HANDBOOK OF INTERCULTURAL TRAINING edited by Dan Landis and Richard W. Brislin Volume I: Issues in Theory and Design Volume II: Issues in Training Methodology Volume III: Area Studies in Intercultural Training Pergamon Titles of Related Interest Brislin CROSS-CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS: Face-to-Face Interaction Bochner CULTURES IN CONTACT: Studies in Cross-cultural Interaction Goldstein/Segall AGGRESSION IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Marsella/Pedersen CROSS-CULTURAL COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY Morris SAYING AND MEANING IN PUERTO RICO: Some Problems in the Ethnography of Discourse Related Journals* HABITAT INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS WOMEN'S STUDIES INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY WORLD DEVELOPMENT *Free specimen copies available upon request. PERGAMON GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY SERIES EDITORS Arnold P. Goldstein, Syracuse University Leonard Krasner, SUNY at Stony Brook Handbook of Intercultural Training Volume III Area Studies in Intercultural Training Edited by Dan Landis Purdue University, School of Science, Indianapolis Richard W. Brislin East-West Center, Honolulu PERGAMON PRESS New York Oxford Toronto Sydney Paris Frankfurt Pergamon Press Offices: U.S.A. Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, New York 10523, U.S.A. U.K. Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford 0X3 OBW, England CANADA Pergamon Press Canada Ltd., Suite 104, 150 Consumers Road, Willowdale, Ontario M2J 1P9, Canada AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 544, Potts Point, NSW 2011, Australia FRANCE Pergamon Press SARL, 24 rue des Ecoles, 75240 Paris, Cedex 05, France FEDERAL REPUBLIC Pergamon Press GmbH, Hammerweg 6, OF GERMANY D-6242 Kronberg-Taunus, Federal Republic of Germany Copyright © 1983 Pergamon Press Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title. Handbook of intercultural training. (Pergamon general psychology series ; 116) Includes index. Contents: v. 1. Issues in theory and design.» v. 2. Issues in training methodology-v. 3. Area studies in intercultural training. 1. Intercultural communication-Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Culture conflict-Addresses, essays, lectures. 3. Adjustment (Psychology)-Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Landis, Dan. II. Brislin, Richard W. III. Series. GN496.H36 1982 303.4'82 82-40392 ISBN 0-08-027535-4 All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publishers. Printed in the United States of America For Rae Michael, and Michele, f who make it all worthwhile. -DL For members of my nuclear and extended family, who in some cases provided the opportunities for my own cross-cultural exper- iences, and in all cases supported them. »-RB Foreword Trying to deal across cultures is really an extraordinarily complex, and often bewildering, busi- ness. We have to gather knowledge about the other culture, to organize the information into some understandable and useful form, to always question whether our very mode of gather- ing and organizing data has imposed preconceived or distorted frameworks on the data, to train a new generation of persons who must work in different capacities, and at the same time try to make ourselves understood by other societies and cultures. One starts to ask what kinds and how much information has to be transmitted before people in one culture begin to under- stand and are able to work effectively with people from another culture. A year ago, I joined the East-West Center, an international educational institution estab- lished by the United States Congress in 1960. Since that time I have been trying to look at some broader questions of scholarly approaches to cross-cultural research: Who is concerned with the products of this research? How can we encourage more genuinely cooperative work among scholars and practitioners in many countries? How can we assure that the research topics selected are truly of high mutual concern to all participating countries and individuals? To an unsettling degree, I am impressed by how limited scholarly developments are on these questions, perhaps to a point where we are failing to communicate across cultures—even when we think we are communicating. The literal words are heard, but are often not under- stood. In dealing across cultures, communication involves problems of language, social and political structure, economics, and the habits and psychology of both the individual and the larger group. Values are also highly important factors. We are well past—I hope—the more extreme forms of cultural chauvinism and blindness, exemplified by the U.S. senator who said in the 1930s that "With the help of God, we will lift the city of Shanghai up and up until it is just like Kansas City." Nevertheless, one's basic socialization experiences within one's own culture give one a set of standards of right and wrong, of proper and improper behaviors or values. When people come into contact with members of other cultures, they use these same stand- ards and bases for judgment, whether in an appropriate or inappropriate manner. We must constantly strive to broaden people's perspectives beyond the experiences of their socializa- tion within any one culture. The issues are much more subtle than the one raised by one U.S. senator. For example, as I read through sophisticated contemporary writings on development and modernization, I see a large number of unspoken assumptions that give particular weight to economic growth, to formation of certain kinds of political institutions and attitudes, to certain changes in social structures, and to increased use of technology. These factors, or perhaps they are values, are built into the view of what is considered developed, advanced, or modern. We should at least ask whether there are other ways of measuring the progress of civilization, and hence whether there are other factors or values to which we should be paying more attention. ix x Foreword Let me illustrate the point with a story from the Heian period of Japan. A court noble, Su- gawara Michizane, lost out in a political struggle and was exiled. After he died, he