Cross Cultural

Communications
for the Soldier
 Why Study Culture?
“The lack of sensitivity to local customs, values,
and feelings often creates tension which can
assist those politically active groups
disenchanted with the decisions of
Gulf State governments.”

“To prevent a crisis, the US should ensure that it

maintains as low a profile as possible while at
the same time being aware of the cultural
sensitivities and national pride of the local
population.”
- Joseph Moynihan, Gulf Security in the 21st Century
 Culture & Terrorism
The American military man is a perfect target. He is a symbol
of America’s military interests overseas. His death weakens
the ties between America and our country’s military rulers.

The American military people are paid to risk their lives for
their country. Do not hesitate to kill them. Kill their wives
and children if necessary. Make America order them back
home or risk open rebellion in the streets of Washington.

American military members are highly visible targets. They

seem to intentionally act in such a way to be culturally
obnoxious and alienate themselves for no apparent reason.

- Hussein Balkir
Turkish W orkers and
Peasants Liberation Army
 Military Disaster
• British invade
Zululand
• Lord Chelmsford
– “I can’t
Reenactment of Isandlwana
understand it, I
left a thousand
men there.”
• Battle of Isandlwana
• Rorke’s Drift
Lord Chelmsford
 What is Culture?
Now that we have established why culture should
be studied we must understand what culture is.

Shirley Teper, an anthropologist, defines culture

as “…a habit system in which “truths” that have
been perpetuated by a group over centuries have
permeated the unconscious.”

Culture is a belief system that ties a society

together and gives a perspective on the order
of the world (an outlook on life).
 Opening the Door

Archetype in Action: Think about when your supervisor calls

you “Come to my office please”. As you go in your supervisor
tells you “Close the door please!” How do you feel?
 Cultural Sensitivity
• Knowing & Respecting
– Liking not required
– Accepting differences
• Surface behaviors
• Beneath the surface
values and
assumptions.
 Aspects of Culture
1. Understanding of the Natural World
1. Rules of Social
2. General World View Etiquette
3. Religious Beliefs 2. Eating Habits
4. Religious Customs 3. Foods
5. Holiday Customs 4. Importance of time
6. Values 5. Notions of Modesty
7. Child raising beliefs 6. Fashion
8. Concept of self 7. Facial Expressions
9. Social Relationships 8. Gestures
10. Work Ethic 9. Concept of beauty
11. Concept of Leadership 10. Paintings
12. Concept of Personal space 11. Music
13. Concept of Fairness 12. Literature
 Above the Waterline

01 – Concept of Self (Concept of Fairness, Understanding of the Natural

W orld)
03 – Religious rituals (Religious beliefs)
05 – Paintings (Concept of Beauty)
07 – Literature (Concept of Beauty)
08 – Child raising (Values and Social Relationships)
09 – Leadership (Values and Social Relationships)
10 – Gestures (Concept of Modesty, Values, and Social Relationships)
11 – Holiday Customs (Religious beliefs)
15 – Foods (Religious beliefs and Understanding of the Natural W orld)
16 – Eating Habits (Religious beliefs, and Social Relationships)
18 – W ork Ethic (importance of time and values)
21 – Music (Concept of Beauty)
22 – Fashion (Concept of Beauty and Social Relationships)
24 – Personal Space (Values, Social Relationships, and Concept of
Modesty)
 Below the Waterline
• 02 – Religious beliefs (Religious rituals, holiday
customs, foods, and eating habits)
• 04 – Importance of Time (work ethic)
• 06 – Values (Child Raising , Leadership, Gestures, and
work ethic)
• 12 – Concept of Fairness (self)
• 13 – Social relationships (child raising, leadership,
gestures, eating habits, fashion, and personal space)
• 14 – Concept of Modesty (gestures and personal
space)
• 17 – Understanding of the Natural World (self, foods)
• 20 – Concept of Beauty (determines Paintings,
Literature, Music and Fashion)
 Culture is Learned

