Module 3 ConclusionThrough this module’s online lectures and textb.docx

Module 3 Conclusion
Through this module’s online lectures and textbook readings,
you analyzed how values and ethics are developed. You also
evaluated the importance of accepting and managing diversity
effectively.
Here are the key points covered:The six value orientations—
individualism or collectivism; preferred personality; view of
human nature; human-nature relationship; power distance; long-
term vs. short-term orientation—all influence how individuals
and groups understand and respond to the world, which in turn,
affects how they interact with others.In addition to being
truthful, ethical communication involves deciding which
information can and should be disclosed or withheld as well as
assessing the benefits or harm associated with specific
messages.Truthfulness plays a fundamental role in ethical
communication due to two reasons, you expect messages to be
truthful and messages have consequences. The ethical
consequences of sharing or withholding information depend on
whether it is likely to help people to make informed decisions
or not. A message is considered legitimately private when other
parties have no right to expect access to it. Finally, to be an
effective communicator, you have to discern the benefits or
harm associated with your messages.The process of determining
ethical choices and decisions can be based on both individual
perspective and communal perspective. When ethics are
discussed in an organizational context, the rights of the
individual, such as the right to free speech or privacy, assume
importance. However, a communal approach focuses on the
common good or the best interests of the entire community. The
morality of an action is assessed based on its consequences for
the group.The three barriers to accepting diversity include
preconceptions or lack of knowledge, stereotyping, and
prejudice. These internal barriers however, can be overcome by
increasing motivation, increasing knowledge of self and others,
and avoiding stereotypes.Diversity can enhance your

interpersonal effectiveness by increasing your opportunities,
enhancing your abilities at work, and improving your self-
awareness.
Diversity; Interpersonal Effectiveness
Learning about and accepting diversity can improve your
interpersonal effectiveness and increase your personal and
professional opportunities. It also allows you to widen your
circle of friends and acquaintances and may even open up new
business opportunities by helping you work in or manage
diverse work groups.
Learning about diversity can increase your effectiveness at
work. It can also help improve your ability to communicate with
colleagues and customers or clients who differ from you. This
may pave the way for organizational rewards and opportunities.
In addition, accepting diversity and honing your skills in this
area can enhance your self-awareness. Part of accepting and
understanding diversity is the ability to understand and critique
your own cultural beliefs and values. This understanding can
help inform the choices you make or lead you to new
experiences and beliefs.
Overcoming Barriers to Diversity
Now that you are aware of the three barriers to accepting
diversity in any environment, you will look at some ways to
overcome these barriers, listed as follows:
Increase Your Motivation
Perhaps the most important component to overcoming the
barriers to accepting diversity is motivation. Without the
motivation to be an effective communicator, no other skills will
be relevant. For example, part of the problem in longstanding
inter-ethnic or inter-religious conflicts is the lack of interest, on
both sides, in communicating more effectively. Some parties on
both sides may even have an interest in prolonging conflict. To
resolve conflict, a strong desire to improve communication
skills is, therefore, necessary.

Increase Your Knowledge of Self and Others
In addition to being motivated, you must also educate yourself
about intercultural communication to become a more effective
communicator. For example, having some knowledge about the
history, background, and values of people from other cultures
can help you communicate with them better. When you
demonstrate this type of knowledge to people from other
cultures, you communicate that you are interested in them and
affirm their sense of identity. Obviously, no one can ever learn
everything about every culture; nonetheless, some general
information can be helpful and can help create awareness of the
importance of context.
Self-knowledge is also very important. For example, if you were
socialized to be very individualistic, you may initially have a
hard time understanding collectivistic tendencies. Once you
become aware of these differences, however, you can more
easily communicate with people of different perspectives. If you
grew up in a middle-class family, this may also influence your
perceptions. Many middle-class people assume that anyone can
become middle class through hard work. However, this view
overlooks the discrimination that some immigrants and minority
groups face. How can you increase your cultural self-
awareness? Perhaps the best way is to cultivate intercultural
encounters and relationships.
Avoid Stereotypes
Cultural differences may lead to stereotyping and prejudices.
Furthermore, stereotyping can become self-fulfilling (Appel &
Kronberger, 2012). If you stereotype people and treat them in a
prejudiced or negative manner, they may react in ways that
reinforce your stereotype. On the other hand, overreacting by
being very sweet can be equally off-putting. African Americans
sometimes complain about being “niced” to death by white
people (Yamato, 2001), and this complaint appears to continue
(Alberts, Nakayama, & Martin, 2015). Try to pay attention to

