Answers and explanation

Question1:

A student from the Middle East is studying in the USA. He arrives 10 minutes late to his class. He raises his hand to knock on the door for permission; then slips quietly in and sits down. He goes to the Professor after class and apologizes. He is probably in the stage of:

Adaptation.

Adaptation occurs when individuals have learned salient parts of the host culture and make a conscious decision to attempt to change their behavior.

Question 2:

A family living deep in El Salvador meets a North American tourist for the first time. They are fascinated with her blonde hair and laugh and try to touch it. They are probably in the stage of:

Denial

Individuals who have very limited experience with any type of differences are in this stage.

Question 3:

A Turkish woman (Muslim) attends Christmas Eve services with her friend and enjoys the music and candles. She is probably in the stage of: Acceptance

Acceptance occurs when individuals acknowledge and accept that there are different ways of expressing life situations. Behavioral change is not necessarily present.

Question 4:

A North American woman living in Venezuela complains bitterly about the crowded streets and the lack of discipline of the Venezuelan people. She is probably in the stage of: Defense

Defense occurs when individuals have to acknowledge differences and perceive a threat of some type associated with them.

Question 5:

A Bengalee child switches from English to Bengalee with his American mother and Bengalee grandmother. He automatically stands closer to his grandmother and would never joke with her. He enjoys joking with his mother, however. He is probably in the stage of:

Integration

In this case, the child uses shifting frames of reference to interact with family members.

Question 6:

An expatriate wife, living in Cameroon, writes to her mother that she really likes the Cameroonian people. She says, “They love their children just like we do. They are really just like us – under the skin.” She is probably in the stage of:

Minimization

Minimization occurs when individuals acknowledge differences but minimize them. The key to this is her comment, “They are like us…not we are like them.”

(May 31, 2020)