknown or from recognizable to unrecognizable (sometimes resulting in a failure to

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 10/39

see)

via Self versus Other comparisons that may extend into good versus bad, normal versus unusual, etc.

through overlapping schemas with others in your culture. That same schema overlap is a good starting point for relating to cultural Others. However, schema overlap can also cause misunderstandings, conflicts, and incorrect categorizations if you assume too much commonality with others.

via Categorization

You can also see how the Cultural Domains can be used as a starting point for making those comparisons. All of these concepts relate closely to, or are part of, another way your cultural schema manifests itself and filters everything you see, do, and think. It is called Ethnocentrism.

Cultural Barriers

While cultural schema are cognitive structures that are universal to individuals in all cultures and an essential way humans navigate everyday life, they can be the source of problems, confusion, and even conflict when you apply your own cultural schemas to another culture. Our schema can in fact create Cultural Barriers that prevent or impede you from understanding and participating in another culture, which, ultimately, can interfere with mission success.

Common cultural barriers include:

1. 'Failure to see' 2. 'Self versus Other.' 3. Ethnocentrism 4. Stereotyping 5. Attribution Error

Failure to See:

An example of 'failure to see' is what you learned in lesson 1. Remember the Army soldiers and the little yellow boxes?

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 11/39

Because the yellow boxes were so foreign to the Americans' cultural schema, they managed to dismiss them from their thoughts entirely. One way our cultural schemas may filter information is by a total 'failure to see'.

Self versus Other:

Another way your cultural schema filters information is by thinking in terms of 'Self' and 'Other', which can also extend into ideas such as normal versus unusual, good versus bad, attractive versus ugly, etc. How many times have you heard about a behavior in a different culture and thought, "Wow, that's not normal," or "Ew, how can they do that?" We all do this, but we can learn to consciously notice our tendency to think in terms of 'Self' and 'Others.' Doing so will help us look at other cultures with more understanding and less judgment.

Ethnocentrism

Have you ever heard the term, "Arrogant American?" Do you really think Americans are all arrogant? Probably most people you know are not, but you can be almost certain they are ethnocentric! That's because all humans are ethnocentric, and without meaning any harm, we simply think 'our way' is best.

This is another way your cultural schema manifests itself and filters everything you see, do, and think.

Although it may seem like an easy thing to identify and overcome in yourself, ethnocentrism is reflexive, natural, and unconsciously exerted. It is very likely the usual source of the perception of "Arrogant American", and is a huge barrier to individual cross cultural competence.

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view your own culture as superior to all others, and to think of people's behaviors and beliefs in your own culture as "natural."

Other cultures and people seem to be less important in comparison, or uneducated, unnatural, or illogical in their behaviors and beliefs. When we observe other people and try to orient ourselves to a new environment, we often categorize other peoples' behaviors and beliefs as good or bad. This categorization often depends on how closely the other people seem to compare to our own cultural values and practices.

Ethnocentric thoughts are usually rooted in or focused on comparison to what we think is 'normal' or best.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 12/39

Here are examples of ethnocentric thoughts

"After we show them our air medical transport, they'll finally understand why they need one."

"If they put ice in their sodas, they would be more modern like us."

"They need to teach math in that school if they ever want to catch up in the world."

"Look at that idiot just digging a trench alongside the street!"

"Those poor women are so subjugated by being forced to wear those veils."

Ethnocentrism is a tendency that all people have. You cannot stop your initial reactions to any new experience or different culture, but you can recognize ethnocentrism and minimize its effects. Recognizing ethnocentrism when it happens to you will help you avoid the mistake of assuming everyone thinks like an American and shares the same values. We can more accurately calibrate our opinions and judgments about other cultures through careful observation, orientation, and reflection. Later in this lesson, you will do just that.

Ethnocentrism in Action : Stereotyping and Attribution Error

Ethnocentrism is a natural extension of the 'Self' versus 'Other' way we categorize people in our world. As you learned in lesson 2, your concepts of self and other can be a source of pride (as with a sports team, or your nationality), but they can also lead to stereotyping (to assume that all people or things that share a certain characteristic are the same in all other ways).

Frequently in U.S. society, we hear negative stereotypes based on people's ethnicity/heritage, body size, hair color, skin color, socio-economic status, etc. The connotations generally associate these characteristics with negative attributes such laziness, stupidity, or greed, to name a few.

