Comm assignment

Stumbling Intercultural Communication ,LARAY 1\1. BARNA

Why is it that contact with persons from other cul- tures so often is frustrating and fraught with misun- derstanding? Good intentions, the use of what one considers to be a friendly approach, and even the possibility of mutual benefits don't seem to be suffi- cient - to many people's surprise. A worse scenario is when rejection occurs just because the group to which a person belongs is "different." It's appropri- ate at this time of major changes in the international scene to take a hard look at S0111e of the reasons for this, New proximity and new types of relationships are presenting cornmurucation challenges that few people are ready to meet.

THE SIX STUMBLING BLOCKS

I. Assumption of Similarities

One answer to the question of why misunderstand- ing and/or rejection occurs is that 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 they over- look the fact that the forms of adaptation to these

Thisoriginal essay has been prepared especially for this book. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint must be obtained from the author and the publisher. Professor Barna is Associ- ate Professor Emerita at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.

common biological and social needs and the beliefs, and attitudes surrounding them are vastly different from culture to culture. 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 just make the kind of impression we want to make,

Another reason many people are lured into thinking that "people are people" is that it reduces the discomfort of dealing with difference. If some- one acts or looks "strange;' (different from them) it's then possible to evaluate this as "wrong" and treat everyone ethnocentrically.

The assumption of similarity does not often ex- tend to the expectation of a COn11TlOn verbal lan- guage but it does interfere with caution in decoding nonverbal symbols, signs, and signals. No C1'085- cultural studies have proven the existence of a corn- man nonverbal language except those in support of Darwin's theory that facial expressions are univer- sal.' Ekman (1976) found that "the particular visible pattern. on the face, the combination of muscles con- tracted for anger, 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's cultural upbringing determines whether or not the emotion will be displayed or suppressed, as well as on which occasions and to what degree (Ek- man & Friesen, 1969, p. 1). The situations that bring about the emotional feeling also differ from culture to culture; for example the death of a loved one may be a cause for joy, sorrow, or some other emotion, depending upon the accepted cultural belief.

Since there seem to be no universals or "human nature" that can be used as a basis for automatic un- derstanding, we must treat each 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 realize that we are all culture bound and culturally modified, we will accept the fact that, being unlike, we do not really know what someone else 'is.' This is another way to view the 'people are people' idea. We now have to find a way

Barna! Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication 337 Barna, L.M. (1994). "Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural

Communication." In L.Ap Samovar and R.E. Porter, Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 7th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. (pp.337-346).

338 Chapter 7 Communicating Interculrurally. Becoming Competent

to sort out the cultural modifiers in each separate encounter to find similarity'?

Persons from the United States seem to hold this assumption of similarity more strongly than some other cultures. The Japanese, for example, have the reverse belief that they are distinctively different from the rest of the world. This notion brings inter- cultural communication problems of its own. Ex- pecting no similarities they work hard to figure out the foreign stranger but-dorioiexpect foreigners to be able to understand them. This results in exclu- sionaryattitudes and only passive efforts toward mu- tual understanding (Tail 1986, pp. 45-47).

As \X/estern trappings permeate more and more of the world the illusion of similarity increases. A look-alike facade deceives representatives from contrasting cultures when each wears Western dress, speaks English, and uses similar greeting rit- uals. It is like assuming that New York, Tokyo, and Tehran are all alike 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 for functioning, 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 will take a long time of nonmsu- lated living in a new culture (not in an enclave ofhis or her own kind) before he or she can be jarred i11[O- a new perceptual and nonevaluative thinking.

The confidence that comes with the myth ofsim- ilarity is much stronger than with the assumption of differences, the latter requiring tentative assump- tions and behaviors and a willingness to accept the anxiety of "not knowing." Only with the assumption of differences, however, can reactions and inter- pretations be adjusted to fit "what's happening." Without it someone is likely to misread signs and symbols and judge the scene ethnocentrically.