situations in which you might be stereotyping. For example, do
you look for instances of behavior that counter your
stereotypes? Or do you notice only those that fulfill them?
References:
Alberts, J. K., Nakayama, T. K., & Martin, J. N. (2015). Human
communication in society (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Appel, M., & Kronberger, N. (2012). Stereotypes and the
achievement gap:Stereotype threat prior to test taking.
Educational Psychology Review, 24(4), 609−635.
Yamato, G. (2001). Something about the subject makes it hard
to name. In M. L. Andersen & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class
and gender: An anthology (pp. 90–94). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
Module 3 Overview
Evaluate the role cross-cultural communication plays with
respect to performance and functionality in international
business.Analyze organizational communications by using the
functional, meaning-centered, and emerging perspectives
approaches.Identify barriers to establishing and maintaining
positive values and ethical practices regarding diversity and
suggest approaches to abrogate or overcome these barriers, from
domestic and international perspectives.Analyze dyadic
communication within an organization and evaluate the effects
that power, diversity, and conflict have on interpersonal
effectiveness (from both domestic and international/global
perspectives).
Every organization has a set of values and ethics that forms the
basis for its members' behaviors. These values and ethics may
relate to equality, humanity, and power, and most organizations
use them to define acceptable standards and behaviors for their
members. Most organizations also hope to achieve excellence in
their field while following their ethical code.
However, what is hoped for and what is achieved are not always
the same. At times, leaders and employees may not be
communicating well interpersonally. There might be differences

in value and ethics resulting from the misinterpretation of the
organization’s stated ethics policy with the individual cultural
ethics in a diverse workplace. Also, there may be intrapersonal
challenges, whereby a leader’s or follower’s personal beliefs,
values, and ethics do not align with what the organization
expects or perhaps what is expected in another country (think
globally) when factoring in the international business
component.
How are individual and organizational values reconciled in your
organization? What are the possible barriers to communication
in a diverse workforce? What are the possible communication
barriers in an international/global workforce or business partner
situation? Can you identify some strategies for overcoming
these barriers and encouraging the acceptance of diversity? This
module will explore and answer all of these questions.
In this module, you will briefly review the six value
orientations that impact individual beliefs, attitudes, and
behaviors. You will also analyze ethical communication in
organizations at both individual and corporate (domestic and
international) levels. Finally, you will delineate the three
barriers to diversity, explore the strategies for overcoming
them, and discuss how accepting and learning about diversity is
related to interpersonal effectiveness, both domestically and
internationally.
This module’s lectures and the assigned textbook readings will
cover individual and organizational values, ethical behavior,
and the relationship between communication and diversity.
Ethics and the Organization
From debates over drug tests, affirmative action, and high
salaries for chief executing officers (CEOs) of struggling
companies to outrage over business scandals in corporations
such as Enron and WorldCom, Americans are paying more
attention to business ethics than ever before. However,
observers do not always agree on where the responsibility for
ethical behavior rests within an organization. When determining
what ethical choices and decisions an organization should make,

