Premises

I do believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises to an extent. The rationality premise talks about a persons ability to make critical decisions by analyzing data and facts and although this can be true, I do not believe that it is always the case. A good example of this would be in a courtroom and with a jury. Even though there are a lot of preliminary efforts to weed out any bias or overdramatic jurors, there are still instances when people get placed on juries and make decisions based on emotions and not facts. With the perfectibility premise I can agree that everyone is born with sin-we do not know right vs. wrong until we have interacted with the outside world and learn how to control our behavior. I also agree with the mutability premise when it states that our behaviors are shaped by our environment a.k.a our various cultures.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is another barrier that many people encounter daily. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is superior to all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by one’s own criteria. By looking at the definition of ethnocentrism one can see the biases that it holds towards other cultures. From this chapter alone we have learned that it is not right to have biases against other cultures. We cannot have these biases because it is naïve to think ones culture is superior just because they are used to one way of performing an act. Who are we o decide what is the norm for daily living. Some cultures perform what other cultures would think as weird acts because their act is concerned with the livelihood. For example, when the Muslim culture drops to their knees at a certain hour to give praise. We may find that weird or wrong in America, but to the Muslim culture it is important to their beliefs and how their afterlife will be conducted. Living in a global village we have to learn how to become more aware of the cultural differences so that we do not become judgmental. Most of all I feel that we should seek out the similarities between one another and try to become more cohesive in that manner. It is very easy to figure out why one is different than the other, but when cultures can have something in common it may bring greater relationships and communication amongst each other.

Creatures of our Culture

I would have to say that I definitely agree with the statement "we are creatures of our culture." Culture is what shapes our views and perceptions of the world. How we talk, what we eat, how we dress, how we interact with others and just about everything else is based off our culture. Many people will assume that Culture is directly related to Ethnicity or Race but its not. Culture is not just "White Culture" or "Black Culture"; culture is any group that we belong to. This can unclude: religious affiliations, gangs, school, clubs, sports, or hobbies. These are all cultures. When we are apart of a culture we tend to have a sense of belonging and therefore view others outside of the group as 'different' or weird or even 'less than' us. I believe that anyone who wants to break away from the cultural beliefs can do so by having an open mind and not being conformed by the 'norms' or the culture. Be open and willing to accept others for who they are and understand that everyone is apart of similar and very different cultures-we should respect that.

Time Orientations

I wanted to discuss the topic of Time Orientation because I really feel like it explains a major reason why people differ in understanding non-verbal cues. There are some people who enjoy talking and reminiscing about the past and some people who get annoyed by that and are continuously thinking about the future. When I read this part in the chapter it really made me realize that each and every person we interact with has a different perspective on the situation. We all have friends who love to live in the moment and not worry about things; there is also people who want things structured and with a ‘to do’ list for every occasion. I believe it is important to understand these viewpoints and embrace the difference in us all. I think many people are quick to judge, as we talked about in another blog this week, and don’t understand that everyone cant be like them. I am genuinely beginning to understand and accept each person for who they are; I think that is truly important.

Non-Verbal in Cultures

I have never moved out of the United States but I am aware of some cultural differences in non-verbal communication. A few semesters ago I took a Communication and Culture class here at San Jose State. In this class, we had to describe some cultural norms and differences and I was exposed to some new and interesting non-verbal signs that were different than our own. First, In Japan, it is considered disrespectful to place your chopsticks in your bowl of rice or noodles; it is a symbol of death in their culture. Here in the Unites States, it is extremely common to see people stabbing their chopsticks in their bowls when they are not using them. Another example of a non-verbal sign carrying a different meaning is in France. In France it is common to give flowers in odd numbers (1, 3, 5 flowers) but not the number 13 because it is assumed to be unlucky. In the U.S we tend to give roses by the dozen. These simple things can be tricky when dealing with cultures other than your own. I suggest embracing other cultures and learn more about customs other than your own.

Misunderstanding Non-Verbal Comm.

Non verbal messages can be extremely tricky because of the lack of explanation involved in the process. When someone is staring at you, you may feel like they are sending you a sexual message through their stare but they may just as well be looking at your funny hairstyle. The messages are send without saying anything and therefore they are interpreted. I have been in a situation when I have completely misunderstood the context of the non-verbal message. I have been dating my boyfriend Dominique for 5 years now and it isnt uncommon that we misunderstand each other at some point. He plays football for San Jose State and there are times when we try to communicate during the game and while he is on the field. During a football game sometime last season, I looked for Dom on the field and I started showing him our hand signal and he looked confused back at me. I was showing him the peace sign from a few rows back and he looked at me in confusion. After the game I went to meet up with him and asked him why he didnt wave or give me a signal back during the game. He explained to me that he thought I was putting up the number "2" sign and not "peace". It was such a silly misunderstanding but in the end I had to realize that you must be clear with your messages and show direct meaning especially with non-verbal ones because they are easily misunderstood.

Judging People

I feel like everybody makes judgments in almost every aspect of their life and not only with other people. The reason I say this is because if you could think back to a time when you traveled some place you have never been before, you imagine what it will be like; you assume it will look a certain way or be a certain way. It is simply your expectations and uncertainty about the situation or person, which causes your mind to assume they will be one way or another. This relates to Uncertainty Reduction Theory. This theory basically states that when you are uncertain about a person or place you tend to create a fabricated image within your mind. It’s a pretty cool theory because I can definitely see it happening around me and I know it happens to just about everyone. I don’t believe it is possible to view other people without judging them. When people look like they fit a stereotypical mold, it is hard to mentally switch them into a different category until you actually meet and speak with them. In my opinion, the individual people who are doing the judging can only make judgments fair. I would advise people to look past the physical appearance of others and get to know whom people are before being so quick to judge.