Intercultural Communication in Contexts Judith Martin 7e

Intercultural Communication in Contexts Judith Martin 7e

CHAPTER 10

CULTURE, COMMUNICATION, AND INTERCULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following is NOT true about the benefits of intercultural relationships?
2. They can help break stereotypes.
3. They may teach us something about history.
4. They do not last as long as same culture relationships.
5. They may help us acquire new skills.

Ans: c

2. Talal, a Middle Eastern student, finds himself attracted to Guo Hongwu, a Chinese student in his economics class. After several conversations, he has found that despite their different cultural backgrounds, they have many of the same opinions and experiences in the United States. Talal and Hongwu’s relationship illustrates the _____ principle for relationship formation.
3. heterosexual
4. similarity
5. difference
6. physical attraction

Ans: b

3. When we seek out people who have different personality traits, we are looking for a(n) _____ relationship.
4. complementary
5. intercultural
6. physical
7. heterosexual

Ans: a

4. Which of the following is NOT true about U.S. relationships?
5. Honesty and individuality are more important than harmony and collectivism.
6. Understanding, respect, and sincerity are more important than togetherness, trust, and warmth.
7. Physical attraction and passion are not as important as similar backgrounds and compatibility.
8. In intimate relationships, it is important to have openness and talk things out.

Ans: c

5. Which of the following is NOT true about gay relationships?
6. Men in gay relationships tend to seek emotional support from same-sex friendships.
7. Close friendships may be more important to a gay person than a straight person due to discrimination and hostility.
8. Although friendships between gay people start with sexual attraction and involvement, they often last after the sexual involvement is terminated.
9. They are formed primarily for physical intimacy.

Ans: d

6. Which of the following is NOT true about the similarity principle in relationship formation?
7. We are attracted to people who hold similar beliefs to ours.
8. It doesn’t matter if people are truly similar as long as we think they are.
9. There must be a certain degree of physical similarity for a relationship to last.
10. When people think they are similar, they have higher expectations for future interactions.

Ans: c

7. 7. Elizabeth, a U.S. American student, and Ahmad, an international student from Turkey, find that although they are of different faiths, their attitudes about the role of religion in everyday life are very much alike. This realization surprised Elizabeth but illustrates _____, a theme in intercultural relationships.
8. competence
9. similarity
10. involvement
11. turning points

Ans: b

8. 8. Experiences or conversations that move a relationship either forward or backward are known as _____, a theme in intercultural relationships.
9. competence
10. similarity
11. involvement
12. turning points

Ans: d

9. 9. Tamaya and Monique make sure that they find time to talk to each other every day and plan weekly activities together. They share many of the same friends, and in their conversations, they often share their feelings concerning personal issues. Tamaya and Monique’s friendship illustrates _____, a theme in intercultural relationships.
10. involvement
11. similarity
12. competence
13. a turning point

Ans: a

10. 10. The most desirable style of interaction in intercultural marriage, _____, is based on agreement and negotiation.
11. compromise
12. obliteration
13. consensus
14. submission

Ans: c

11. 11. Roger and Adair are in an intercultural marriage. They have both agreed to give up certain aspects of their culture, but now Adair is starting to resent giving up some of the things she grew up with. Roger and Adair have probably used the _____ style of interaction in intercultural marriage.
12. obliteration
13. compromise
14. consensus
15. submission

Ans: b

12. 12. Keiko, who grew up in Japan, and Wahid, who grew up in Egypt, met and married in the United States. They have decided to stay in the United States and “become American” rather than negotiate the differences between their two cultures. Keiki and Wahid are most likely using the _____ style of interaction.
13. obliteration
14. compromise
15. submission
16. consensus

Ans: a

13. 13. The _____ style of interaction in intercultural marriage occurs when each person gives up some of his or her culturally bound beliefs in order to accommodate the other.
14. obliteration
15. compromise
16. submission
17. consensus

Ans: b

14. 14. Which of the following does NOT characterize an intercultural alliance?
15. identification of power and unearned privilege
16. orientations of affirmation
17. the use of compromise and submission in making decisions
18. acknowledgement of the impact of history

Ans: c

15. 15. The most common style of interaction in intercultural marriage, _____, occurs when one partner abandons his or her own culture in favor of his or her partner’s culture.
16. compromise
17. obliteration
18. consensus
19. submission

Ans: d

16. 16. Darrell is the father of five children. He has been married for 16 years and is friends with Joe, a gay man who has been in a relationship with the same man for eight years. Darrell says that before he met Joe, he thought that all gays were simply interested in sex, and that his friendship and conversations with Joe have taught him otherwise. Joe and Darrell’s friendship is an example of how intercultural friendships can _____.
17. help to break stereotypes
18. teach us something about history
19. learn more general information
20. help us acquire new skills

Ans: a

17. 17. In what ways are intercultural relationships similar to intracultural relationships?
18. There is a similar amount of anxiety during the early stages of the relationship.
19. They take the same basic amount of work and effort.
20. They pass through the same developmental stages.
21. They are based on the same notions of attraction.

