The 5th annual SIETAR conference in Mexico city: An evaluation

The 5th Annual Conference of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR), in Mexico City, was evaluated using both scaled and open-ended questions. Analysis of the scaled responses suggested that the participants found the conference to be personally enjoyable, professionally worthwhile, well organized and intellectually stimulating. Overall, the conference was rated very favorably. On the other hand, however, negative evaluations were received regarding the quality of the presentations, the travel agent, the translations and direct benefits in the areas of intercultural training and research. Demographic analyses indicated that North Americans, researchers and university and government people rated the conference most favorably. Seven recommendations for future conferences were derived from the summarized open-ended responses.     

Collaborative issues in cross-national research

Although the topic of research collaboration receives infrequent comment, a well functioning collaborative process is crucial to the substantive success of intercultural research enterprises. The present report addresses this topic and focuses on two major sets of collaborative issues, the personal/ personnel and the structural/organizational. The issues are organized around the phases of the project at which they optimally should be considered and resolved.     

Racial similarity as a moderator variable in the perception of leader behavior and control

This study compared leader behavior ratings of black and white Army infantry squad members serving in squads led either by black or white leaders. One black and one white squad member, chosen at random from each of 34 racially mixed squads, rated their leader's Consideration and Initiation of Structure behaviors (Stogdill, 1963), and their leader's behavior relevant to French and Raven's (1959) five bases of social power. In general, it was found that members who were of the same race as their leader rated him as significantly less likely to use punishment-related behaviors than did members who were of a different race than their leader. However, same-race members did not rate their leader's considerate or structuring behavior differently than did different-race members. The overall pattern of findings were discussed in terms of the leaders' implicit reliance on their punishment power to obtain compliance from different-race subordinates.     

Stereotype attribution in two ethnic groups

The cross-cultural generality of previously observed stereotype attribution processes was investigated. European and Maori New Zealanders, similar in age but differing in occupational status from previous American samples, rated stimulus persons varying along three dimensions: Ethnicity (European, Maori, Samoan); Origin (Urban-Rural); and Occupation/Education (manager, skilled tradesman, laborer). Response traits were 26 adjectives found in previous research to comprise ethnic stereotypes. Factor analysis of these 26 traits showed that 5 factors were plausible in each sample, although the factor structures in the two samples were not identical. Separate between- subjects ANOV As in each sample showed that stimulus occupation accounted for most of the systematic variance in the attribution of the trait factors. This was interpreted as evidence for possible occupational stereotyping. Methodological and theoretical issues relevant to this conclusion were discussed, including the likelihood that different processes may characterize attribution in different cultures and situations.     

Sources of bias in performance evaluation: Two experiments

Attribution and stereotyping theories predicted that poor-performing black workers would receive lower evaluations than corresponding Whites, while good performance would have the reverse effect. “Dress and lifestyle” was also predicted to influence performance evaluation. Male business students, evaluating bogus employees differing in race, dress, and behaviorally described performance, provided weak support for the second hypothesis. A second experiment investigated the possibility that perceived social class, rather than race, was the relevant variable in the operation of a stereotype confirmation—contrast process. Individual differences in stereotyping were also measured. No support for the specific hypothesized process was found, but results supported the potential relevance of attribution theory to a configural performance-evaluation model. Results were also discussed in terms of worker-perceived discrimination.     

Interethnic perception and the communication behavior among five ethnic groups in Hawaii

The purpose of this paper was to explore interethnic perception in an ethnically mixed society, and to examine the relationship between the degree of stereotyping toward certain ethnic groups and interethnic interpersonal communication and social capacity variables, such as education, age, occupational status, length of stay in the U.S., and English fluency. The study focused on three major aspects of stereotyping: homogeneity, polarity, and favorableness of interethnic attitudes. Homogeneity was defined as the degree to which an individual differentiates dimensions of perception, while polarity was the degree of extremity—either positive or negative—of perception. Favorableness was the degree of positive attitude toward other ethnic groups.The study was based upon a random survey conducted from 1978 to 1979 of five ethnic groups in Hawaii, including 401 Koreans, 203 Japanese, 200 Caucasians, 199 Samoans, and 208 Filipinos. Six bipolar dimensions of perception were explored: responsible-irresponsible, friendly-unfriendly, independent-dependent, good-bad, hard working-lazy, and wise-foolish. The results indicated that interethnic interpersonal communication had the strongest relationship with the level of favorableness. The hypothesized relationships between the social capacity variables and stereotyping were statistically significant, although the magnitude of the relationships were small.     