Stereotyping within your own familiar culture is bad enough and can cause hurt feelings and lost opportunities. Stereotyping in a foreign culture can have the same impact and more. It will interfere with your ability to objectively observe and effectively orient; in addition to your overall cross- cultural competence.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 13/39

Cultural Log exercise 3.1 — Stereotypes

Click on the video below. It brings up issues of stereotypes about Asians and Asian-Americans. The video shows that stereotypes can range from very subtle to very obvious.

Next, complete the following worksheet which you can download or print and use to record your responses for future reference.

To reveal our picks, scroll down.

After asking an Asian what stereotypes about Asians bother them the most, have them suggest their least favorite stereotypes before you talk about the ones you saw. How close were you in your continuum?

One way to overcome stereotyping others is to build awareness through Observation and Orientation skills. Another way is to reflect on what you have said and done in any cross-cultural situation, and identify any tendencies toward stereotyping.

Attribution

Attribution is similar to stereotyping but more judgmental and based more on your personal reasoning or perceptions. Attribution means simply

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 14/39

assigning a characteristic or a motive to a person or people based on your interpretation of something they say or do.

For instance, you might be driving down a busy road, and observe someone driving too slowly and blocking traffic. You think "Stop texting and drive, you jerk!" You are attributing rudeness or stupidity as the reason the person is driving too slowly. When you finally get the opportunity to go around the driver, you see that it is a little old lady who can barely see over the wheel. You may be just as annoyed, but you realize there is an entirely different reason she is driving so slowly. Your original attribution was incorrect. This is called Attribution Error--a very common cause of intercultural and interpersonal misunderstandings!

Consider arguments you've had with a significant other. How many were based on the 'wrong idea' about something they or you said or did!

Attribution errors may occur from relying on your own cultural perspective or your own opinion, to include popular stereotypes, rather than on a process of observation and orientation to the culture or circumstances you are in.

Whereas attribution may assign a characteristic to a person or group, stereotypes are usually based on characteristics, such as appearance or nationality. However, Stereotypes become a kind of attribution when we take popular beliefs (not necessarily true) about a group of people and use them as if they were true. Stereotypes are based on a simplified view of the target group, and are usually negative or hurtful. The map below is a good example. It is intended to be humorous, but the people in those countries might not think the stereotypes used are very funny.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 15/39

Attribution Error

Let's take a look at some actual examples of Attribution Error made by American military personnel. All of these statements assign characteristics to a whole group of people based on limited interactions with a few people, and without considering differences in cultural perspectives. After reading the statement, rollover the associated image for cultural perspectives.

Roll your cursor over the bottom of the images below and you should see an explanation pop up.

"Afghans are lazy. They don't want to do anything for themselves."

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 16/39

"Africans always lie and I can't believe anything they say."

"You know they're all gay because the guys dance with guys, and the girls dance with girls!"

If the rollover feature does not work scroll down below.

All of the various cultural values and practices listed in these examples will be covered in depth in future lessons. As we move forward in this lesson we will consider some strategies for overcoming ethnocentrism, along with our tendencies to attribute and stereotype.

But first, let's check what we've learned so far.

Knowledge Check

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 17/39

Now let's reflect on what we've covered so far and how it applies to our opening SJT.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers

You cannot prevent ethnocentric reactions from occurring. However, you can recognize them for what they are, and then mitigate them by using tools you've learned (e.g., OODA Loop, cultural domains, and Iceberg model), along with the methods we'll talk about next. These following methods will directly improve your Observing, Orienting, Decisions and Actions in unfamiliar cultures.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 18/39

Strategies to counter cultural barriers

Suspend Emotion

Avoid Stereotyping and Attribution

Perspective Taking

Withhold Judgment

Ask Questions / Seek Alternative Explanations

Reflect on experiences and outcomes

Suspend Emotion

Suspending emotion can be difficult, but becoming angry or upset interferes with your objectivity. Sometimes you cannot avoid being shocked or surprised. You know yourself best - do your best to remain alert. When you feel your emotions rising, grab hold and keep control!

