Unit 4: Midterm Exam
Question 1
1 / 1 pts
Communication is considered interactive and transactive because
Correct!
it occurs between
... [Show More] people.
it is multidimensional.
it is intrapersonal.
it is flexible and adaptive.
Question 2
1 / 1 pts
There are at least five different contexts that influence communication, including the cultural and microcultural context, the physical context, the environmental context, the sociorelational context, and the
Correct!
perceptual context.
historical context.
personal context.
situational context.
Question 3
1 / 1 pts
Intentional communication occurs when
two or more people perceive each other.
Correct!
two or more people consciously engage in interaction with each other.
two or more people create nonverbal symbols representing something else.
two or more people use language to create symbols.
Question 4
7 / 7 pts
Based on Chapter One, define culture.
Your Answer:
culture refers to the accumulated pattern of values, beliefs, and behavior that are shared by a given group of people who have a common history, and verbal and nonverbal symbol systems.
Question 5
1 / 1 pts
Uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which members of a particular culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations
Correct!
True
False
Question 6
1 / 1 pts
In small power distance cultures managers minimize status differences during conflict and rely on peers and subordinates to assist in mediating conflict.
Correct!
True
False
Question 7
1 / 1 pts
Which of the following statements best describes a collectivistic culture?
Emphasis is placed on individuals' goals over group goals.
People communicate using a restricted code.
People are taught to be creative, self-reliant, competitive, and assertive.
Correct!
Stresses values that serve the ingroup.
Question 8
7 / 7 pts
Define and describe the essential differences between high and low power distance cultures.
Your Answer:
low power distance is a culture people are less willing to accept inequality in society and have roughly unequal power distribution in society. a high power distance is a culture where people accept the inequality in society and have a higher inequality in power distribution in society.
With low power distance, there is low inequality in society and people are less willing to accept the inequalities in power distribution while in high distance power, there is high inequality in society and people are willing to accept the inequalities in power distribution.
In low power distance, there is value in equal treatment of everyone in society while in high power distance there is great deference given to someone in higher authority.
Question 9
1 / 1 pts
Which of the following statements is generally true of microcultures?
Correct!
They possess some distinctive physical or cultural trait.
They are typically uneducated.
They are not naturalized citizens of the United States.
They typically live in isolated parts of the country.
Question 10
1 / 1 pts
According to the Muted Group Theory, interaction between dominant and subordinate groups is difficult because
subordinate groups cannot speak English.
Correct!
subordinate groups have to express themselves in the dominated group's code.
dominant groups refuse to interact with subordinate groups.
dominant groups have to express themselves in the subordinate group's code.
Question 11
1 / 1 pts
People are generally born into their microcultural group.
Correct!
True
False
Question 12
7 / 7 pts
Compare and contrast monochronic and polychronic time orientations.
Your Answer:
Similarities
Both deal with the scheduling of events and tasks.
They show the differences between people and their approaches to tasks giving time as a constraint.
Both time orientations bring efficiency to employees when focussed on the strengths.
Differences
Individuals applying polychronic are flexible and can multitask as they can deal with more than one task as long as it can be executed naturally, but those using a monochronic focus on one task at a time and schedule them in an orderly manner.
Polychronic encourages group work while monochronic encourages individual working without disturbance of others.
Polychronic has a high context communication while monochronic has a low context communication.
Time is spacial where deadlines and schedules can be kept if possible in Polychronic but in monochronic time is linear and deadlines and schedules are taken seriously.
Question 13
1 / 1 pts
The amount of information contained or perceived in the environment per some unit of time is also referred to as
the built environment.
one's monochronic time orientation.
one's polychronic time orientation.
Correct!
the information rate.
Question 14
1 / 1 pts
In many Western societies people believe that nature is something to be controlled, domesticated, and subjugated.
Correct!
True
False
Question 15
0 / 1 pts
Monospatial cultures are usually monochronic.
Correct Answer
True
You Answered
False
Question 16
7 / 7 pts
Describe three cross cultural variations of privacy.