• Culture is learned not genetic

– Shapes behavior & consciousness
– Culture is everywhere
• Humans are social animals
– Individuals cannot survive on their own
– Larger groups require more complexity
• Culture vehicle for organization
• Culture is always evolving and changing
– Everything that is taught is not always learned
– Technology & Trauma can change culture
– Context can evolve over time as well
 Culture & Social
Organization
• Cultures evolve into civilizations
• Government harness resources and protects from invasion
• Political stability establishes sound economy
• Strong economy encourages specialization and invention
– Technology - skills or procedures necessary to make or use tools
– New technologies - emerging technologies have a significant impact on
social life
• System of education indoctrinates new members
• Understand Culture and become a student of History
– Understand Conflicts of Today
– Predict Conflicts of Tomorrow
– Predict Adversarial Courses of Action
 Cultural Conditioning
• Occurs mostly in childhood
– Basic activities (eating, walking, talking, etc)
• Adult conditioning
– New behaviors
– New ways to perform old behaviors
• Cultural Conditioning
– Observation/Instruction
– Imitation
– Reinforcement
– Internalization
– Spontaneous manifestation
 Cultural Awareness

• Unconscious Incompetence
–Blissful ignorance
–Unaware of cultural
differences
• Conscious Incompetence
• Conscious Competence
• Unconscious Competence
 American Culture
• Essential to CCC – knowing yourself
– Similarities & differences can be compared
– People from culture sometimes have difficulty
seeing their own
– “out of body experience”
• Americans are diverse
• Americans share a core set of values &
beliefs
 American Culture
• Frontier Culture
– Individualism
• Achievement & Success
• Freedom & Democracy
– Egalitarian
– Informal
– Providence
• Risk taking
• Religiosity
– Yankee Ingenuity
• Science & Technology
• Efficiency & Practicality
– Communication
• Direct & Blunt
• Honesty
• Saving Face not a priority
Sources of American Culture
• PROTESTANTISM
– A strong work ethic—work is intrinsically good—and the notion
of predestination, that salvation is apparent through worldly
success
• GEOGRAPHY
– The frontier, unlimited resources and opportunity, isolation,
sparse population, distance from Europe
• FREEDOM & INDEPENDENCE
– From religious and economic repression and rigid class system
and social stratification
• THE MELTING POT
– Out of the mainstream in home country, dissatisfied with lot in
life, willing to take risks, adventuresome
 How Non-Americans see
Americans
Decisive Intelligent
Energetic Friendly
Honest Greedy
Industrious Nationalistic
Sexy Inventive
Self-indulgent Lazy
Sophisticated Rude
Why are you Americans always
in such a hurry to get things
done?
We often seem this way because of our
tendency to use achievements and
accomplishments as a measure of a
person’s worth. We’re in a hurry to get
things done because it’s only then that we
feel we have proved our worth.
Why do you Americans insist on
treating everyone the same?

We do this because of a deep cultural

instinct toward egalitarianism, which was
a reaction to the class system and, before
that, the feudal system that existed in
Europe. In cultures where inequality is
more accepted, our insistence on
egalitarianism may be grating.
Why do you Americans always
have to say what you’re
thinking?

We believe that being direct is the most

efficient way to communicate. And being
more efficient means you get more done.
Why do you Americans always
want to change things?

We think things can always be better,

that progress is inevitable. Older
cultures are more skeptical because
they have been around longer and
seen more.
 Why don’t you Americans show
more respect for your seniors and
elders?
We respect results, not age or
authority. Therefore, unless an elder
or a senior also happens to be a
superior achiever, there is no
automatic respect.
Why do you Americans always
think things are going to get
better?

We are optimists because we believe

the locus of control is in ourselves.
Therefore, the only obstacle to things
getting better is a personal lack of will or
effort, which is eminently fixable.
 Why are you Americans so
concerned about individual
recognition?

Individualism is ingrained in
us. Not being used to working
together that much, we don’t
trust team or group
recognition.
 Why are you Americans so
impatient?

