Assignment5

Intercultural Interaction

Linda Dotson

Walden University

Part 1: Description of the Intercultural Interaction

The intercultural interaction that I engaged in and found it to be annoying was an introduction by my friend to his new Spanish neighbors. This interaction occurred when my friend was walking me home after I had visited him for a discussion. When my friend introduced me to his new neighbor, I was astonished by his method of greeting - the neighbor hugged and kissed me. I reacted to his method of greetings with a sequence of harsh questions as well with some few insults and with an enraged reaction. My assumption was that the neighbor may have taken me to be gay (not that I have anything against gays but I am not one) and hence the kisses. I was infuriated and didn’t give my friend’ neighbor a chance to answer back to the questions I had posed. My friend then cut me short and informed of his neighbor’s greeting culture from where he had come from – Spain. I then took back my statements and apologized to the neighbor.

Part 2: Situation Description using D-I-E Format

Statement of Description

I was introduced to my friend’s neighbor and he greeted me with hugs and kisses.

Statement of Interpretation

My interpretation of the interaction was that the neighbor was gay and by hugging and kissing me he was making a statement of liking me implying that I am also gay as per his interpretation.

Statement of Evaluation

I have no problem with people who choose to be gay as we live in a free country and world where each individual is entitled to their own choices – I included. Since I am not gay, I find it offensive when a person treats me as if I am – as this was my interpretation of the interaction.

The alternative interpretation learned from this activity is that from his neighbor’s culture, people greet each other with hugs and a kiss on the lip. The insight from the interaction and my reaction is that I reacted harshly to an innocent and welcoming gesture.

Part 3: Evaluation using BASIC Dimensions

Types of Communication Behavior	Description
Display of Respect	At first, I showed neither respect nor positive regard towards the neighbor’s greeting culture. After I was informed of the culture, I showed respect by apologizing to the neighbor.
Orientation to knowledge	From my experiences I have known that kisses from the same sex indicate being gay.
Empathy	At first, my reaction did not entail empathy at all. After I was enlightened on the culture, I showed empathy by apologizing for my initial reaction.
Interaction management	In my angered state, I was unable to manage the interaction in terms of turn taking.
Task role behavior	I was unable to initiate a problem solving approach activity- this was done by my friend.
Relational Behavior	I exhibited intrapersonal harmony by having a stand in the way I perceive myself. As per the mediation behavior, I was unable to come with a solution to the conflict in the interaction – my friend did that.
Tolerance for Ambiguity	I showed little tolerance of the ambiguous situation that arose from the interaction by showing my displeasure from the method of greeting.
Interaction posture	I responded in a judgmental and evaluative way to the neighbors cultural greeting.

The above BASIC evaluation reveals that I was not equipped to handle ambiguous cultural gestures especially when I saw them to be offensive. In addition, the evaluation has revealed my lack of patience in judging people – something I should work on for future intercultural interactions.

Part 4: Conclusion

This assignment has opened my eyes in the way I should look at interactions especially involving people from different cultures. I have understood that indeed there are more than one interpretations of an interaction and there is need to exercise patience, be non-judgmental, have conflict resolution skills as well as good interaction management skills for better intercultural interactions in the future – especially for an international job assignment.

References

Elo, M., Benjowsky, C., & Nummela, N. (2015). Intercultural competences and interaction schemes—Four forces regulating dyadic encounters in international business. Industrial Marketing Management, 48, 38-49.

Gareis, E., Goldman, J., & Merkin, R. (2018). Promoting intercultural friendship among college students. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 1-22.