Your Answer:
A society with a high uncertainty avoidance index shows a higher concern and value for privacy as they are likely to feel anxiety, stress, and unwillingness to take risks in some situations which may reduce when there are higher privacy precautions.
A society where there is higher masculinity has low privacy concerns as they are more willing to give private information to gain material success or the achievement they wish for without any care.
Individualism vs. collectivism whereby people in individualistic culture value privacy as they are concerned with intrusions and invasion of their private space unlike collectivism who are used to intrusions and invasions of private spaces thus are less concerned with privacy.
Question 17
1 / 1 pts
The learned tendency to interpret nonrectangular figures as representations of rectangular figures seen in perspective is called the carpentered world hypothesis.
Correct!
True
False
Question 18
1 / 1 pts
The perception that one's ingroup is the center of everything whereby all other groups are scaled and rated with reference to the ingroup is called
categorization.
stereotyping.
Correct!
ethnocentrism.
authoritarianism.
Question 19
1 / 1 pts
One reason for cross-cultural differences in perception is due to
Correct!
conditions in the physical environment.
short-term memory loss.
long-term memory loss.
interference.
Question 20
7 / 7 pts
List and describe the consequences of categorization.
Your Answer:
Discrimination- unfair treatment of people based on the microcultural groups they are members of whether racial, ethnic, gender, age, or religious.
Prejudice- a feeling of dislike that is directed towards someone based on the perceived characteristics held by the microcultural group they identify in without factual reasons for the unfair feeling.
Stereotyping- refers to holding perceptions whether negative or positive about a person or a group of people based on their microcultural group membership.
Question 21
1 / 1 pts
The extended family is prevalent in most
Correct!
high context collectivistic cultures.
low context collectivistic cultures.
high context individualistic cultures.
low context individualistic cultures.
Question 22
1 / 1 pts
Which of the following countries rates highest on the masculinity index?
United States.
Germany.
Spain.
Correct!
Japan.
Question 23
0 / 1 pts
A dominant force in Chinese families is
machismo.
female superiority.
You Answered
filial piety.
Correct Answer
polygamy.
Question 24
7 / 7 pts
Compare and contrast (do both) family roles in two different cultures.
Your Answer:
Indian culture is based on collectivism and thus extended families are common while American culture is based on individualism hence nuclear families or one-person families are encouraged.
In American culture, families need to support independence for their children thus encouraging children to move out of family homes and live alone when they turn 18 and above years leading to individualism. In Indian culture, they teach interdependence among children where they encourage collectivism and leaving together in one family home.
In Indian culture, the family should educate their children on the value of respect and authority thus encouraging honoring the family ranks of authority and leading to an understanding of the high power distance while in American culture, the children are taught to stand for their own believes and not agree when they are intimidated by those in authority leading to low power distance setup.
Question 25
40 / 40 pts
Self-Analytical Essay (Write a substantive essay, which will count as 40% of your exam grade.) How have you improved your intercultural communication effectiveness?
First, discuss what you consider the most important principles you’ve learned in the course so far.
Second, explain how you are using those principles to improve your intercultural communication.
Third, include how you have used measures--self-analysis tests from the textbook chapters--to analyze and change your skills. Finally, give specific examples of what you are doing differently so you are a more competent intercultural communicator.
Your Answer:
Through the course, I have learned the importance of intercultural communication and how to utilize it effectively. Through understanding the cultural competency concept, I have understood how to communicate effectively with people from other cultures. Respecting one’s culture and way of life is the first step. Language use and nonverbal communication are better ways to ensure effective intercultural communication. It comes from using neutral language when talking to people from other cultures to enhance proper understanding of each. The importance of context in communication is also crucial since it helps ensure everyone understands what is being communicated without misunderstandings.
From the self-analysis skills, I could check my progress in intercultural communication by applying concepts learned in answering the questions from my perspective. Using what is known to find the best or the most common way of communicating in an intercultural setup was a good approach. I have worked on avoiding stereotyping since it may give a wrong impression about a person. In stereotyping, people have predetermined conclusions about people, which may overlook their real personalities, characters, and behavior, thus leading to misunderstandings of the person. [Show Less]