Avoid Stereotyping and Attribution

Even if it presents a positive picture of something, stereotyping could block out closer consideration or relevant factors in a situation. A quick attribution without consideration of the local environment, culture, or background of the person you are attributing to, may also preclude closer consideration of relevant factors and could hinder your use of the remaining strategies. Both of these practices are based on personal or cultural schema and involve very little, if any, thought. Avoid these quick and thoughtless practices by carefully keeping your mind on what you observe (see, hear, feel) and not thinking about whether it is good or bad.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers (continued)

Perspective Taking

This is probably the one skill that will most lead to improved interpretations and better understandings of people you are dealing with.

Being able to "walk a mile in another's shoes" is a recommendation most of us have heard since childhood: try to put yourself in another person's situation and ask yourself what you would do. Taking others' perspectives in cross-cultural situations requires being observant and open to new information, and being aware of our own culture's influences on our perception. A key idea here is that sometimes a person's behavior can only be understood or interpreted in terms of that person's culture.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 19/39

Perspective-taking recognizes that behavior that seems to make no sense to an outsider, yet is considered normal within a culture has some kind of valid basis generally involving human adaptation to circumstances or environment such as location, resources, religion, political structure, belief systems, or kinship patterns to name a few. What may seem blatantly wrong in one culture, may be viewed entirely differently in another. For example, in American culture making a commitment to do something when you know full well you cannot do it is considered lying and is a bad thing. In cultures where respect for status, 'saving face,' or harmonious relationships are valued, it is not considered lying, but is viewed as protecting or living up to a reputation, or maintaining harmony. This is where the idea of context is critical, and that's talked about that in a later lesson. Understanding this makes it easier to think of unfamiliar cultures as simply different and not necessarily inferior.

It's important to note that perspective-taking does not equate to accepting or agreeing with foreign cultural practices; does not imply that "anything goes" and nothing can be condemned; or to say that ethnocentrism is always bad! There is no reason we can't try to understand other cultures in their own terms while still believing that our own culture is preferable.

For example, anyone who knows that Middle Easterners find the "thumbs up" sign offensive can simply say the local equivalent of "okay" instead. Similarly, someone who finds themselves in a culture that values humility and subtle communication styles (most Asian cultures) might think twice before speaking too highly of their own successes or abilities. Such a person does not sacrifice any of his cultural values or beliefs but still prevents a potential misunderstanding by considering how people from another culture view his behavior.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers (continued)

Withholding Judgment

Being able to withhold judgment is something we are taught during one of our most important activities as voting citizens: jury duty.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 20/39

Prior to being selected, potential jurors are quizzed on their preconceptions, as well as their ability to postpone judgment of the defendant until they hear the evidence. Withholding judgment in a cross-cultural situation that seems strange, offensive, or incomprehensible requires focusing on orienting to new information that is from as objective a position as possible. When you take a view that is more clinical, reflective, or objective, you can then consider possible alternatives and explanations beyond our first impression.

This transformation can support the development of cross-cultural interactions on an individual level, break down negative stereotypes, and improve chances of mission success in all types of operations - conflict, post-conflict, stability, humanitarian relief, counter-insurgency, or partnership building.

Notice this description did not say you should give up your values, or that you should never pass judgment.

Ask Questions / Seek Alternative Explanations

This topic should sound familiar from your previous lessons on the OODA Loop! Later in this lesson, you will go through an OODA Loop exercise and 'load up' with questions for data gathering.

The questions guide you in noting the context of the situation, location, participants, and other empirical data. You can question yourself, question your peers, or question the locals, and in any case, questioning will naturally lead to alternative explanations. For an initial introduction to this strategy, however, let's consider one of our examples from earlier in the lesson.

Recall this statement: "After we show them our air medical transport, they'll finally understand why they need one."

This was an actual assumption of a military medical team deployed to a small, mountainous, landlocked country in Central Europe. With the difficulty of moving quickly over mountain roads to get to a hospital, it only made sense to the American team that air transport would be invaluable. However, while the Europeans politely listened to an American presentation of all the technological wizardry along with facts about the timeliness and safety of air transport for battle injured people, the Europeans simply could not be convinced of the need. Upon further questioning, observation, and openness to alternative ideas, the Americans realized why.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 21/39

First of all, the mountains themselves partially negated the availability of airstrips, which of course, limits the reach of the air transport aircraft.