people usually view the process in one of two ways:Individual
perspectiveCommunal perspective (Widdows, 2013)
Many Americans take an individualistic perspective, viewing
ethical failures as resting on the shoulders of the individuals
within the organization. From this perspective, each person in
the corporation is responsible for his or her own behavior.
In the communal view, however, individuals are considered to
be members of communities that are all partially responsible for
the ethical behavior of their members. This means that changing
an individual's behavior requires a change in the community as
a whole.
Ethics discussions in an organizational context tend to focus on
individual rights, such as the right to free speech or privacy.
Policies and behaviors that infringe on these rights are seen as
unethical. However, a communal approach focuses on the
common good or what is in the best interests of the entire
community. The morality of an action is assessed based on its
consequences for the group.
For example, in an individualistic approach, discussions
regarding drug abuse in the workplace usually center on
whether organizations should be allowed to infringe on the
employee's right to privacy. From a communal approach,
however, the discussion would revolve around what types of
drug policies are the most likely to promote the good of the
community, the employer, and the employee.
On the contrary, when you view corporations in the communal
way and hold them responsible for unethical practices (such as
dumping toxic waste), no single individual is held accountable
or liable. Consequently, those responsible for the decision to
engage in unethical and, often, illegal practices may not suffer
any consequences and may be free to continue these practices.
How will you balance these two approaches? You need to hold
both the community and the individuals who lead it responsible
for their practices. For example, political leaders are tried in
war courts for crimes against humanity even though their
subordinates performed the atrocities. At the same time, when

making decisions, corporate leaders need to consider the effects
of their decisions on both individuals and society.
What role does communication play in organizational ethics?
Communication figures in organizational ethics in many ways
(Mainiero & Jones, 2013). First, many of the ethical issues in
organizations revolve around communication. Organizations
have to decide when to tell employees about impending layoffs;
they have to develop advertising campaigns that communicate
the identity of their corporation and its products to consumers
and they must decide how to communicate information
regarding their profits and losses to shareholders and Wall
Street. Further, organizations must decide what types of
employee communications are ethical and what media is
allowable in the workplace (Mainiero & Jones, 2013).
Second, the ways in which an organization defines,
communicates, and responds to ethical and unethical behavior
shape how individuals within the organization behave. If
corporate policy and organizational leaders are vague on the
issue of ethics or, even worse, fail to address ethics, employees
may believe that ethics are not a central concern of the
organization and may behave accordingly.
For example, in 2014, Brook published an article in USA Today
regarding documents that had been secured and alleging how
hundreds of millions of dollars had been awarded to soldiers as
kickbacks for persuading friends to enlist. In 2005, Esquire
Magazine published an article about the alleged ethical
violations of military recruiters. The military personnel
interviewed for the article claimed that despite written policies
encouraging ethical behavior, recruiters were violating policies
and ethics standards in order to meet the recruitment goals.
Perhaps the recruiters believe that recruiting ethically is
secondary or perhaps even an unnecessary consideration in
order to meet recruiting goals. So a question that likely comes
to mind is, why might recruiters think in this manner? Shortly
after Brook’s article, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made
statements acknowledging military ethics violations and alleged

military ethics violations and said that there needed to be
increased urgency in addressing the ethics violations (WJLA
News, 2014).
So far you have learned about organizational principles that
affect employee communication and behavior. Next, you will
examine how another organizational principle—diversity—
impacts employees and their relationships with one another and
their companies.
References:
Brook, T. V. (2014). Recruiting fraud, kickback scandal rocks
Army. USA Today.Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/03 /army-
national-guard-bogus-bonus-payments-iraq-
afghanistan/5182717/
Mainiero, L. A., & Jones, K. J. (2013). Workplace romance 2.0:
Developing a communication ethics model to address potential
sexual harassment from inappropriate social media contacts
between coworkers. Journal of Business Ethics, 114(2), 367–
379.
Widdows, H. (2013). The connected self: The ethics and
governance of the genetic individual. Cambridge, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
WJLA News. (2014, February 5). Defense Secretary Hagel
addresses ethical issues in military. Retrieved from
http://wjla.com/news/local/defense-secretary-hagel-addresses-
military-ethics-99943
Ethics and Individual
Now, let us take a look at some of the attributes and
responsibilities of individuals when communicating ethically.
Truthfulness
Truthfulness plays a fundamental role in ethical communication
for two reasons:Others expect messages to be truthful.Messages
have consequences.
People inherently expect speakers to communicate truthfully,
which makes their being deceived easier (Ozar, 2013). If an