If things take a long time to do, we

can do fewer of them. And when
you’re counting achievements,
more is better.
ETHNOCENTRISM
The point of view that
one’s own culture is to
be preferred to all
others.
 NEGATIVE
ETHNOCENTRISM
• Prejudice
– Cognitive = believing stereotypes
– Emotional = feeling toward another person
– Behavioral = engaging in discrimination
• Stereotypes
– repeated & exaggerated
– continuously reinforced
– almost impossible to unlearn
• Racism: outward manifestation of prejudice
Sports and Stereotypes
 Cultural Awareness
• Unconscious Incompetence
– Blissful ignorance
– Unaware of cultural differences
• Conscious Incompetence
– Realize differences exist
– “How do I figure these people out”
• Conscious Competence
• Unconscious Competence
 Cultural Relativism
• To counter our tendency to use our own
culture as a tool for judgment, we can
practice cultural relativism.
• Practicing cultural relativism allows us to
understand another culture on its own
terms.
• We can analyze how the elements of
culture fit together without judgment.
 Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural
relativism
• Ethnocentrism – Denial
– Associated with Unconscious Incompetence
– Disbelief in cultural differences
– Think people who behave differently “don’t know any better”
– Impose their own values on others (UGLY AMERICAN)
– Not threatened by cultural differences
• Ethnocentrism – Defense
– Associated with Conscious Incompetence
– Recognize differences and not happy about it
– Threatened by cultural differences & convinced of their own
superiority
– Don’t try to impose values but instead prefer to avoid contact
• Ethnocentrism – Minimization
– Associated with Conscious Incompetence
– Still believe new culture is inferior, but minimizes differences
– “W e may be different on the surface, but deep down we are the
 Cultural Awareness

• Unconscious Incompetence
• Conscious Incompetence
• Conscious Competence
– Recognize differences
– Conscious effort to adjust behaviors
– Objectivity key to “figuring these
people out”
• Unconscious Competence
– Culturally sensitive
– New behaviors second nature
 Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural
relativism
• Cultural Relativism – Acceptance
– Associated with Conscious Incompetence
– Recognize and accept cultural differences
without judgment
– “Live and let live”
• Cultural Relativism – Adaptation &
Integration
– Conscious and Unconscious Competence
– Behavior and attitude change
– “Bicultural” or “Multicultural”
– Does not mean original culture is abandoned
 Values & Beliefs
• To understand why people behave the way they
do learn about values & beliefs
• Universal refers to ways in which all people in all
groups are the same
• Cultural refers to what a particular group of
people have in common with each other and how
they are different from every other group
• Personal describes the ways in which each one
of us is different from everyone else, including
those in our group
 Cultural Universals
• Cultural universals - values, norms, or
other cultural traits that are found
everywhere.
• Although there are universal human
activities, there is no universally accepted
way of doing any of them.
• Humans have no biological imperative
that results in one particular form of
behavior throughout the world.
 Values and Beliefs
• Culture allows social organization
• Values and Beliefs keep individuals in line
• Belief Systems are religions
– “Opium of the masses”-Karl Marx
• Values differentiate between right and wrong
and good and evil
• Values and beliefs explain the purpose of it all
(Philosophical Worldview)
• Culture of Conflict in America, Asia, Africa
 Values, Norms,
& Sanctions
• Values - ideas of what is desirable in life.
– Values are the standards by which people
define good and bad.
• Norms - describe rules of behavior that
develop out of a group’s values.
• Sanctions - positive or negative reactions
to the ways in which people follow norms.
 Folkways, Mores,
and Taboos
• Folkways - norms
that are not strictly • Mores - norms that
enforced. are considered
• If someone does not essential to our core
follow a folkway, we values.
may stare or shrug • Taboos - norms so
our shoulders. strongly ingrained that
even the thought of its
violation is greeted
with revulsion.
 Individualist or Collectivist
Individualist
• Identity primarily with self
– Self-sufficiency=group well
being
– Independence & self-
reliance
• Psychological & emotional
distance
• One may choose to join
groups, but
– group membership not
essential to one’s identity or
success.
• Individualist characteristics
are often associated with
men and people in urban
settings.
Collectivist
• Identity within group important
• Success of group=individual
survival
– Looking out for other’s in your
own interest
– Harmony & interdependence
stressed & valued.
• Psychological & emotional
closeness
– distance toward nonmembers
• Collectivist characteristics are
often associated with women
and people in rural settings.
 Universalism vs.
Particularism
Universalism Particularism
• Some absolutes across • Circumstances determine
the board action
• Fairness for all, no • Family first, world can
exceptions fend for itself
• Objectivity • The group will protect you
• Life is not fair, be we can • There are no absolutes
be • Exceptions made for
certain people
 Cultural Context
• In the eye of the beholder
• Any behavior observed across the cultural
divide, therefore, has to be interpreted in
two ways:
– the meaning given to it by the person who
does the action, and
– the meaning given to it by the person who
observes the action
 Behavior and Context
• Marijuana in USA vs
Holland
• Hunting in New York
vs Alaska
• THE BOOK OF
EMBRACES by
Eduardo Galleano
 Kiss and Context
• Four Kisses
– Parental
– Social
– Ceremonial
– Erotic
• Kiss out of Context-
Consequences
– Folkway ?
– Taboo ?
 Cultural Theory of Relativity

