Developing a Cross-Cultural Mindset

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Mar 22, 2012 in Blog, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 0 comments Memorizing lists of dos and don’ts per culture is impractical and leads to stereotyping. When we stereotype people we tend to apply characteristics rigidly, as if to say that ALL people from a particular culture believe the same things and behave in the same ways. This simply does not leave room for the great variety in human experience, individual personality, and so on. To begin building an...
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Cultural Aspects of Communication

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Nov 2, 2010 in Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 0 comments Have you ever wondered why people from some cultures talk so loud and seem aggressive? Why do they stand so close to you when they speak? Or maybe you’ve wondered why some patients seem reluctant to speak or maintain eye contact? Could that be cultural? Why do people from some cultures make it difficult to get a straight answer to a simple question? Why do some people from some cultures seem...
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Eight Dimensions of American Culture

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Oct 19, 2010 in American Culture, Culture-Specific Topics, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 1 comment Cultural aspects of everyday life are often difficult for people of dominant cultures to discern because their practices, traditions, values, and understandings are taken for granted as the norm. For them, there’s no apparent need to examine cultural difference, and thus, no inclination to do so. In the US, middle-class European Americans are typically so unaware of their own culture they...
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Understanding Your Own Culture First

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Oct 19, 2010 in American Culture, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 0 comments   “In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” — Bertrand Russell Self-reflection is crucial to the cross-cultural learning process. Without understanding that everyone has a culture, and that knowledge of one’s own culture is crucial, we have a tendency to reduce learning about culture...
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Culturally Responsive Care

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Oct 19, 2010 in Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 2 comments For many years, cultural factors were largely absent from health care dialogues around patient-centered care and medical home initiatives. The current strong emphasis on cultural factors in medical care mirrors the rapid demographic changes in this country, and cultural competency has now become a favorite buzzword of policy makers, researchers, medical educators, and health care providers. The...
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