Week#9 Discussion Question#3

The book explains assumption of similarity as, "a refusal to see true differences where they exist." (page 357) I have met a wide range of people that think that everyone is the same, or that everyone should act like they do. They have no understanding that people from different cultures are raised differently, and have different outlooks on family, friends, relationships, and how the world operates. I think that assuming that everyone is similar to ones self is very ignorant. I try not to pretend that I know what someone from a different culture is trying to express. I also try to ask questions when I am around someone whose cultures I am not familiar with. I think that it is important to get to know about different cultures for what they are, and not make assumption about how we think they are or how they are similar. If everyone could make an effort to try and change this assumption, I believe we would be enriched.

Week#9 Disscusion Question#2

First, the perfectibility assumes that “humans are born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control”. I personally don’t think that babies are part of the sin. Babies are innocent at the time they are born. They are little Angels, which are just starting their difficult path through life and only after starting that path they start to commit sins.

Second, the rationality premise assumes that “most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis”. Every person has his own beliefs and values and through life he makes his/her own discoveries and make own decisions.

Third, the mutability premise assumes that “human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the way to improve humans is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances”. As human been we learn to accommodate our self with the environment that we live into. We learn to fit in.

Week#9 Discussion Question#1

I do agree with the concept ‘’creatures of our culture’’, because people tempt to modulate their behaviors by the ambience where they live into. I am coming from a very traditional culture and my personality still even after moving five years ago to United States didn’t change. We are the creature that are born in a certain culture and is really heard to change behaviors, beliefs and values after growing up in a certain ambience. Culture has a huge impact on our development and I consider Ruth Benedicts’ theory to be pretty accurate. We a born in a certain way and we are raised in a certain, and I can state that after nineteen years being a part of a different culture it is hard to give up all that I was taught to be truth to change it otherwise. I learned to live in a different culture, to have the same beliefs as that culture.

Week#7 Disscusion Question# 3

After I read the Chapter I really liked the study of the Kinesics ( aka Body Language). I never thought that body language can be so diverse. I think the body language is important in any aspect of our life.  We make different body movements each day, voluntary or involuntary, but we do. A lot of times our body says whatever we have on our mind.

Kinesics - body movements are an important part of public speaking. Kinesics is the study of body movements and gestures as a form of nonverbal communication. There are several types. Ekman and Freisen divided kinesics - body movements into 5 categories:

1. Emblems are nonverbal signals that can generally be translated directly into words. Most people within a culture or group agree on their meaning.
2. Illustrators are movements that complement verbal communication by describing or accenting or reinforcing what the speaker is saying.
3. Affect Displays are nonverbal displays of the body or face that carry an emotional meaning or display affective states.
4. Regulators are nonverbal messages that accompany speech to control or regulate what the speaker is saying.
5. Adaptors are forms of nonverbal communication that often occur at a low level of personal awareness.

Week#7 Discussion Question#2

Nonverbal communication expresses meaning or feeling without words. Universal emotions, such as happiness, fear, sadness, are expressed in a similar nonverbal way throughout the world. There are, however, nonverbal differences across cultures that may be a source of confusion for foreigners. Let's look at the way people express sadness. In many cultures, such as the Arab and Iranian cultures, people express grief openly. They mourn out loud, while people from other cultures (e.g., China and Japan) are more subdued. In Asian cultures, the general belief is that is unacceptable to show emotion openly (whether sadness, happiness, or pain).

Let's take another example of how cultures differ in their nonverbal expression of emotion. Feelings of friendship exist everywhere in the world, but their expression varies. It is acceptable in some countries for men to embrace and for women to hold hands; in other countries, these displays of affection are discouraged or prohibited.

Week#7 Discussion Question#1

Every day we encounter cases of nonverbal messages. As an example I deal with it on a daily basis at work. I am a personal banker so in order to find out more information from the customer so I can solve him /her issue I have to dig deep and sometimes to trick my customers into talking. Usually the nonverbal messages are wrong. They come into the bank about something and their body language, their looks tell me a different reason that they may be in the bank for. And it usually turns up to be the wrong message. I think nonverbal messages are unnecessary and they should never been taking into consideration. Sometimes I also tend give nonverbal messages, which are wrong. I am coming from a different culture, so my body language always even after 5 years that I have been in United States, will tell a different story. Will show me as a strong, nonsocial and full of attitude person, which is definitely not true. Nonverbal messages are usually unaquirate.