What comes to mind when you see someone smile? Do you think that person is happy? Embarrassed? Expressing deference? What were some of the cues that helped you interpret the expression correctly?
Or perhaps you did not interpret the situation correctly. Perhaps you misread the facial expression and body language and it led to confusion, misattribution, and misunderstandings. Misinterpretations are easy enough with someone from your own cultural background, but imagine the complexity when in a different cultural context or multicultural environment.
Emotion has been debated, analyzed, and researched across disciplines. It can be generally understood as a multicomponential process, which typically includes a preceding event, physiological response, assessment, expressive behavior, and change in cognition. Emotions are a universal phenomena for humans, but they are shaped by culture. Culture affects how emotions are experienced, expressed, perceived, reacted to, and regulated by the norms of culture and society.
In this Assignment, you research a country and culture of your choice. Analyze emotions within that country's cultural context and propose a sensitivity training course with a focus on emotion-laden situations for travelers to the country you selected.
To prepare for this Assignment:
Read the chapter, "Emotion" in the course text, Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications (5th ed.), focusing on emotion recognition, preceding events, emotional expression and display rules, and emotions in cross-cultural contexts.
Review the Learning Resources, especially the article, "Cultural Similarities and Differences in Display Rules."
Explore the website, eDiplomat.com, and select a country to complete this Assignment.
Think about an emotion-laden situation that would be significant for the country you chose.
Conduct your own research in the Walden Library and other resources appropriate for the country and the emotion-laden situation you chose.
Review the Walden Writing Center PowerPoint template.
To complete this Assignment, submit by Day 7 a 5- to 10-slide PowerPoint presentation that is part of a cultural sensitivity training course that includes the following:
Briefly describe the country you selected and its culture.
Describe an emotion-laden situation and how its significance may differ in your culture compared to its significance in your chosen country.
Analyze the preceding and contributing events, cultural display rules, and other significant details in terms of how someone from your culture might respond, and note how these issues may differ for members of the selected country's culture.
Summarize key points of difference between your culture and the selected country in terms of experiencing emotions.
Provide cultural sensitivity suggestions and recommendations for travelers to the country you selected.
Be sure to support your Assignment with specific references to the additional resources you researched for your country, emotion-laden situations, and any other applicable resources.