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 into contact. The native inhabitants are likely to be lulled into the expecta- tion that, since the foreign person is dressed 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 a foreigner will probably be confidently interpreted by straightfor- ward, friendly Americans as meaning that they have informed, helped, and pleased the newcomer. It is likely, however, that the foreigner actually under- stood very little of the verbal and nonverbal content gJ:"ld was merely indicating polite interest or trying not to embarrass himself or herself or the host with verbalized questions. The conversation may even have confirmed a stereotype that Americans 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, for example, 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 they believe 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 is also a good place to test whether one common nonverbal behavior) the smile, is actually the universal sign people asSU111e it to be. The following enlightening comments came from international students newly arrived in the United States."

Japanese student: On my way to and from school I have received a smile by non-acquaintance Amen- can girls several times. I have finally learned they have no interest for me; it means only a kind of greeting to a foreigner. If S0111eone srniles at a stranger in Japan, especially a girl, she can assume he is either a sexual maniac or an impolite person.

Korean student: An American visited rne in my country for one week. His inference was that people in Korea are not very friendly because they didn'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 at strangers.

Arabic student: When I walked. around the campus my first day many people smiled at me. I was very embarrassed and rushed to the men's roomto see if I had made a mistake with my clothes. But I could 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 that Americans are superficial- and they are, some Americans even recognize this - is that they talk and smile too much. For peo- ple 'who come from placid cultures where nonver- bal language is more used, arid where a silence, a smile, a glance have their own meaning, it is true that Americans speak a lot. The superficiality of Americans carl also be detected in their relations with others. Their friendships are, most of the time) so ephemeral compared to the friendships we have at home. Americans make friends very easily and leave their friends almost as quickly, while in my country it takes a long time to find out a possible 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: I was waiting for my husband on a downtown corner when a man with a baby 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 a father I smiled at him. Immediately I realized I did the wrong thing as he stopped, looked me over from head to toe and said, "Are you waiting for 111e? You meet me later?" Apparently I had acted as a pros- titute would in his country.

us. student: In general it seems to me that foreign people are not necessarily snobs but are very un- friendly. Some class members have told me that you shouldn't smile at others while passing them by on the street in their country. Tome I can't stop smiling. It's just natural to be smiling and friendly. I can see now why so many foreign people stick together. They are impossible to get to know. It's like the Americans are big bad wolves. How do Americaps; break this barrier? I want friends from all over the world but how do you start to be friends without offending them or scaring them off -like sheep?"

The discussion thus far threatens the popular ex- pectation that increased contact with representa- tives of diverse cultures through travel, student ex- change programs, joint business ventures, and so on will automatically result in better understanding and friendship. Indeed, tests of that assumption have been disappointing." For example, research found that Vietnamese immigrants who speak En- glish well and have the best jobs are suffering the most from psychosomatic complaints and mental problems and. are less optimistic about the future than their counterparts who remain in ethnic en- claves without attempting to adjust to their new homeland. One explanation given is that these per- sons, unlike the less acculturated immigrants, "spend considerable time in the mainstream of soci- ety, regularly facing the challenges and stresses of dealing with American attitudes" (Horn, 1980, pp. 103-104).

After 24 years of listening to conversations 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, is inclined to agree with Charles Frankel (1965) who says, "Tensions exist within nations and be- tween nations that never would have existed were these nations not in such intensive cultural cornmu- nication with one another" (p. 1). Recent world events have proven this to be true.

From a communicative perspective it doesn't have to be that way.Just as more opportunities now exist for cross-cultural contact so does more infor- mation about how to meet this challenge. There are

Barna I Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication 339

more orientation and training programs around the country, more courses in intercultural comrnunica- tion in educational institutions, and more published material." Until-persons can squarely face theakelt- hood of meeting up with difference and rnisunder- standing, however, they will not be motivated to take advantage of these resources.