Secondly, the few hospitals in the country, were not especially well equipped. Finally, the European military medical team had something of their own that was even more impressive - and useful in this case - than the American air medical transport. What looked at first glance like a large ambulance was actually a mobile hospital, capable of providing surgery and medical care far surpassing that of the air medical transport unit. Battle injuries could be surgically and otherwise treated on location, and subsequent transport was then not so time critical.

When you consider the environment and the resources, this is a good example of how human culture evolves and adapts in different ways to different circumstances.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers (continued)

Reflect on Experiences and Outcomes

After the experience in the previous example, think about it at a meta level.

Try to envision how your brain 'worked.' Identify where your cultural schema led you to assume, behave, or speak in a way that may have been culturally offensive, dismissive, patronizing, inappropriate, or misguided.

Can you see how the American medical team's cultural perspectives affected their initial orientation (or lack of) to their environment?

By now in this lesson, you've seen the impact schema has on how you interpret, process information, and orient to your surroundings. You've also learned about things that can go wrong, such as failure to "see" information and failure to categorize it according to local people's perspectives. Whereas schema and ethnocentrism help you operate more 'automatically' in your own culture, they can be potential barriers to successfully operating in a new or unfamiliar culture.

This lesson spotlighted the 12 Cultural Domains to jog your memory about using domains as an initial tool to seek similarities in unfamiliar environments or circumstances. Another tool you'll see again is the OODA Loop. The OODA Loop as originally envisioned by Col Boyd is meant to be a decision-making tool, but its processes also are equally useful for building and expanding schemas through observation, orientation, decision, action, and reflection. First, let's check your understanding so far!

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 22/39

How Does the OODA Loop Help?

Recall from lesson 1, the OODA Loop involves taking mental processes - especially Observing and Orienting - that usually occur naturally, and performing them more mindfully. Deliberately working through the OODA Loop helps to overcome the limits of your own familiar schema and focus on whatever current environment or situation you're in. All of the strategies for recognizing and overcoming ethnocentrism you read relate to the OODA loop. As you go through the loop, recall the strategies and see where they align.

In preparation for the following Cultural Log Exercise, consider the people and artifacts you see while walking a street of a foreign country.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 23/39

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 24/39

Cultural Log Exercise 3.2: Observation

This Cultural Log Exercise tests your observation skills. From the images above, perform the following tasks:

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 25/39

1 Identify the kinds of people you see in these photos

2 Describe the activities you see happening (even if you're not sure what's going on)

3 Capture any information about the setting or location

4 Go on to the next page

Here is this same exercise below which you can download or print and use to record your responses for future reference.

Cultural Log Exercise 3.2: Follow-Up

1 2 3 4

Take a moment to reflect on what you wrote. You may have thought:

Already, your cultural schema is acting on your behalf. You likely recognized the following elements of the scene by extrapolating from your own experience:

These scenes were photographed at the Jamilla Market in Sadr City,

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 26/39

shop

shopkeeper

customer

money

products

safety vest

Baghdad, Iraq. Did you recognize the scenes as a marketplace? The answer is probably yes. If not, what did you think was happening, and why?

Here's what's going on behind the scenes. During this exercise of looking at the photos, your brain naturally sifted through the images you saw, filtered the information according to what it recognized or not, and then allowed you to make certain assumptions or conclusions.

This process is evidence of your cultural schemas hard at work.

In this lesson, the Cultural OODA Loop is used to help examine and improve upon your method of receiving information and making conclusions.

The OODA Loop: Observing

In Lesson 1, you learned that in the Observing phase of the OODA Loop, you gather information, identify people and activities, note the cultural context, and remind yourself of previous similar experiences.

Compare this to the strategies listed earlier for overcoming Ethnocentrism:

Suspend Emotion Avoid Stereotyping and Attributing Perspective Taking Withhold Judgment Ask Questions / Seek Alternative Explanations Reflect on experiences and outcome

Can you see where these strategies can assist you?

Let's talk about your own observation skills, and how to improve them. How can you become a better, more objective observer?

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 27/39

Once again, here are the four images you saw previously. What did you write in your cultural log about who and what you observed?