• House
– USA
– Africa
• Rain
– Positive ?
– Negative ?
 Concept of Time
Lining up and not lining up are culturally determined behaviors

• Two poles of Time:

– Monochromic
• Time is the given
• People are variables
• The needs of people adjusted to suit demands of time
(schedules & deadlines)
• “Time is money”
• “One thing at a time”
• Interruptions are an inconvenience
– Polychromic
• Time is tool of people
• Time is flexible
• More is available, not less
• “Man~ana”
• Several things done at once
• Interruptions are a part of life
 Concept of Power Distance
• Attitude towards Inequality
– Different levels of status & access to power
– Most evident in workplace relations
• Two poles of Power
– High Power Distance
• Inequality is natural & accepted
• Those with power emphasize it (elites)
• No delegation & lack of initiative
– Low Power Distance
• Power & status are artificial
• Deemphasized to minimize differences
• Delegation and initiative encouraged
 Attitude towards Status
• Similar to Power Distance & Individualism / Collectivism
• Two poles of Status
– Achieved Status (doing)
• People respected for personal accomplishments
• Status is earned
• Less impressed by titles
• Using Education is important
• Status is not permanent (lack of productivity = low status)
– Ascribed Status (being)
• Status automatic & difficult to lose
• Can be determined by birth or school attended
• Acquiring Education important
• Stickler for titles
• Status & Face defended fiercely
 Attitude towards Fate
• Fate – the inherent uncertainty in life
– Creates anxiety in all cultures
– Different responses
• US response = technology
• Others = religion
• Two poles of Fate
– High Uncertainty Avoidance
• “Group paranoia”, the unknown is frightening
• More laws, regulations, policies & procedures
• Strong tendency toward conformity
– Low Uncertainty Avoidance
• More tolerance for differences
• More curious than frightened of the unknown
• Life is interesting
• Risk taking
 Attitude towards Fate
• People from different cultures may see their ability
to influence external events very differently.
• Which of the following two statements do you
most agree with?
– A. What happens to me is my own doing.
– B. Sometimes I feel I don’t have control over the
direction my life is taking.
• Percentage of Americans who chose A = 89%
• Percentage of Chinese who chose A = 35%
Attitude towards the Universe
The Locus of Control
• Cultures differ greatly upon a person’s place in
the world
• Two poles of Control
– Internal
• W ithin the individual
• No limits on what I can do
• “The sky’s the limit”
• “Life is what I do”
– External
• Predetermination
• There are boundaries that cannot be crossed
• “Life happens to me”
 Culture & Symbols
• Symbolic culture - • Gestures - involve
nonmaterial culture using one’s body to
whose central communicate.
components are • Language - a system
symbols. of symbols that can be
– A symbol - something strung together in an
to which people attach infinite number of
meaning and which
they use to
ways for the purpose
communicate. of communicating.
 Communication
• Integral part of culture
• More complicated in cross-cultural context
– Did you mean what you said?
– Was what you said received as you meant?
• Misunderstandings and
miscommunications most common
frustrations in CCC
• Examine American communication styles
and compare
 What Language Does
• All human groups have a language.
• Language allows for experiences to be
passed from one generation to the next
• Language allows culture by freeing
people to move beyond their immediate
experiences
• Language provides us a past and a
future, as well as shared understandings.
 Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis
• Language has embedded within it ways of
looking at the world
– No Arabic word for “privacy”, word for
“loneliness” comes closest