Many potential travelers who do try to prepare for out-of-country travel (for business conferences, government negotiations, study tours, or whatever) might gather infonnation about the customs of the other country and a smattering of the language, Be- haviors and attitudes of its people are sometimes researched, but necessarily from a secondhand source, such as a friend who has "been there." Ex- perts realize that information gained in this fashion is general, seldom sufficient, and may or may not be applicable to the specific situation and area that the traveler visits. Also, knowing "what to expect" often blinds the observer to all but what confirms his or her image. Any contradictory evidence that does fil- ter through the screens of preconception is likely to... be treated as an exception ~U1d thus discounted,

A better approach is to begin by studying the his- tory, political structure, art, literature, and language of the country if time permits. This provides a frame- work for on-site observations, Even more important ls to develop an investigation, nonjudgmental atti- tude, and a high tolerance for ambiguity - all of which require lowered defenses. Margaret Mead (1960) suggests sensitizing persons to the kinds of things that need co be taken into account instead of developing behavior and attitude stereotypes. She reasons that there are individual differences in each encounter and that changes occur regularly in cul- tural patterns, making research information obsolete.

Stewart and Bennett (1991) also warn against providing lists of "do's and don'ts" for travelers for several reasons, mainly that behavior is ambiguous; 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 the assumptions and values on which their own behavior rests. This can then be compared with what is found 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 this article will examine some of the variables of the intercultural ccmmunication process itself and point out danger zones therein. The first stumbling block has already been dis- cussed at length, the hazard of assuming similarity instead ofdifference. A second 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 being in trouble.

A worse 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. The infinite variations possi- ble, especially if inflection and tonal qualities are present, are so difficult to cope with that they are often waved aside, This complacency will sto-p a search for understanding, The nationwide misin- terpretation of Krushchev's statement "We'll bury you" is a classic example, Even "yes" and "no" cause trouble. \Xlhen a non-native speaker first hears the English phrase, "Won't you have some tea?" he or she listens to the literal 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 guest gets no tea. Also, in some cultures, it is polite to refuse the first or second offer of refreshment Many foreign guests have gone hungry because they never got a third offer. This is another case of where "no" means "yes."

III. Nonverbal Misinterpretations

Learning the language, which most visitors to for- eign countries consider their only barrier to under- standing, is actually only the beginning. As Frankel (1965) says, "To enter into a culture is to be able to

340 Chapter 7 Communicating Interculturally: Becoming Competent

hear, in Lionel Trilling's phrase, its special 'hum and buzz of Implication:" (p, 103). This suggests the third stumbling block, nonverbal misiriterpreta- tions. People from different cultures inhabit differ- ent sensory realities, They see, hear, feel, and smell only that which has some meaning or importance for them, They abstract whatever fits into their per- sonal world of recognition and then interpret it through the frame of reference oftheir own culture. An example follows:

An Oregon girl in an intercultural communica- tion class asked a young man from Saudi Arabia how he would nonverbally signal that he liked her. His response was to smooth 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 his reply to her question, automatically ducked his head and stuck out his tongue slightly in embarrassment: This behavior was noticed by the girl and she expressed astonishment that he would show liking for some- one sticking out his tongue,

The lack of comprehension of nonverbal signs and symbols that are easy to observe - such as ges- tures, postures , and other body movements - is a definite communication barrier. But it is possible to learn the meanings of these messages, usually in in- formal rather than formal ways. 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 and spatial relationships and subtle signs of re- spect or formality

IV. Preconceptions and Stereotypes

The fourth stumbling block is the presence ofpre- conceptions and stereotypes, If the label "inscruta- ble" has preceded the]apanese guest, his behaviors (including the constant and seemingly inappropri- ate smile) will probably be seen as such. The stereo- type that Arabs are "inflammable" may cause u.s. students to keep their distance or even alert authori- ties when an animated and noisy group from the

.Middle East gathers, A professor who expects every- one from Indonesia, Mexico, and. many other coun- tries to "bargain" may unfairly interpret a hesitation or request from an international student as a move to manipulate preferential treatment.

