Responses to Difference

Dr. Lorraine Dyke

Sprott School of Business
Carleton University

Responses to
Difference
Cultural intelligence
Biculturalism
Tokenism
Social categorization / ethnocentrism
Stereotyping
Stereotype threat
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Cultural Intelligence
CQ is a propensity to suspend judgment
to think before acting.
3 major components:
Cognitive / thinking
Emotional / motivation
Behaviour / physical

Who Adapts Best to

Cultural Differences?
The people who are socially the most successful
among their peers often have the greatest difficulty
making sense of, and then being accepted by,
cultural strangers. Those who fully embody the
habits and norms of their native culture may be the
most alien when they enter a culture not their own.
Sometimes people who are somewhat detached
from their own culture can more easily adopt the
mores and even the body language of an
unfamiliar host.
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Factors Affecting
Bicultural Socialization

degree of cultural overlap

availability of cultural mediators and models
amount and type of corrective feedback
conceptual style and problem-solving approach of
the minority individual
individuals degree of bilingualism
degree of the individuals dissimilarity in physical
appearance from the majority
majoritys approach to cultural overlap
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Cultural Overlap

The Melting Pot

Biculturalism

Non-Dominant Hand
Exercise
Using your non-dominant hand (i.e. the left hand if
right handed), perform the following tasks:
Write the sentence above.
Write todays date.
Sign your name.
Draw a tree.
Show your work to someone else.
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The Consequences of
Being a Token
When individuals are different from the
majority and in small numbers, they are
typically:
treated as a representative of their group,
noticed for the wrong things, and
put in the spotlight.

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Social Categorization
Theory
Individuals assign people, including themselves,
to social categories or groups.
Individuals consider others who resemble them on
important dimensions as part of their in-group.
People who do not share those characteristics are
considered the out-group.
This frequently leads to ethnocentrism.

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Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is a preference for other members
of our own social group over non-group members.
It typically involves beliefs in:
shared characteristics amongst the in-group,
the superiority of the in-group over out-groups, and
out-group homogeneity.

Two processes contribute to ethnocentrism:

similarity-attraction processes, and
social identification processes
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Similarity-Attraction
Hypothesis
When others resemble us on some demographic
characteristic, we often assume they share our
values and opinions.
People like to interact with others who share their
views because our interactions with them are:
more comfortable,
and self-validating.

So we are more likely to be attracted to or like

others who are similar to us.
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Social Identification
Theory
Social identification theory suggests that people
are motivated to enhance their self-esteem by:
maximizing the importance of between group
differences, and
emphasizing the superiority of their group over others.

These processes are facilitated by the creation of

negative stereotypes about the out-group.

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The Stereotypes
Exercise
Individually identify as many stereotypes as
possible for each of the listed identity
groups.
Stereotypes may reflect something you or
someone else has said or assumed.
You do not need to believe or agree with
these stereotypes.
Note only one stereotype per post-it note.
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Identity Groups

People with disabilities

Visible minorities
Non-heterosexual employees
Aboriginal employees
Older employees
Women
Men
MBA students

Post as many as you can; 1 stereotype per post-it note.

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Analyzing
Stereotypes
In your presentation group, analyze the content of
the stereotypes for your assigned identity group:
How many different stereotype comments were posted
(including multiple mentions)?
What percentage are positive? Negative? Neutral?
What are the most common stereotypes?

Be prepared to present your results to the class.

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Stereotyping

What Do
You See?

Alternative
Views

Stereotyping
Stereotyping is when we assume that a
person holds particular characteristics
because they are a member of a particular
group.
e.g. all professors are absent-minded

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The Problem with

Stereotypes
Consider two stereotypes:
women are more emotional than men; and
Italians are more emotional than the British.
Assume you have a meeting of two individuals:
a woman of British ancestry; and
a man of Italian ancestry.
Who will be more emotional?
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Why Stereotypes Tell Us

Little
Stereotypes cannot tell us about individuals
because:
individuals are members of a number of
different groups which often have
incompatible stereotypes; and
there is always great variability within any
group on which stereotypes are based.
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Why Do Stereotypes
Persist?
We tend to interpret behaviour in ways that
are consistent with our existing beliefs.
There are observable differences in group
norms:
e.g. Americans tend to be more direct than
Japanese.

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Factors Affecting the

Degree of Stereotyping
A history of antagonism between 2 groups
increases stereotyping.
Stereotyping is increased by cultural
distance (i.e. a perceived lack of similarity
between cultures).
Stereotyping is reduced by personal contact
with members of other groups.
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The Impact of
Stereotyping
When we stereotype others, we often:
interpret their behaviour in a way that is
consistent with our stereotypes;
subtly communicate our expectations of them
which can become self-fulfilling prophecies;
and
undermine their sense of self-worth.
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Stereotype Threat
Stereotype threat = fear of being judged
according to a negative stereotype
Undermines performance

Conditions leading to stereotype threat:

Task is relevant to stereotype & difficult
Individual is personally invested in
performance
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Recognizing Differences Does Not

Necessarily Mean Stereotyping
Recognizing group differences does not
mean individuals should be stereotyped.
While differences do exist at the aggregate
group level, it is important to remember that
this does not mean that any particular
employee shares the values of the group(s)
of which he or she is a member.
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