returned as an angry Shinto spirit to haunt and to kill the people who were his enemies during life. Many steps were taken to placate this god of vengeance, including building a shrine to him in Kyoto. Over the years this spirit started to mellow. In the 13th century he appears in the garb of a Confucian scholar to a Zen monk and asks for instruction. Gradually, this angry, vengeful god becomes the protector of intellectuals, the patron saint of poetry, and ultimately was seen to be a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The secret magic formulas that formerly were used to propitiate this angry god became poems used to pacify the hearts of man. A Bud- dhist temple dedicated to him was built next to his Shinto shrine. This course of events is not modernization or development in the usual economic or polit- ical sense. Yet the transformation of an angry spirit to a Bodhisattva of Compassion reflects a basic advance of civilization. Moreover, the interrelationships among Shinto, Confucian, and Buddhist elements help shape modes of thought in Japan about dealing with differences and coping with new ideas. The concept is very modern even though the events are of a thousand years ago. The authors of the chapters of this third volume of the Handbook of Intercultural Training deal with the issues raised above as well as with a broad range of other basic questions. They have made important contributions to cross-cultural scholarship. Their work exemplifies the East-West Center's congressional mandate "to promote better relations and understanding between the United States and the nations of Asia and the Pacific through cooperative study, training, and research." Victor Hao Li President, East-West Center Preface This handbook deals with a problem that is central to today's complex world: How can people best live and work with others who come from very different cultural backgrounds? This book was formally born at the 1980 meetings of the Society for Intercultural Educa- tion, Training and Research (SIETAR) held in Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania. But its origin dates further back than a few cold, beer-filled nights in the mountains near Scranton. We, the edi- tors, have been involved in cross-cultural research, education, and training for some years now, although we scarcely qualify as "grand old men" of the field. We have both been im- pressed with the desire of people to subject themselves to the rigors of working in strange cul- tures. We have had extensive interaction with people who prepare others for cross-cultural experiences, frequently called "trainers." We have also been impressed with the intuitive feel- ings of many trainers and just as equally impressed by the naivete of others who are also called "trainers." There are times when we have been blessed with that exhilaration that comes from a successful training session or beset by the depression that comes from one that fails. There are also times when we look over the work of others and stand in awe, as well as times when we are ashamed and furious. But most of all, like many behavioral and social scientists who have a background in extensive empirical analysis, we have been most impressed by the lack of communication and theoretical rigor in this important applied field. As Lewin noted years ago, nothing is so practical as a good theory. Well, the lack of a good theory—despite much that passes as one—may be the reason that training is still an art whose replicability is more a matter of chance than design. Thus, this book was conceived. For the serious trainer and cross-cultural scientist, there is much here that will be inter- esting, intriguing, and even useful. For the practitioner who is not interested in developing his or her activities on a more rational, careful basis, these volumes will disappoint and perhaps even anger. There is little we can do for such individuals. For them, handbook volumes re- main on someone else's shelf. It is our hope that even if this proves to be the case, perhaps once in a while they will be borrowed and scanned. That will be one measure of the success of this enterprise, which has involved over three dozen scholars and trainers. The other measure is the anger quotient. We expect to be controversial because this is a contentious field, as any- one who has attended a planning meeting for a cross-cultural training program can attest. We have asked our contributors to take chances with their ideas. We want these chapters to stand as good contributions 20 and 30 years from now, much as S. S. Stevens' Handbook of Exper- imental Psychology, (New York: Wiley, 1951) is still treasured by the best graduate students. The major focus of the chapters is the experience of living and working for long periods in cultures other than one's own. Experiences such as those of Peace Corps volunteers, overseas businesspeople, foreign students, diplomats, technical assistance advisors, immi- grants, and many others, are thus the topics of study and analysis. But working with members xi xii Preface of other cultures can also include extensive interaction among different people within a given country; such interactions stem from majority-minority group relations. These are also the focus of some chapters. Given the broad subject area addressed, we asked numerous experts to deal with various specific topics that are integral to the cross-cultural experience. Hence, we find chapters on the selection of people for overseas and other types of cross-cultural exper- iences, their training and preparation, their integration into complex organizations, and spe- cific information on various parts of the world in which they might live. We have also asked different authors to analyze the sorts of experiences people are likely to have, such as the frus- tration of stress involved in adjusting to another culture, as well as the benefits stemming from coping with problems successfully. Further, other authors address how the benefits of inter- cultural interaction can be integrated into different levels of a country's educational system and how the oft-cited goals of international education can be facilitated through greater atten- tion to the face-to-face cross-cultural