Stereotypes help do what Ernest Becker (1962) asserts the anxiety-prone human race must do - re- duce the threat of the unknown by making the world predictable (pp, 84-89).Indeed, this is one of the basic functions of culture: to layout a predict- able world in which the individual is firmly ori- ented. Stereotypes are overgeneralized, second- hand beliefs that provide conceptual bases from which we "make sense" out of what goes on around US j whether or not they are accurate or fit the cir- cumstance, In a foreign land their use increases our feeling of security and is psychologically necessary to the degree that we cannot tolerate ambiguity or the sense of helplessness resulting from inability to understand and deal with people and situations be- yond our comprehension,

Stereotypes are stumbling blocks for communi- cators because they interfere with objective viewing of stimuli - the sensitive search for cues to guide the imagination toward the other person's reali ty. They are not easy to overcome in ourselves or to correct in others, even with the presentation of evi- dence, Stereotypes persist because they are firmly established as myths or truisms by one's own na- tional culture and because they sometimes rational- ize prejudices, They are also sustained and fed by the tendency to perceive selectively only those pieces of new information that correspond to the image held. For example, the Asian or African visitor who is accustomed to privation and the values of self-denial and self-help cannot fail to experience American culture as materialistic and wasteful. The stereotype for the visitor becomes a reality.

v. Tendency to Evaluate Another deterrent to understanding between per- sons ofdiffering cultures or ethnic groups is the ten- dency to evaluate) to approve or disapprove, the statements and actions of the other person or group

Barna / Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication 341

rather than to try to comprehend completely the thoughts and feelings expressed from the world view of the other. Each person's culture or way of life always seems right, proper,' and natural. This bias prevents the open-minded attention needed to . look at the attitudes and behavior patterns from the other's point of view. A mid-day siesta changes from a "lazy habit" to a "pretty good idea" when someone listens long enough to realize the mid-day tempera- ture in that country is over 115°F.

The author, fresh from a conference in Tello where Japanese professors had emphasized the preference of the people ofJapan for simple natural settings of rocks, moss, and water and of muted greens and misty ethereal landscapes, visited the Katsura Imperial Gardens in Kyoto,At the appointed time of the tour a youngJapanese 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 smiles to the group who were less than pleased at the prospect of a shower. The guide's next statement was that the timing of the summer visit was particularly appropriate in that the azalea and rhododendron blossoms were gone and the trees had not yet turned to their brilliant fall col- ors, The group laughed loudly, now convinced that the young man had a fine sense of humor. I winced at his bewildered expression, realizing that had I come before attending the conference I would have shared the group's inference that he could not be serious.

The communication cutoff caused by immediate evaluation is heightened when feelings and emo- tions are deeply involved; yet this is just the time when listening with understanding is most needed. As stated by Sherif, Sherif, and Nebergall (1965), "A person's commitment to his religion, politics, values of his family, and his stand on the virtue of his way of life are ingredients.in his self-picture - intimately felt and cherishedvtp. vi). It takes both the aware- ness of the tendency to close our minds and the courage to risk changing our own perceptions and values to dare to comprehend why someone thinks and acts differently from us. Religious wars and ne- gotiation deadlocks everywhere are examples of this,

On an interpersonal level there are innumerable illustrations of the tendency to evaluate, resulting in a breach in intercultural relationships. Two follow:"

us. student: A Persian friend got offended because when we got in an argument with a third party, 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 they are wrong. When you get home then you can attack the "wrongdoer" but you are never supposed to go against a relative or a friend to a stranger. This I found strange because even if it is 111y mother and I think she is wrong, I say so,

Korean student: When I call on my American friend he said through Window, "I am sorry. I have no time because of my study." Then he shut the window, I couldn't understand through my cultural back- ground. House owner should have welcome visitor whether he likes or not and whether he is busy or not. Also the owner never speaks without opening his door.

The admonition to resist the tendency to imme- diately evaluate does not intend to suggest that one should not develop one's own sense of right and wrong. The goal is to look and listen empathically rather than through a thick screen of value judg- ments that would cause one to fail to achieve a fair and total understanding, Once comprehension is complete it can be determined whether or not there is a clash in values or ideology. If so, some form of adjustment or conflict resolution can be put into place.