Here's a tool for developing better skills of observation, called, "What Do You See?" Follow the steps below to practice your skills:

STEP WHAT TO DO

1 Open the Scene and Event Interpretation Tool, Part 1 (Observe) and fill in the blanks based on the photos above.

Go to the next page to download the Tool.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 28/39

2 Post your observations on the student discussion board in the Lesson 3 folder, and read other students' observations to see how yours are similar and different.

a. Were you able to describe the scenes as objectively as possible?

b. Did you describe parts of the photos that didn't immediately catch your attention when you first looked at them?

3 Rate other students' posts for their objectivity and quality of description.

Scene and Event Interpretation Tool Part 1

Does this Scene and Observation Tool remind you of anything you've seen in your military training?

Roll over for the answer.

If your rollover doesn't work, scroll down.

Bottom Line: By asking these types of in-depth questions and noting details as objectively as possible, you can sharpen your skills of observation. With all possible details in mind, you may have better success orienting the information you observed, in terms of the culture you are in.

Now that we've practiced our Observation skills, let's move on to Orienting.

The OODA Loop: Orienting

In Lesson 1, you learned in the Orient phase of the OODA Loop, you should consciously override your natural orienting process to mindfully compare information, organize information into cultural domains, make preliminary assumptions, and develop alternatives for next steps.

Compare that to the strategies listed in this lesson for overcoming Ethnocentrism:

Suspend Emotion Avoid Stereotyping and Attributing Perspective Taking Withhold Judgment

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 29/39

Ask Questions / Seek Alternative Explanations Reflect on experiences and outcomes

Can you see where these strategies will assist you?

Here are examples for each important behavior in the Orient phase:

We take our shoes off when we go into our house, but we don't have a cupboard for them." = comparing similarities and differences between cultures.

"Oh, that was a religious symbol." = categorizing, classifying, and making use of data. Simply identifying cultural universals from information specific to one group is a very important type of classification.

"That religious symbol is similar to the one I saw on the side of a building yesterday, but this is a Sunni neighborhood and that was a Shia neighborhood. Does that mean these symbols are part of Islam in general? = synthesizing, consolidating, and restating information for yourself in an understandable framework, such as relating it to one of the domains of culture. Also present in this example is formulating questions to gain more information.

"What a beautiful dance they were performing! It reminds me of a visit to Mexico years ago." = making connections with past experience.

"That man was very rude to me, but most people I have met here are very polite. It might be his individual personality, but I should check to make sure I didn't offend him somehow." = identifying other possible interpretations.

"How can I use this information to better understand local people's motives and values?" = applying information to your mission.

"I have noticed that every time I ask a personal question like, 'How is your family?' people seem uneasy. Maybe I'd better talk about the weather." = developing alternative courses of action.

Next, you'll try your hand at orienting.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 30/39

How can you orient better to an unfamiliar situation?

Here are the four photos you saw earlier in this lesson:

Use the second part of the "What Do You See?" tool to practice your orienting skills:

Open the Scene and Event Interpretation Tool, Part 2 (Orient) and fill in the blanks based on your interpretation of the photos above.

You can view and download it on the next page.

Ask yourself these questions:

How much did your responses to Part 1 (Observe) actually included Orienting thoughts? Did you notice your cultural schemas at work? What did you compare the scenes to your own experience? What assumptions and judgments did you make? What questions did you ask yourself? What questions would you ask others to find out more?

Congratulations! All of these are orienting thoughts!

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 31/39

Scene and Event Interpretation Tool Part 2

The OODA Loop: Deciding

Decision-making in a cross cultural context could lead either to action, or to a particular mental state or mind, such as an opinion formed on the basis of information observed and gathered and the orientation to the data. In the Decide phase, you weigh your options and interpretations and choose to move forward with one. These are examples of decisions made in this phase:

Question your assumptions and decide to re-orient to the information Settle on an interpretation of what's going on Think of how to deal with the situation Estimate what behavior is appropriate in the situation Choose to gather more information before moving forward

As noted previously, Deciding means not only choosing one course of action, but "repeatedly deciding what to do next—Observe more information, do further Orientation or take Action."[2]

This is the part of OODA Loop that most people consciously perform. You might even discuss your interpretation of events and how to move forward with your colleagues. Observing and Orienting often happen without us even realizing it. However, if you have more consciously Observed and Oriented, then you can be more sure of the appropriateness of your Decisions.

The OODA Loop: Acting

The Act phase of the OODA Loop is the testing ground. This is where you get to apply your observations, interpretations, and decisions to the situation at hand.

