INTERCULTURAL STUMBLING BLOCKS

Intercultural Stumbling Blocks Assignment

COMM: 463 Intercultural Communication
Jonathan Sahlman
Western Kentucky University

INTERCULTURAL STUMBLING BLOCKS

1. In the article presented, Stumbling blocks in intercultural communication Barna makes the
articulation that assumption of similarity leads to misunderstanding and frustration because of a
variety of factors. Firstly, Barna explains that there is a misconception that since every individual
requires the basic necessities to survive they are therefore similar. This creates a situation in
which individuals overlook different biological and social factors that influence those necessities.
Additionally, Barna furthers that people forget that individuals cultural upbringing shapes how
they will react to via their emotional response. While some cultures may emphasize expressing
emotions, others might emphasizes suppressing them. A personal experience that I had regarding
this similar situation was when I was very young we had a neighbor who was from China. Their
youngest daughter was in my class at school. One day a teacher had noticed some boys making
fun of her. When the teacher approached her about what had happened later that day, the girl
denied the incident ever happened. The teacher was very confused about why she would not
confide in her about the incident. The girls father told my Dad one day that where they were
from in China woman were told to be extremely passive and not expressive or confrontational.
This situation demonstrates the stumbling block because the teacher failed to recognize how the
girls cultural upbringing might influence her reaction to confrontation.
2. According to Barna language difference can lead to misunderstanding and frustration because
people will often ignore that words have various contexts and connotations. For example, in
some cultures no will actually mean yes depending on the context and the situation.
Personally when I was traveling to Cleveland one year I didnt know that every soda was
referred to as a coke regardless of the brand or actual product that was desired. In California
we just ask, What kind of soda do you want? In Cleveland they would ask, What kind of coke
do you want? One day when I tried to order a diet pepsi and the individual kept asking me what

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sort of coke I desired, it took a significant period of time to understand what he actually meant.
This example fits the stumbling block, because my lack of understanding of the context lead to
confusion even though we were speaking the same base language.
3. Barna explains that nonverbal misinterpretation can lead to misunderstanding and frustration
because various cultures perceive actions such as eye contact, and posture to mean different
things. Barna gives the example of a girl asking a Saudi Arabia boy how he would signal that he
liked her. I remember talking to a friend who has just visited a middle eastern country. While he
was there he walked into a house and accidently flung his shoe at someone in the room.
Everyone was dramatically appalled at him, because apparently in this culture is was a sign of
disrespect. This example fits the stumbling block because an action that in American culture
would not be considered appalling had an extremely negative effect in a different cultural
environment.
4. Barna explains that preconceptions or stereotypes lead to misunderstandings and frustrations
because they reduce the anxiety-proned human to make the world more predictable.
Stereotypes are overgeneralizations that cause people to not treat others as individuals beyond an
initial understanding. For example, my brother who is half black and I drove to a fast food
restaurant at two in the morning. I got out of the car to throw something away. When I returned
to the car my brother was being questioned by a police officer about why he was out so late.
However, the second I informed the officer that I was in the vehicle as well and with my brother
he immediately saw no threat and left. This example fits the stumbling block because my brother
was stereotyped as being more threatening because of the color of his skin. While the officer
treated me with more legitimacy because of how I was perceived to be non-threatening.

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5. According to Barna our tendency to evaluate can lead to misunderstanding and frustration
because we are quick to judge actions of others as either being right or wrong. This means that
we never take into consideration the complexity of why someone may behave or perform a
certain action. For example, I had a friend growing up who was part of a traditional Mexican
family. Every Sunday he would not be allowed to hang out with anyone and would usually go to
church and then out for the rest of the day with his family. This was something that I was not
accustomed to and quickly deemed this activity as a wrong action. This example fits the
stumbling block because my quick evaluation failed to take into consideration how his culture
shaped his action and practices.
6. Barna finally explains that high anxiety can lead to misunderstanding and frustration because
physical and mental tension causes self-defenses which can skew perceptions of others. This
makes communicating with someone of a different language or culture difficult because things
like non-verbal cues become harder to interpret. For example, I was partnered with an individual
from Japan in a class my freshman year. One week I was simply over worked and very stressed.
During a partner assignment I was having a very difficult time focusing on what he was saying
because my concentration was just not present. This example fits the stumbling block because
my mental anxiety caused tension which made communication with another individual of a
different culture far more difficult.