– Chinese word for “four” also means “death”
• Thinking and perception are shaped by
language
Indirect/High vs. Direct/Low
Indirect / High Context
• Unconscious understanding
required
• Common in homogenous &
collectivist societies
– Asia, Middle East, Africa
– People know & understand
each other
• Less reliance on words
• More reliance on non-verbal
communication
• Manipulation of context used
to convey message
– What is said is not necessarily
what is meant
– “Reading between the lines”
• Maintaining harmony & saving
Direct / Low Context
• Heterogeneous &
individualist
– North America, Europe
– Less is assumed
– More independence &
emotional distance
• “I mean what I say”
• Less reliance on non-
verbal
• Getting or giving info
more important
 Practicing Indirectness
• I don’t think that’s such a
good idea.
– Do you think that’s a good
idea?
– Are there any other ideas?
– I like most parts of that
idea.
• That’s not the point.
– That’s an interesting point.
– That’s another good point
• I think we should....
– I have a possible
suggestion.
– What do you think about
this idea?
• I don’t agree.
– What do you think of this
idea?
– May I make a suggestion?
• W hat do you think, Mr. Cato?
(Calling on people sometimes
embarrasses them. How can
you find out what Mr. Cato
thinks without directly asking
him?)
– Does anyone else have any
suggestions?
– Have we heard all opinions?
• Those figures are not accurate.
– I have some other figures here.
– Those figures may be slightly
old.
• You’re doing that wrong.
– I would do that like this.
– Have you tried doing it this way?
 Decoding Indirectness
• That is a very interesting
viewpoint.
– I don’t agree.
– We need to talk more about
this.
– You’re wrong.
• This proposal deserves
further consideration.
– We don’t like it.
– It needs work.
– Propose something else.
• I know very little about this,
but....
– I’m something of an expert
on this but am too polite to
say so.
– What I think we should do
is...
• W e understand your proposal
very well.
– Do you have another one?
– We don’t like it.
• W e will try our best.
– Don’t expect much to happen.
• I heard another story about
that project.
– I don’t agree with what you
said about that project.
• Can we move on to the next
topic?
– We don’t want to talk about
this now.
– We need to consult with
people not in the room before
we can decide.
 Nonverbal Communication
• Verbal & nonverbal
• Nonverbal accounts for majority of
Communication
• Nonverbal communication is subconscious
• Four subcategories of nonverbal communication
– Gestures
– Eye Contact
– Facial Expression
– Personal Space & Touching
 Gestures
• Gestures help identify the context of the conversation (i.e.
friendly, confrontational, leader-follower)
• Observe
– Hands (open or closed, together or apart)
– Arms (folded or open)
– Fingers (curled or strait, pointing?)
– W hole body (slouching, good posture)
• Watch for
– Amount of gesturing
– Gestures that accompany interruptions (talk to the hand)
– Gestures that indicate conversation is over (waving)
– Disagreement (shaking of finger)
– Displeasure (folded arms)
– Pattern of eye contact (dominance, intimacy)
 Eye Contact
• Observe the degree and nature of eye contact in as many
of the following situations as possible:
– Between two men of the same age:
– Between two women of the same age:
– Between an elderly person and a younger person:
– Between a man and woman:
– Between a husband and a wife:
– Between a boss and an employee:
– Between a student and a teacher:
– Between a parent and a child:
– Between strangers passing on the street:
• What are the implications of more or less eye contact?
 Facial Expressions
• Observe what people do with their head,
eyes, eyebrows, mouth, nose, chin, or
actions taken with the head and the
hands.
– Frowns
– Smiles
– Wrinkling
– Nostril Flaring