Actions also include reflection. We all evaluate what we've done after we've done it. Incorporating this behavior into more focused OODA Loop application means making a point to review our actions as they relate to the local cultural context.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 32/39

When you review what you've done, you are likely to identify areas where you could have improved, whether in observations, orientation, etc. This new knowledge stays with you the next time you come to a similar situation. Hopefully, you will observe and orient to aspects of the situation that will make the outcome more favorable to you. Automatically, you are back to Observing and Orienting, which is how you learn and build your schemas.

Paying more attention to your voyage through the OODA Loop will make you a more conscious learner.

What could go wrong?

In the Deciding and Acting phases of the OODA Loop, we use the information gathered and analyzed in the first two phases to decide on the best course of action in a situation and enact that decision. These phases apply our knowledge and reinforce how well, or how poorly, we have observed and oriented.

Therefore, our decisions and actions rely on being good observers and being able to orient to new situations. Mistakes can happen at any phase of the OODA process. In particular, we often commit two kinds of errors in the Observe and Orient phases, which we alluded to earlier in this lesson:

1 we miss important cultural information ("failure to see")

2 we classify and orient (or categorize) information incorrectly (using our own personal schema,or not taking into account your current environment and culture

Both of these errors lead to an absence of cultural information when it comes to Deciding and Acting such as what we saw with the image of the little yellow boxes on an Iraqi street earlier.

Because of the Americans' "failure to see" (due to no relatable cultural relevance), they easily overlooked, and therefore did not properly classify and orient a significant piece of information (the importance of the boxes). We also saw this in the example of the medical transport, where Americans did not

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 33/39

take into account the small European country's location and environment, when earnestly trying to sell the Europeans on the merits of their medical transport.

Without appropriate information, you lack the ability to effectively Orient to the situation. How can you interpret something you have already overlooked? Following the steps of the OODA Loop can help lessen those problems and set you up for success in future interactions.

Bottom Line Benefits of Using the OODA Loop:

1) You will pay attention to what and how you observe. You will consciously remember that your observations and reactions are influenced by your cultural schema, and that others' actions are similarly influenced. In addition, thinking in terms of building your schema (instead of going with your first reaction) and the 12 domains of culture, will help you better determine and identify what you're observing. Make a note of any times you realize you missed important information and why you did so.

Without this type of knowledge, when you are Orienting, you could make incorrect associations. That means you might:

misinterpret the situation based solely on your own cultural perspective fail to acknowledge that your perspective is influenced by your culture, or fail to associate the new data with what you already know, because you didn't identify similarities and differences between your culture and the other culture.

2) You will pay attention to how you orient to any situation, how you categorize events, people, and behaviors that are new to you.

What Will You Do Next?

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 34/39

When you find yourself trying to operate in and build your knowledge of a foreign culture, take note of situations that you think you can learn from, especially if you feel it did not go particularly well. Think about the incident immediately after it. It's a good idea to write down what happened as soon as you can. It doesn't have to be long! Keeping your ideas in a log will help!

After you record it, separate your mind from the incident. Forget about it for a while, if possible for the rest of the day or even longer. Later, the next day or the next week, go back to what you have written. Identify places where your cultural schema shows through in what you wrote. Particularly note when you realize you missed important information and why you did so. In addition, take note of when you realized you misinterpreted information and why you think you did so.

Questions to ask yourself

How did your cultural perspective affect your observations and orientation?

Did you make any assumptions about the local context that turned out to be either accurate or wrong?

Did you assign any stereotypes to people?

If you see judgments in what you wrote, revise or remove, and you end up with only your objective observations. Was there anything you missed?

Now ask trusted local people your questions, or ask other Airman who have had more cross-cultural experiences in that location.

The beauty of the OODA Loop is that it is a LOOP! Retracing your steps will assist you to identify what mistakes have occurred and how to improve next time.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 35/39

Practice Practice Practice!

Skills for objectively observing and orienting require practice. Like any skill, recognizing and moving beyond stereotypes and ethnocentric judgment requires practice. The two most important skills you will gain by using the steps of the OODA loop – which were also strategies listed for recognizing and overcoming ethnocentrism - are perspective-taking and withholding judgment.