experience. Beyond the contributors, we profited from the labors of many in the preparation of these volumes. In Indianapolis, those included Mrs. Pat Gould, Ms. Cathi Eagen, Mrs. Judy Peak, and Mrs. Donna Mclnturff (who also prepared the author index). No mere listing of names can do justice to their patience in dealing with an irascible boss who should have been caged long ago and fed through a door. In Hawaii, Charlene Fujishige and Jenny Ichinotsubo assisted with manuscript processing, demonstrating tolerance as authors demonstrated behavior that was predictable by knowl- edge of temporal conditioning as their deadlines approached. Mary Brandt, Lanette Shizuro, and Susan Goldstein kept records of manuscripts during the submission and revision process and also made substantive comments on various drafts. We are happy to include them as co- authors of the introductory chapters to the volumes. A number of authors who originally agreed to prepare chapters did not honor their commitments. While this is usually true of multi-volume works, it still causes editorial problems. Memories of the lessons our mothers taught us keep us from listing their names. We are especially grateful to those authors who not only honored their agreements but also consented to prepare other chapters to fill voids left by those who were unable to prepare chapters as originally planned. The following colleagues prepared more than one chapter, the second contribution usually on very short notice: Drs. Norman Dinges, Michael Hamnett, and R. Michael Paige. A special note of appreciation is due our editors, Jerry Frank, Marie Meisel and Margaret Graham of Pergamon Press. Their amazing ability to elevate academic phraseology to rea- sonable clarity contributes much to this work. Other authors should be so fortunate. Preparation of this volume was partially supported by contract NO 014-83-K-0021 from the Office of Naval Research to D. Landis. 1 International Education, Area Studies, and Materials Acquisition Susan Goldstein, Richard W. Brislin, and Dan Landis In establishing a cross-cultural training program, administrators must necessarily be concerned with methods, content, and context. Extensive discussions of methods can be found in the first two volumes of this handbook, and discussions of the contexts in which training takes place can be found in Volume II. Volumes I and II also contain material on such general con- tent areas for training as reactions to culture shock, the competencies that are called upon dur- ing sojourns, and the difficulties of coping with different situational variables. A major content area in this volume is information about the countries in which people will be living and work- ing, and it is our experience that trainers are constantly seeking new and better country-specif- ic information to incorporate into programs. We asked six people who are familiar with cross- cultural training to write about countries with which they are very familiar in order to demon- strate what types of content might be included in training. Another reason for including the six chapters on Japan, Iran, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, Canada, and the Pacific Islands is because these areas have been the recipients of large numbers of sojourners. Of course, no one book can provide detailed country-specific information on every country in the world; it can, however, provide information on how to acquire country-specific information and ma- terials. We have found the following sources especially helpful. The Foreign Area Studies program at American University (Washington, D.C.) has published approximately 108 books, each devoted to a specific country or region of the world. Topics include history, politics, economics, and social conditions. At the time this handbook went to press, books were available on the following countries: Afghanistan Bolivia Chile Dominican Republic Albania Brazil China Algeria Bulgaria China, People's Ecuador Angola Burma Republic of Egypt Argentina Burundi Colombia El Salvador Australia Congo Ethiopia Austria Cambodia Costa Rica Cameroon Cuba Finland Bangladesh Ceylon Cyprus Belgium Chad Czechoslovakia Germany, East 1 2 Handbook of Intercultural Training Germany, Fed. Japan Nigeria Soviet Union Rep. of Jordan Spain Oceania Ghana Sudan Kenya Greece Pakistan Syria Korea, North Guatemala Panama Korea, South Tanzania Guinea Paraguay Thailand Guyana Laos Persian Gulf Trinidad and Lebanon States Haiti Tobago Liberia Peru Honduras Tunisia Libya Philippines Hungary Turkey Poland Malagasy Republic India Malawi Portugal Uganda Indian Ocean Malaysia Romania Uruguay Territories Mauritania Rwanda Venezuela Indonesia Mexico Saudi Arabia Vietnam, North Iran Mongolia Senegal Vietnam, South Iraq Morocco Sierra Leone Israel Mozambique Yemens, The Singapore Italy Yugoslavia Nepal, Bhutan, Somalia Ivory Coast & Sikkim South Africa Zaire Jamaica Nicaragua Southern Rhodesia Zambia The intercultural Press (70 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, Illinois, 60610) publishes or distri- butes country-specific information as part of a series of books called "Updates" and "Interact," as well as individual books by various authors. They are different from the Foreign Area Study series in that they were written by people who have themselves had extensive experience in the sorts of cross-cultural training concerns addressed throughout this three-volume hand- book (e.g., difficulties faced by sojourners in the various countries). However, fewer countries are covered than in the Foreign Area Study series. For those countries covered by books avail- able from the two organizations, our recommendation is to acquire both. Information on the following countries is available in individual volumes. Australia Mexico Bahrain/Qatar People's Republic of China Belgium Nigeria Brazil Saudi Arabia Britain Singapore Canada South Korea Egypt Republic of China (Taiwan) France Thailand Hong Kong United Arab Emirates Indonesia United States of America Japan Venezuela Kuwait West Germany Malaysia The Language and Intercultural Research Center (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) has catalogued massive amounts of relevant materials. The Center will do computer