Ethnic similarity and economic status of the potential helper as determinants of helping behavior

A field experiment was conducted in an attempt to study the effects of (a) the ethnic origin of the potential helper, (b) the ethnic origin of the recipient, and (c) the economic status of the potential helper, on the extent to which help would be offered. One hundred and twenty subjects participated in the experiment. The experimenter asked each of the subjects to contribute money for a needy family. The major finding was the significant interaction between the ethnic origin of the potential helper and the ethnic origin of the recipient. The frequency of European contributors was about equal for recipients from the two ethnic groups involved, whereas the frequency of Middle-Eastern contributors was higher when the needy family was of Middle-Eastern ethnic origin than when it was of European ethnic origin.     

Situational and personal influence on attitude change following ethnic contact

The study undertook to examine the validity in Israel of several conclusions reached by investigators in the United States on the effect of intergroup contact on change in ethnic attitudes, as well as to extend contact research to topics which heretofore have received only scant attention. There were 100 subjects: 12-year-old Israeli girls of different ethnic background, participating in a summer camp. Results indicated that (1) as a result of contact, a positive change in attitude of the high status towards the low-status group occurred with regard to people and activities both related and not related to the contact situation, (2) only subjects without previous ethnic contact showed changes, (3) enjoyment of the contact situation was related to attitude change, while (4) authoritarianism was not related to attitude change.     

Perceiving punishment as a contingent of interethnic relations

This study raises the question of whether the perception of punishment is contingent upon ethnic homogeneity or heterogeneity of teachers and students. Eighty Israeli Oriental seventh-grade students were classified into two groups according to their ethnic identification scores. Each was shown one of four films portraying a classroom scene in which a student (Oriental or Western) is punished by either a Western or an Oriental teacher. Results show that the context of interethnic relationships influences the perception of punishment. Compared to low identifiers, the high identifiers perceived punishment as unjust and showed less affection for a Western teacher punishing an Oriental student than for a Western teacher punishing a Western student. In a parallel fashion, the high identifiers assessed more positively an Oriental teacher punishing a Western student than the low identifiers. The results are discussed in terms of interethnic relations and attributional bias.     

Attitudes toward an enemy and personality in a war environment

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of war environment on political attitudes toward an enemy and on personality development. High school students from an Israeli town on the border of “Fatahland” and a town in central Israel were asked to fill out: A questionnaire on their political views toward the Israel-Arab conflict and the Repression-Sensitization (R-S) scale (Byrne et al., 1963). Results showed three factors in the students' political views: (a) Return of the Controversial Territories (Samaria, Judea, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Sinai); (bj Credibility of the Arabs in negotiation; (c) The policy of the previous government in its return of certain territories in Sinai.It was found that the students in the border town were less opposed to return the Controversial Territories than the students in the non-border town. Repressers in both towns gave more credibility to the Arabs in negotiation than did sensitizers. Girls agreed more with the policy of the previous government in its return of the territories in Sinai than boys. Results also showed that the students in the border area as well as boys in both towns were more repressive in their personality type than the students in the more peaceful area and girls of both towns respectively.     

Family size and parental satisfaction: Race and sex differentials

The impact of family size on parental satisfaction is investigated with race and sex as moderating variables. From a national sample of parents, a white subsample is matched to the black sample on the basis of education, city size, and age. The association between family size and parental satisfaction is negative and low for white males and females as well as for black females. For black males, the association between family size and satisfaction is positive and moderately high. Exchange interaction and role transition are proposed as frameworks which could account for the general relationship between family size and satisfaction as well as for the black male anomaly.     

The effects of economic development and modernization in resolving traditional-modern attitudinal conflict

Experts point out that development changes societies in ways so profound that they cannot be anticipated by the participants in the experience. This article analyses the effects of rapid economic development on traditional life styles and the resolution of ensuing attitudinal conflict. Previous studies of traditional-modern (T-M) problems encountered in the process of modernization are reviewed and modernization theories and methodological problems are discussed. Evidence is presented for a T-M model based on studies in West Africa, Australian aborigines, Hong Kong Chinese, Japanese, and Alaskan Eskimo, identifying certain independent variables which are held to influence modernization: the nature of traditional ecologies, e.g., agricultural, pastoral, or hunting/fishing societies, the severity of socialization and the nature of traditional authority systems. The analysis confirmed that development does change societies in profound ways, uprooting cultures, altering environments and modifying individuals physically and psychologically. However, it was also postulated, based on T-M research, that hunting, fishing and the main pastoral societies are generally more highly resistant to change, do not want change and may be better off without it. In contrast, most agricultural and mixed agricultural-pastoral societies are not only more susceptible to modern change, they can usually derive the most benefit from it and also in most cases want change.     