audience is not suspicious, they probably will not look for cues
that the speaker is lying (Ozar, 2013). However, because of the
implicit contract to be honest, the discovery of deception can
severely damage relationships. The more intimate the
relationship, the greater the expectations of honesty and the
more damaging any deception will be.
The second reason why messages should be truthful is the
possible consequences of deception. Your communication can
influence the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of others.
Deceptive communication could persuade a customer to
purchase an item, a friend to loan you money, or an
acquaintance to go on a date with you. The more consequential
the outcome of your message, the more you will be held
accountable for the truth. For example, you might not be
criticized too harshly for exaggerating your salary when flirting
with a stranger, but an employer would probably consider lying
about your salary on a job application grossly unethical.
Sharing or Withholding Information
Another fundamental principle of ethical communication
concerns what information should be divulged and what can be
withheld. When is withholding information a matter of
legitimate privacy, and when is withholding information a
matter of inappropriate secrecy? For example, telling the
significant other the number of previous sexual partners is up to
each individual.
A message can be considered legitimately private when other
parties have no right to expect access to the message.
Inappropriate secrecy, on the other hand, occurs when other
parties might legitimately expect access to a withheld message.
This distinction is important because, typically, maintaining
privacy is ethical but engaging in secrecy may be unethical.
Communicators have an ethical responsibility to share
information that other people need to make informed decisions.
On the other hand, revealing information can sometimes be
unethical. For example, if you have agreed to maintain

confidentiality about a topic, revealing what you know could be
considered unethical. However, if you violate a confidence
because of a higher ethical principle, most people would
consider your behavior ethical.
Benefit and Harm of Messages
Finally, to make the most ethical choice, you should consider
the benefit or harm associated with your message. One classic
example concerns whether lying to a potential murderer about
the whereabouts of the intended victim is right or ethical. A
principle of honesty suggests that you should tell the truth. But,
in this case, once you evaluate the potential harm of sharing
versus withholding the information, you might well decide to
withhold the information. However, most issues of harm and
benefit are less clear.
Since many communication events are complex and the
underlying ethical principles are not definitive, you will
gradually develop your own philosophy of ethical
communication and apply such ethical communication on a
case-by-case basis. This is one requirement of being an
effective communicator.
Reference:
Ozar, A. (2013). Sincerity, honesty, and communicative
truthfulness.Philosophy Today, 57(4), 343−357.
Six Value Orientations
Now, let’s briefly discuss each of these six value orientations.
Individualism or Collectivism
One of the most central value orientations is whether an
organization or individual prioritizes the rights and needs of the
individual or those of the group. Believers in individualism
respect autonomy and independence. They do not meddle in
another's problems unless invited. On the other hand,
individuals who are more collectivistic in nature tend to stress