VI. High Anxiety

High anxietyor tension, also known as stress, is corn- man in cross-cultural experiences due to the num- ber of uncertainties present. 'The two words, "anxi- ety" and "tension;' are linked because one cannot be mentally anxious without also being physically tense. Moderate tension and positive attitudes pre- pare one to meet challenges with energy. Too much anxiety or tension requires some form of relief which too often comes in the form of defenses, such

Chapter 7 Communicating Interculturally. Becoming Competent

as the skewing of perceptions, withdrawal, or hostil- ity. That's why it is considered a .serious stumbling block.As stated by Kim (1991):

Stress, indeed, is considered to be inherent in inter- cultural encounters, disturbing the 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 tbe commuriicanon'process in sucb a way that contributes 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 only distinct but often underlies and compounds the other stumbling blocks. The use of stereotypes and evaluations are defense mechanisms in themselves to alleviate the stress of the unknown or the intercultural encounter, as pre- viously explained. If the person was tense or anx- ious to begin with these would be used even more. Falling prey to the aura of similarity is also a protec- tion from the stress of recognizing and accom- modating to differences. Different language and nonverbal patterns are difficult to use or interpret under the best of conditions. The distraction of try- ing to reduce the feeling of anxiety (sometimes called "internal noise") makes mistakes even more likely.Jack Gibb (1961) remarks,

Defense arousalprevents the listener from, concen- trating upon the message. Not only do defensive communicators send offmultiple value, motiue, and affect cues> but also defensive recipients dis- tort uibat they receive. As a person becomes more and more defensiue, be becomes less and less able to perceive accurately the motives) tbe values> and tbe emotions oftbe sender (pp. 141-148).

Anxious feelings usually permeate both parties in an intercultural dialogue. The host national is un- comfortable when talking with a foreigner because he or she cannot maintain the normal flow of verbal and nonverbal interaction. There are language and

perception barriers; silences are too long or too short; proxemic and other norms may be violated. He or she is also threatened by the other's unknown knowledge, experience, and evaluation - the visi- tor's potential for scrutiny and rejection of the per- son and/or the country. The inevitable question "How do you like it here?" which the foreigner ab- hors, is a quest for reassurance, or at least 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 feel strange and vulnerable, help- less to cope with messages that swamp them. Their own "normal" reactions are inappropriate. Their self-esteem is often intolerably undermined unless they employ such defenses as withdrawal into their own reference group or into themselves, screen out or misperceive stimuli, use rationalization or over- compensation, or become aggressive or hostile. None of these defenses leads to effective communication.

Culture Shock. If a person remains in a foreign culture over time the stress of constantly being "on guard" to protect oneself against making "stupid mistakes II takes its toll and he or she will probably be affected by "culture fatigue;' usually called cul- ture sbock. According to Barna (1983):

... the innate pbysiological rnaheup of tbe human animal is such that discomfort ofvarying degrees OCCU7"S in tbe presence ofalien stimuli. V?itbout the normalprops of one's own culture there is un- predictability> beiplessness, a threat to self-esteem, and a general feeling of "walking on ice" - all of uihid: are stressproducing (pp. 42-43).

The result of several months of this sustained anxiety or tension (or excitation if the high activa- tion is perceived positively) is that reserve energy supplies become depleted, the person's physical ca- pacity is weakened, and a feeling of exhaustion, des- peration, or depression may take over (Selye, 1969). He or she, consciously or unconsciously, would then use psychological defenses such as those de- scribed previously. If this temptation is resisted, the

Barna I Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication 343

sojourner suffering from the strain of constant ad- justment may find his or her body absorbing the stress in the form of stomach or back aches, insom- nia, inability to concentrate, or other stress-related illnesses (Barna, 1983, pp. 29-30).

