Adapting and adjusting to other cultures
Bird et al. (1999)
Dialog – teaching culture
You can’t teach people how to act in a certain situation while dealing with another culture,
because there isn’t one answer
Cultural dimensions:
Useful guides at the very beginning
They are also dangerous in the way that people stick to a stereotype instead of
adjusting their mind about an individual
Necessary but not sufficient tools for making sense of complex behaviour within
another culture
“Being American” can be possible at one stage, but is too dangerous to teach undergraduates
because you have to experience yourself if you are in that stage yet (you have to be
perceived as competent, earned it; otherwise you’re arrogant)
You get subtly shaped by a new culture, but after a point, rather than continuing to
struggle to fit in, you demand that they adjust to you a little; it is also okay to be
eccentric sometimes, because host nationals expect some eccentricity
Prolonged exposure to a culture reveals its’s paradoxical nature. Don’t be surprised to find
both poles of a dimension within the same culture, depending on the context > determines
what cultural values trump other values
Stereotype:
As a reference point
Adjust your perceptions and attributions to the individual all the time, with the
stereotype in place
Only meaningful by comparison
Adapting:
The ability to create a logic around why something should be valued and that value
should be applied
Just connect, make connections and build from there, being open, find something in
the new culture that you feel comfortable with and good about
First, you have to adapt to fit in, you have to go through a stage and after that there is
a possibility that you feel comfortable being who you are without adapting
Factors that seem to determine a person’s willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to
adapt in another culture:
High self-efficacy
Perceiving the purpose of the overseas assessment as a growth and development
opportunity
A focus on the intrinsic rewards of living overseas, which motivates them to continue
learning
There is always a logical reason behind any behaviour
1
Bird et al. (1999)
Dialog – teaching culture
You can’t teach people how to act in a certain situation while dealing with another culture,
because there isn’t one answer
Cultural dimensions:
Useful guides at the very beginning
They are also dangerous in the way that people stick to a stereotype instead of
adjusting their mind about an individual
Necessary but not sufficient tools for making sense of complex behaviour within
another culture
“Being American” can be possible at one stage, but is too dangerous to teach undergraduates
because you have to experience yourself if you are in that stage yet (you have to be
perceived as competent, earned it; otherwise you’re arrogant)
You get subtly shaped by a new culture, but after a point, rather than continuing to
struggle to fit in, you demand that they adjust to you a little; it is also okay to be
eccentric sometimes, because host nationals expect some eccentricity
Prolonged exposure to a culture reveals its’s paradoxical nature. Don’t be surprised to find
both poles of a dimension within the same culture, depending on the context > determines
what cultural values trump other values
Stereotype:
As a reference point
Adjust your perceptions and attributions to the individual all the time, with the
stereotype in place
Only meaningful by comparison
Adapting:
The ability to create a logic around why something should be valued and that value
should be applied
Just connect, make connections and build from there, being open, find something in
the new culture that you feel comfortable with and good about
First, you have to adapt to fit in, you have to go through a stage and after that there is
a possibility that you feel comfortable being who you are without adapting
Factors that seem to determine a person’s willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to
adapt in another culture:
High self-efficacy
Perceiving the purpose of the overseas assessment as a growth and development
opportunity
A focus on the intrinsic rewards of living overseas, which motivates them to continue
learning
There is always a logical reason behind any behaviour
1