Sociolinguistics: The implications of a sociological approach in examining the counseling relationshipSociolinguistique: Les insinuation d'une approche sociologique en examinant le rapport de conseil

This article discusses basic concepts of sociolinguistics and considers their relationship to the counseling process. Essentially, it suggests that interviewing be examined in the light of (1) language as a cultural phenomenon and (2) the interactions between individuals and society. When reconceptualized in this way, counseling can benefit from the systematic knowledge of a related field and counselors will be helped to communicate more competently.     

Hyperactivity among Hong Kong Chinese children

Hyperactivity has been claimed to be predominantly an American phenomenon. The present study used Conners' Abbreviated Teacher Rating scale to rate 506 normal Chinese children in Hong Kong as well as 167 children independently diagnosed as hyperactive. Sex differences similar to American findings were noted, although the ratings for Chinese girls were much lower. Overall decrease in hyperactive symptoms towards adolescence was also found. The possible influence of cultural factors on incidence of hyperactivity is discussed.     

The perception of transcendent interest: Communication and identification in an emergent community

The interrelationships among five variables were analyzed in an effort to understand the process of community formation in a culturally plural metropolitan environment. The variables—perception of transcendent interest, perception of commonality, cooperative interaction, maintenance adaptation, and growth adaptation—were formulated by explicating and synthesizing the concepts of community, community identification, and coorientation. The perception of transcendent interest, described as the focal point of identification, and the basis of an emerging community, was found to correlate significantly with all the other four variables, but to be best predicted by cooperative interaction and maintenance adaptation. The study offers insight into the processes of acculturation and cultural group formation in a plural system.     

Patterns of interpersonal criticism in Japan and United StatesModes de critique interpersonelle au Japon et aux Etats-UnisNormas de critica interpersonal en el Japon y en los Estados Unidos

To investigate patterns of interpersonal criticism in Japan and United States, preliminary interviews were conducted. Three major variables: sources of dissatisfaction; the status of communicative partners: and modes of giving criticism were identified. These variables were incorporated into an Interpersonal Criticism Questionnaire and then administered to 149 Japanese and 168 American college students of both sexes, after establishing cross-cultural equivalence. The results demonstrated a significant difference between the two cultures, but no significant difference between the sexes. Both cultures favored expressing dissatisfaction in a direct way, but Japanese more frequently employed passive forms of criticism and Americans active forms. While Japanese consistently adapted critical messages to the status of their communicative partners, Americans consistently adapted their critical messages to the character of the provocation.     

Group status and attitude change in desegregated classrooms

One thousand thirty-three ninth-grade students from Western and Middle-Eastern ethnic background in 30 classrooms responded to a questionnaire assessing ethnic attitudes. The questionnaire was administered at the beginning and again at the end of these students' first year in ethnically desegregated classrooms. No marked changes in ethnic attitudes were noted as a function of the students' individual academic or social status in the classroom, but there were noteworthy changes associated with the relative status in the classroom occupied by the students' ethnic groups. Positive attitude change among Western (majority) students occurred when both ethnic groups in the classroom were of equal status, and when the MiddleEastern (minority) group was of superior academic status to the Western group. Positive change among the Middle-Eastern group occurred when it occupied superior status in the classroom.     

Rural women in development: Veil of invisibility,world of workFemmes rurales et le developpement: Voile d'invisibilite,monde de travailLas mujeres rurales en el desarrolo: El velo de las invisibilidad,en mundo del trabajo

Over the last decade, evidence has been accumulating that the process of development has resulted more frequently in greater economic marginalization than benefits for poor rural women in much of the Third World. Yet recent efforts aimed at incorporating these poor non-urban women into development have been hampered by the “veil of invisibility” hiding their past and present conditions and contributions. This article formulates some hypotheses concerning female invisibility as well as productivity, and then contrasts the extant view of rural Third World women as relatively unproductive with (1) evidence drawn from evolutionary history, and (2) data from new micro-level and UN studies. The former indicates that women were the primary producers in most pre-agrarian human groups. The latter indicate that women continue to produce approximately half the world's food, although there is dramatic regional variation. The article concludes with an analysis of the statistical biases and stereotypes that obscure these contributions and briefly indicates the cost of this invisibility to the countries involved as well as to the women themselves.