This study investigated three major cultural theories of cross-cultural conflicts: (1) perceptual differences; (2) absence of cultural awareness; and (3) inability to accept cultural differences. The methodology in this study included: (1) a review of literature, which explored the need to cross cultures and investigated three major theories responsible for cultural conflicts; (2) in-depth interviewing of a small group of Cape Verdeans, which revealed incidents of cross-cultural conflicts experienced by them when they attempted to break through cultural barriers; (3) an analysis of these cross-cultural conflicts, which manifested their connection to the three major theories; (4) a review of the three major approaches to teaching cross-cultural communication: (a) the didactic; (b) the experiential; and (c) the humanistic, which examined their strengths and weaknesses; and (5) a presentation of some generalized strategies designed to surmount cross-cultural conflicts. The study concluded that: (1) global interdependency emphasizes the need to cross cultures; (2) perceptual differences, absence of cultural awareness, and the inability to accept cultural differences inhibit effective communication across cultural boundaries; (3) the three major theories of cultural conflicts that were proposed were causes of cross-cultural conflicts experienced by the Cape Verdeans in this study, although they may not have been the only causes; (4) the three major approaches to teaching cross-cultural communication (didactic, experiential, and humanistic) would be most effective when used together; and (5) some generalized strategies can be designed to overcome cross-cultural conflicts. Recommendations are made for the future study of the causes of cultural conflicts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-7439 |
| Date | 01 January 1989 |
| Creators | Conley, Shirley Potter |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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