Practice your skills of observation and orientation using the tools we've provided in this lesson. Those questions guide you in noting the context of the situation, location, participants, and other empirical data, and of course you can modify them to fit your needs. Add your own questions and categories. Doing so will improve your ability to interpret situations more objectively, from multiple points of view.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, we revisited cultural schemas and the OODA Loop in more depth. We recalled the Iceberg model and the Cultural Domains framework, and illustrated their usefulness in building your cross-cultural skillset.

For another look at the cultural Iceberg model you learned about earlier, solve this optional jigsaw puzzle.

You also learned about possible cultural barriers, including, "failure to see," " Self vs. Other," ethnocentrism, stereotyping and attribution error, as well as some strategies to overcome these barriers and avoid making negative interpretations based on limited information.

Some of the key ideas we covered include:

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 36/39

Our cultural schemas and the natural tendency to be ethnocentric are essential to successfully navigate our own culture, but can hinder our understanding or objectively learning about other cultures.

To understand others, it is imperative to recognize how our (and Others') schemas impact our (and their) perceptions, decisions, reactions, and interpretations.

Usually a person's behavior can only be understood or interpreted in terms of that person's culture. If something strikes you as nonsensical, offensive, or just plain stupid, stop to consider it may actually have a valid basis of some kind. This generally involves human adaptation to circumstances or environment such as location, resources, religion, political structure, belief systems, or kinship patterns to name a few. However, making an attempt to understand others does not mean you must accept or adopt practices that are harmful or that violate your own values.

By improving your Observation and Orientation skills, you will naturally improve your decision-making and interpretation abilities in unfamiliar cultures. Like any skill, you MUST practice to improve! Seize on opportunities to do this in your daily activities.

Without appropriate information, you will likely lack the ability to effectively manage a situation. How can you interpret something you have already overlooked, and how appropriate will your decisions and actions be if they are based on misinterpretation?

Together, these topics make up a picture of how you mentally move through the OODA Loop framework and the pitfalls you may find along the way. It's important to remember that all of these processes are "wired" to produce certain responses in our brains because we usually live according to our own culture's rules.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 37/39

When we venture into other cultures, our schemas, assumptions, and decisions don't always fit into the local culture's rules.

This lesson showed you how paying attention to the processes of the OODA Loop can help you make better observations, orient better to any situation, improve your decision-making skills, and implement more effective actions.

At this point, you should be comfortable with your knowledge of this lesson's objectives. As a reminder, they are listed below:

1. Explain how cultural schemas filter information and may interfere with objective observation.

2. Define ethnocentrism, attribution, and attribution error.

3. Comprehend concepts and strategies that help to overcome ethnocentrism and understand cultural Others.

4. Detail the mental processes that take place during the Observe and Orient phases of the Cultural OODA Loop (these are describe, categorize, compare, question, interpret).

5. Identify appropriate actions or sources of misunderstanding in a sample cross-cultural situation.

Before you exit the lesson, complete the Situational Judgment Test on the next page to practice applying some of these concepts to a cross-cultural scenario.

SITUATIONAL JUDGMENT TEST

As previously discussed, a situational judgement test (SJT) is a learning scenario that puts you in the shoes of a person encountering a difficult choice. Your task is to choose the best possible response among those

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 38/39

offered. The best possible response should relate to the cross-cultural course material and your knowledge as an Airman.

This SJT is a cumulative exercise that incorporates all lessons so far, so the response choices may also reference previous lessons. Because this SJT can be applied to so many foundational concepts from the first three lessons, take sufficient time to really understand the answer choices. The exams, test questions, and graded assignments change from time to time, but you may see this exact SJT again with very similar questions - not identical - to the ones you see here.

10/17/21, 10:07 PM Understanding Others

https://rustici.au.af.edu/courses/26263/20210920T172155_Lesson_3_sco2004/Lesson_3_print.html 39/39

After having some time to mentally process the experience, Dierdre knows she has made a grave cultural blunder. Although she will never believe that forcing animals to fight each other is anything but cruel, she knows she must try to repair the relationship for the sake of working together more effectively.

Congratulations! You are now ready to move on!

References

Lesson 3 Endnotes

1. http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2007/03/08/the_first_aussie_muslim_lifeguards

2. Ullman, David G. 2005. "OO-OO-OO!" the Sound of a Broken OODA Loop. Robust Decisions, Inc. available here