 Personal Space & Touching
• Observe how close various kinds of people stand to each
other and how much and in which parts of the body the
following people touch each other: in various settings:
– In normal conversation, at work, or on the street
– In line at the post office, bank, cinema, etc.
– In an elevator, crowded or uncrowded
– Two men
– Two women
– Two children
– An older and younger person
– Parent and child
– A man and woman
– Husband and wife
• What are the implications of more or less personal space
and touching?
 Cycles of Adjustment
• Initial Enthusiasm (the Honeymoon)
– Time Frame: First week or two in country
– Characteristics:
• Excitement & enthusiasm
• Initial Culture Shock
– Time Frame: First few weeks in country
– Characteristics
• Frustration
• Vulnerability & Dependence
• Homesickness
• Lack of routine
• Close bonds formed with other Americans
• Initial Adjustment
– Time Frame: 3 – 6 months in country
– Characteristics
• Routines established
• Climate change accomplished
• Increased confidence
 Culture Shock
• The disorientation that people experience
when they come into contact with a different
culture.
• Common symptoms of Culture Shock:
Homesickness Excessive cleanliness
Boredom Marital stress
Withdrawal Family tension and conflict
Excessive sleep Chauvinistic excesses
Compulsive eating Stereotyping of host nationals
Compulsive drinking Loss of ability to work effectively
Irritability Unexplained fits of weeping
Physical ailments (psychosomatic illnesses)
 Coping Strategies
• Learn new ways of doing things;
• Learn to do things you’ve never done before;
• Stop doing things you can no longer do;
• Adjust to an entirely new set of people;
• Learn to live and work in an environment where
you speak a foreign language;
• Get used to various new and unusual
phenomena;
• Learn to live without all kinds of familiar
phenomena.
 Coping Strategies
• Things I can do with other people
– Invite people over
– Go and visit someone
– Telephone someone
– Go to a movie, cafe, etc. with someone
– Play a game with someone
– Participate in a team sport
– Volunteer my services to a needy cause
 Coping Strategies
• Things I can do on my own
– Read
– Play cards
– Listen to music
– Cook a meal
– Take a walk
– Meditate
– Go to a movie
– W rite in my journal
– Go to a restaurant or café
– Go shopping
– Exercise
– Listen to the radio
– Garden
– Take some pictures
 Coping Strategies
• Things I can do on my own
– Call home
– Look at photos
– W rite letters
– Make a tape to send home
– Play an instrument
– Take a ride
– Solve puzzles
– W atch birds
– Practice a craft
– Take a trip
– W atch television
– W atch people
– Study language
– Deep breathing
 Coping Strategies
• Things I can remind myself of
– This will pass.
– It’s not the end of the world.
– I came here to experience a challenge.
– I’ve been through worse than this.
– It’s natural to feel down from time to time.
– No pain; no gain.
– It’s not just me.
– Things didn’t always go well back home either.
– I have taken on a lot; I should expect to feel
overwhelmed from time to time.
 Coping Strategies
• Ways I can improve my language skills
– Talk to children
– Talk to older people (who have more time and patience!)
– Go to a cafe and eavesdrop
– Listen to the radio or TV
– Join a club or sports team
– Participate in some other kind of group activity
– Study a language textbook
– Do exercises in a language textbook
– Listen to language tapes
– Ask a host country informant to tape record key language
phrases that I can practice
 Sources
• Richard Hooker, “What is Culture?”,
Washington State University
– www.wsu.edu/gened/learn-
modules/top_culture/culture-definition.html
• Webofculture.com
• Cornell University
• Rosaldo Consulting
• Peace Corps
– “Culture Matters”
 Questions ?
The classification of this
presentation was UNCLASSIFIED