group needs over individual ones. For example, many North
American and Northern European cultural groups value
individualism and independence. These cultural groups believe
that one's primary responsibility is to one's self (Janakova &
Magdolen, 2013).
In contrast, many cultures in South America and Asia (Ho,
1987) hold a more collectivistic orientation (Hofstede, 2001;
Triandis, 1995). For collectivists, the primary responsibility of
an individual is to his or her relationships with others.
Collectivists tend to view the interdependence in family, work,
and personal relationships as a positive trait and thus value
group harmony over independence and self-sufficiency.
Preferred Personality
Preferred personality describes whether an individual or group
believes it is more important to do or to be (Kluckhohn &
Strodtbeck, 1961). In the United States, researchers have found
that doing is the preferred value for many people—because it
allows for some future achievement as each goal is achieved—
including European Americans, Asian Americans, and African
Americans (James, 2015; Stewart & Bennett, 1991). In general,
the doing mode means working hard to achieve material gains
even if it means sacrificing time with family and friends. Other
cultural groups, such as Latinos, prefer the being mode, which
emphasizes the importance of experiencing life and the people
around them fully even if this experience limits personal
financial gains (Hecht, Sedano, & Ribeau, 1993; James, 2015).
View of Human Nature
View of human nature refers to whether a person sees humans
as fundamentally good, evil, or a mixture of both. The Puritans,
a group of people who believed that human nature was
fundamentally evil, settled in the United States in the 17th
century and are commonly known for having influenced the
Salem witch hunts (Reed, 2015). Even in modern and post-
modern times, cultural groups, such as some fundamentalist

religions which view humans as essentially evil, emphasize
punishment over rehabilitation. During the same time, a shift
occurred and was reflected in the US legal system, which has
traditionally emphasized rehabilitation, suggesting a view of
humans as potentially good. However, some evidence of the
early 21st century indicates that Americans in general may be
moving again toward the aforementioned view of human nature
although arguably not to the extreme view of the Puritans.
Recent laws, such as the three strikes rule, emphasize
punishment over rehabilitation by automatically sending to
prison anyone who is convicted of a crime three times although
even this practice has come under debate (Sutton, 2013).
Human-Nature Relationship
The human-nature value orientation portrays how an individual
or organization sees the relationship between humans and
nature. At one end of this value continuum is the view that
humans are intended to rule nature. At the other extreme, nature
is seen as ruling humans. In a third option, the two exist in
harmony. The predominant value in the United States has been
one of humans ruling over nature, as evidenced by the
proliferation of controlled environments.
In contrast, many people in the Middle East view nature as
having predominance over humans. This belief that one’s fate is
held by nature is reflected in the common Arabic saying
Enchallah (Allah willing), suggesting that nature will (and
should) determine, for example, how crops grow. Finally, many
American Indians/Native Americans and Asians value harmony
with nature. Followers of this cultural orientation believe that
nature enriches human life and that humans and nature should
coexist as one.
Power Distance
Power distance, the fifth value orientation, refers to the extent
to which the less powerful members of institutions and
organizations within a culture expect and accept an unequal

distribution of power (Hofstede, 2001). In Denmark, Israel, and
New Zealand, for example, many people value small power
distances, and most people believe that inequality—while
inevitable—should be minimized.
Societies that value large power distance—for example, Mexico,
Philippines, and India—are structured around a hierarchy in
which each person has a rightful place. Interactions between
supervisors and subordinates are more formal (Hofstede, 2001).
Seniority, age, rank, and titles are emphasized more in these
societies than in small power distance societies. When working
internationally, understanding how different cultures value
power distance enhances functional communications, and thus,
results in functionally effective business relationships.
Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation
This dimension reflects a society’s attitude toward virtue or
truth. A short-term orientation characterizes cultures in which
people are concerned with possessing one fundamental truth.
This is reflected in the monotheistic (belief in one god)
religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Other qualities
associated with a short-term orientation are an emphasis on
quick results, individualism, and personal security and safety
(Hofstede, 1997).
In contrast, a long-term orientation tends to respect the demands
of virtue. This idea is reflected in several polytheistic (believe
in more than one god) Eastern religions, such as Confucianism,
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shintoism. Other qualities associated
with a long-term orientation include thrift, perseverance,
tenacity, and the willingness to subordinate oneself for a higher
purpose (Nielsen, 2015).
An understanding of cultural values is essential because they
greatly influence peoples’ behavior and communication.
Communicating in highly diverse organizations involves
confronting and responding to individuals who possess entirely
different sets of cultural values. For example, team members
who value collectivism also tend to have a long-term