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

Soon after arriving in the u.s. from Peru, I cried al- most every day. I was so tense I heard without hear- ing, and this made me feel foolish. I also escaped into sleeping more than twelve hours at a time and dreamed of my life, family, and friends in Lima. After three months of isolating myself in the house and speaking to no-erie, I ventured out. I then began to have severe headaches. Finally I consulted a doctor, but she only gave me a lot of drugs to relieve the pain. Neither my doctor nor my teachers ever men- tioned the two magic words that could have changed n1Y life: culture shock! When I learned about this I to see things from a 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 of culture shock. They demonstrated a some- what hostile attitude toward Peru, which the Peru- vians sensed and usually moved from an initially friendly attitude to a.defensive, aggressive attitude or to avoidance. The Americans mostly stayed within the safe cultural familiarity of the embassy com- pound. Many seemed to feel that the difficulties they were experiencing in Peru were specially created by Peruvians to create discomfort for "gringos." In other words, they displaced their problem of adjust- ment and blamed everything on Peru.?

Culture shock is a state of dis-ease, and, like a disease, it has different effects, different degrees of severity, and different time spans for different peo- ple. It is the least troublesome to those who learn to accept cultural diversity with interest instead of anx- iety and manage normal stress reactionsby practic- ing positive coping mechanisms, such as conscious physical relaxation (Barna 1983, pp. 33-39).

Physiological Reactions. Understanding the physiological component of the stumbling block of anxiety/tension helps in the search for ways to lessen its debilitatingeffecrs'(Serye, 1974, 1976). It is hard to circumvent because, as human animals, our biological system is set so that anything that is per- 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, extra adrenalin and noradrenalin pour into the system; muscles tighten; the heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increase, the digestive process turns off, and other changes occur (Oken, 1974).

This "fight or Hight" response was useful, actually a biological gift for survival or effective functioning, when the need was for vigorous action. However, if the "danger" is to one's social self, which is more often the case in today's world, too much anxiety or tension just gets in the way. This is particularly true in an intercultural setting where the need is for un- derstanding) calm deliberation, and empathy in or- der to untangle misperceptions and enter into smooth relationships.

All is not "doom and gloom" however. P.s stated by Ursin (1978), "The bodily response to changes in the environment and to threatening stimuli is sim- ply activation" (p. 219). Researchers believe that 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 be exciting 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" that does much less harm unless it continues for some time without relief. Feeling "challenged" facilitates functioning as opposed to a person who feels "threatened" (Lazarus, 1979).

Peoplealso differ in their stress 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 the former there are positive ways to handle the stress of inter- cultural situations, whether these be one-time en-

344 Chapter 7 Communicating Interculturally: Becoming Competent

counters; frequent dialogues in multicultural set- tings like a school 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 so that changes that signify a stress reaction can be identified and counteracted.

CONCLUSION

Being aware of the six stumbling blocks is certainly the first stop in avoiding them, but it isn't easy, For most people it takes insight, training, and some- times an alteration 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 an investigative 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 to avoid 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 people be is working with have different customs, goals, and tbougbtpatternsfrom his own. He must be able to fee! bis w~y into intimate contact untb these alien ualues, attitudes, andfeel- ings, He must be able to work wz'th tbem and

untbiri tbem, neither losing his own values in tbe confrontation norprotecting himselfbebind a wall oj intellectual detacbmeru (p. 4).

NOTES

1.See Charles Darwin, T7Je Expression ofEmotions in Man and Animals (New York: 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 is Multicultural Specialist, Portland Public Schools, Portland, Oregon.

3. Taken from student papers in a course on inter- cultural communication taught by the author,

4. Ibid,

5. Ibid.

6. See for example: Bryant Wedge,Visitorsto 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 ofMenninger Clinic (March 1971).

7. One good source is the Intercultural Press, Inc., P.o. Box 768,yarmouth, Maine 04096 U.S.A.

8. Taken from student papers in a course on inter- cultural communication taught by the author,

9. Personal correspondence,

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346 Chapter 7 Communicating lnterculturally: Becoming Competent