Ans: c

18. 18. Which of the following is among the major concerns of people in intercultural marriages?
19. gender roles and raising children
20. relational satisfaction and sexual intimacy
21. living arrangements
22. illness and suffering

Ans: a

19. 19. Deanna never knew Kristen was gay until Deanna made a comment about the guys on the “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” television show. Kristen’s choice to come out and educate Deanna marked a(n) _____ in their relationship because that’s when they felt that they really started to know one another.
20. involvement
21. turning point
22. similarity
23. negative stereotyping

Ans: b

20. Recognizing and accepting that another person might have beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes different from our own is part of _____, a challenge in intercultural relationships.
21. affirming another’s cultural identity
22. the need for explanations
23. differences in communication styles
24. negative stereotypes

Ans: a

21. Deidre has studied Japanese since high school. Despite her language skills, when she meets visitors from Japan, she worries that she may offend them or look stupid. Diedre is encountering _____, a challenge in intercultural relationships.
22. affirming another’s cultural identity
23. the need for explanations
24. anxiety
25. negative stereotypes

Ans: c

22. 22. Vivian, an African American, finds that she seems to explain how she and Janet, a European American, became friends much more frequently than she has to explain her friendships with other African Americans. Sometimes she and Janet laugh about the curiosity of others. Vivian and Janet have encountered _____, a challenge in intercultural relationships.
23. affirming another’s cultural identity
24. the need for explanations
25. anxiety
26. negative stereotypes

Ans: b

23. Craig,an overweight man, finds that he can meet and talk to people on the internet much more easily than he can at social gatherings, because they do not form their first impressions about him based on his appearance. Craig’s experience illustrates how _____, one of the three ways in which computer-mediated communication (CMC) is beneficial.
24. CMC affirms another’s cultural identity
25. CMC is an opportunity to communicate with people who are different
26. CMC filters out information related to physical attractiveness, age, and height
27. CMC relationships may be more intense

Ans: c

24. Which of the following statements is true of guanxi?
25. It is the same as friendship.
26. It is a reflection of individualism in a society.
27. It mandates that jobs be earned only through perseverance and skill.
28. It requires purposeful cultivation of relationships.

Ans: d

25. In the context of relational development, the study conducted by Hotta and Ting-Toomey (2013) revealed that:
26. European Americans disclosed a wide range of relatively superficial information with many people.
27. conversational rules applied to the development of close friendships.
28. time was an important element in the friendship decisions of international students.
29. U.S. students consider international students to be merely acquaintances.

Ans: c

26. In their study of children who immigrated from the former Soviet Union to Israel, Elias, and Lemish (2009) found that the internet:
27. prevented the children from integrating into Israeli life.
28. bridged the gap between their former lives and friends.
29. hindered their development of hybrid identities.
30. allowed them to resist cultural adaptation.

Ans: b

27. Which of the following statements is true of the obliteration style of interaction between couples?
28. One partner gives up some part of his or her own cultural habits and beliefs.
29. An attempt is made by both partners to erase individual cultures to deal with differences.
30. One partner denies or abandons his or her own culture.
31. Both partners give and take, and it is not a trade-off.

Ans: b

28. Information about other people’s identity based on visible physical characteristics is referred to as:
29. relational learning.
30. self-disclosure.
31. line of sight.
32. cognitive consistency.

Ans: c

29. Having a logical connection between existing knowledge and a new stimulus is known as _____.
30. the similarity principle
31. the proximity principle
32. cognitive consistency
33. relational learning

Ans: d

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS

30. Generally, relationships across age groups, physical ability, class, or race have the same amount of anxiety in the initial stages.

Ans: F

31. Intercultural interactions in which one or both parties have few negative expectations and no negative stereotypes prior contact probably have less anxiety.

Ans: T

32. Actual similarity is a greater factor than perceived similarity in relationship formation.

Ans: F

33. The term “friend” has pretty much the same meaning in all cultural groups.

Ans: F

34. Even though they are shorter lived, gay relationships are happier and more mutually productive than many opposite-sex relationships.

Ans: T

35. People in intercultural marriages are more likely to disagree about how to raise their children than people in intracultural marriages.

Ans: T

36. Asian American men and African American women are more likely than Asian American women and African American men to marry outside their cultural group.

Ans: F

37. Once a person has developed one intercultural relationship it’s generally easier to develop other intercultural relationships.

Ans: T

38. The people in the majority have the most to gain from cross-cultural relationships.

Ans: F

39. The concept of homosexuality and how it is displayed is pretty much the same from one culture to another.

Ans: F

40. According to the similarity principle, we tend to be attracted to people who hold attitudes similar to our own.

Ans: T

41. Computer-mediated communication has not really affected the process of making friends and developing relationships across cultures.

Ans: F

42. Complementarity in a relationship results from the fact that we are attracted to persons who are somewhat different from ourselves.

Ans: T

43. There is often more anxiety in the early stages of intercultural relationships compared to intracultural relationships.

Ans: T

44. A recent study from the Williams Institute at UCLA has found that same-sex couples are more likely to divorce than opposite-sex couples.

Ans: F

45. Learning that comes from a particular relationship but generalizes to other contexts is known as cognitive consistency.

Ans: F

46. Australia, Germany, and Switzerland do not allow same-sex marriages, but offer alternative types of legal recognition of these relationships.

Ans: T

47. According to the proximity principle, one is more likely to be attracted to and form relationships with those one sees often.

Ans: T

ESSAY QUESTIONS

48. Identify and discuss the benefits of intercultural relationships.

49. What challenges do people face in intercultural friendships?

50. How are gay relationships different from straight relationships?

51. What is the role of turning points in the development of an intercultural relationship?

52. How might computer-mediated communication facilitate intercultural relationships?

53. How might intercultural couples be affected by the society in which they live?

54. Identify and discuss the challenges in intercultural relationships.