orientation. Such team members may be more comfortable with
large power differences and putting relationships before
productivity. In addition, these team members are also more
likely to believe that a person need not hurry to create solutions
and that the powerful members of the organization should retain
most of the decision-making.
References:
Hecht, M., Sedano, M., & Ribeau, S. (1993). Understanding
culture, communication, and research: Application to Chicanos
and Mexican Americans. International Journal of Intercultural
Relations, 17(2),157–165.
Ho, M. K. (1987). Family therapy with ethnic minorities.
Newbury Park,CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and organizations: Software of
the mindRev. ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences (2nd
ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
James, A. B. (2015). Teaching children who are hard to
reach.Reclaiming Children and Youth, 23(4), 56−61.
Janakova, H., & Magdolen, L. (2013). Creative impact measure
of cross-cultural managerial aspects. Creative and Knowledge
Society, 3(2), 16−27.
Kluckhohn, F., & Strodtbeck, F. (1961). Variations in value
orientations.Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.
Nielsen, K. (2015). Background and history of Confucianism—
A literature review. Unpublished manuscript, Birkbeck
Institutional ResearchOnline, Birkbeck College, University of
London, London, UK.Retrieved from
http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/12459/
Reed, I. A. (2015). Deep culture in action: Resignification,
synecdoche,and metanarrative in the moral panic of the Salem
Witch Trials.Theory and Science, 44(1), 65−94.
Stewart, E. C., & Bennett, M. J. (1991). American cultural
patterns: A cross-cultural perspective. Yarmouth, ME:
Intercultural Press.
Sutton, J. R. (2013). Symbol and substance: Effects of

California's three strikes law on felony sentencing. Law and
Society Review, 47(1), 37−71.
Triandis, H. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder,
CO: Westview Press.
Communication Ethics
Defining Communication Ethics
Values describe an individual’s beliefs and attitudes. Ethics, on
the other hand, refer to how individuals enact their values in
specific behaviors and choices. More specifically, ethics refer
to the standards of what is right and wrong, good and bad, or
moral and immoral; they are the rules or codes by which people
abide (Hazels, 2015). Communication ethics describe the
standards of right and wrong that one applies to messages that
are sent and received.
When you hear the term communication ethics, you might
assume the phrase simply refers to whether messages are
truthful. Although truthfulness is one fundamental ethical
standard, communicating ethically requires much more than
simply being truthful. Truthfulness also involves deciding what
information can and should be disclosed or withheld as well as
assessing the benefit or harm associated with specific messages.
Each individual has a responsibility to evaluate the ethics of his
or her own and others’ communication efforts. Similarly,
organizations should weigh the ethics of sharing or withholding
information that might affect the value of their stock shares.
Also, broadcasting companies should decide whether reporting
private information about individuals is ethical.
Reference:
Hazel, T. (2015). Ethics and morality: What should be taught in
business law?Academy of Educational Leadership Journal,
19(2), 77−89.
Values
Values are beliefs, attitudes, or conceptions regarding the ideals
of how the world should be. Individual choices and
interpretations are influenced by a person’s particular values.

An individual is likely to be more successful when working for
an organization whose values mirror his or her own. When this
occurs, the employee is likely to feel that he or she fits in with
the organization.
Diverse organizations are not only increasingly common but
also tend to be more successful, creative, and productive. How
do you think organizations and their members integrate their
values effectively when they are made up of diverse
individuals? In part, they do so by understanding the six basic
value orientations and how individuals and cultures may vary
across them and accepting these differences. Does your
organization do this?
Although some cultures overall are more likely to endorse a
specific value orientation, any individual may have his or her
own unique set of value orientations. The six basic value
orientations are individualism or collectivism, preferred
personality, view of human nature, human-nature relationship,
power distance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation.
Communication and Diversity Barriers
According to the Population Reference Bureau (2014), the US
population will reach a point by 2043, when Caucasians will no
longer be a majority, given the growth of Latino, Asian, and
multi-racial segments of the citizenry. The populations in the
African continent will more than double to 2.1 billion by 2050.
Other developing nations are experiencing large population
growth rates as well. Arguably, the ever-increasing global world
and technology have led to the population increase and, as such,
more peoples of the world will be interacting in global business
ventures.
Despite, or because of, this rapid growth in the diversity of
organizational members, many coworkers may find managing
and responding to their diverse work environments difficult.
Frequently, these difficulties arise from one of three barriers to
accepting diversity:Preconceptions or lack of
knowledgeStereotypingPrejudice

Preconceptions or Lack of Knowledge
To process large amounts of information every day, we tend to
place things or people into groups. Grouping things or people is
a natural, cognitive, and perceptual process that can lead to
misperceptions. Categorizing can reduce complex individuals to
a single category, and thus expects them to behave in ways
consistent with their category, regardless of the circumstance.
Individuals are often categorized based on limited knowledge
and preconceptions. You might categorize an individual based
on your perception of a person’s ethnicity (which may be
wrong) and then assume that the individual endorses specific
values based on that ethnicity. You may believe that your
Japanese-American colleague endorses collectivism and large
power differences while, in fact, your colleague may be a
fourth-generation American who endorses individualism and
low power differences. Although categorizing is natural and
normal, you need to be aware of how your tendency to
categorize may impede your understanding of others.
Stereotyping
Stereotyping is another barrier to accepting diversity.
Stereotypes are a direct result of assumptions that
overgeneralize the attributes of a particular group, often leading
to stereotype threat within that group (Appel & Kronberger,
2012). You stereotype when you assume that every member of
the group possesses certain characteristics. When you
stereotype others, you may be basing your beliefs on your
interactions with just a few individuals—or perhaps on no
interactions at all. Stereotypes may also be based on
information you have read, seen in the media images, or
obtained from others.
Once you develop a stereotype, it tends to influence what you
expect from members of the stereotyped group. Stereotypes also
influence what you perceive and how you interpret others’
behavior. When you hold these types of beliefs and
expectations, they tend to erase a person’s individual

characteristics. You are likely to communicate with an
individual as if your stereotypes were accurate, rather than
basing your messages on the person’s actual behavior and
communication. Over time, the person or group being
stereotyped becomes psychologically uncomfortable or
threatened due to the stereotype negativity (Appel &
Kronberger, 2012).
Prejudice
Stereotypes often lead to prejudice. Prejudice occurs when
people harbor negative feelings toward individuals because of
their membership in a group (Rothenberg, 1992). Prejudice can
be based on physical characteristics, ethnicity or perceived
ethnicity, age, national origin, religious practices, and a number
of other identity categories.
Prejudice tends to arise out of feelings of ethnocentrism. Most
people view their own group as the standard against which they
evaluate others. Thus, one's own ethnic, regional, or class group
is the one that seems right, correct, or normal. This tendency to
view one's own group as the center against which all the others
are judged is described as ethnocentrism. It comes from the
Greek words "ethnos," which means nation, and "kentron,"
which refers to the center of a circle (Ting-Toomey, 1999).
People behave ethnocentrically when they view their own
values, norms, modes of belief, and behavior as better than
those of the other groups.
While everyone experiences ethnocentrism to some degree, it
can lead to polarized thinking and behavior; if you are right,
correct, normal, and even superior, then they must be wrong,
incorrect, abnormal, and inferior. Such thinking can seriously
interfere with the ability to communicate effectively with
members of different groups.
References:
Appel, M., & Kronberger, N. (2012). Stereotypes and the
achievement gap:Stereotype threat prior to test taking.
Educational Psychology Review, 24(4), 609−635.

Population Reference Bureau. (2014). Persistent racial/ethnic
gaps in theU.S. Retrieved from
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Reports/2014/us-inequality-
racial-ethnic-gaps.aspx
Rothenberg, P. S. (1992). Race, class and gender in the United
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Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. New
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