Intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives

Intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives

Intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives

Discussions relating to cultural values and beliefs are sensitive and require understanding how those involved in the discussion perceive other cultures to avoid creating conflicts. An individual’s unconscious bias influences the idea of an intercultural mindset. According to Ikiseh (2021), unconscious bias is an unsupported judgment against or in favour of a group of people that is formed outside a person’s conscious awareness. Eliminating unconscious bias enables an individual to get a new viewpoint of a specific concept, idea, or situation. In the current case, I need to determine the coworker’s unconscious bias relating to the idea of an intercultural mindset. So that I can determine the resources I should use to help the coworker see things from a broader point of view. I also need to determine the coworker’s cultural perspectives to anticipate unconscious bias relating to the shift in cultural perspective. Osman (2021) argues that some of the steps that another person’s unconscious bias can be determined by examining their reasoning behind a particular concept to determine if all facts were considered or biases were limiting the consideration of information that could be against what the individual favours. Therefore, I would ask the coworker open-ended questions on intercultural relations and cultural perspectives to determine whether he favours a specific point of view based on his remarks or statements about cultural stereotypes. The coworker’s response to my questions would also guide me on the resources to use to eliminate his unconscious bias.

According to Wiersma-Mosley & Butcher (2021), unconscious bias in interpreting concepts in intercultural interactions is influenced by cultural incompetence, characterized by failure to acknowledge cultural diversity. Therefore, setting a good foundation for intercultural relations discussions requires cultural competence. One of the elements of cultural competence that should be created to eliminate unconscious bias is awareness. Ikiseh (2021) argues that many people have an unconscious bias regarding their values and beliefs, which is why it is important to examine values related to diversity to create awareness of prejudices and stereotypes that can create barriers in intercultural interactions. The second element is attitude. Beliefs and values portray the extent to which individuals are open to differing opinions and views. People with strong beliefs are likely to react emotionally when their cultural differences are challenged. The third element is knowledge. Leavitt et al. (2017) argue that individuals who are more informed about different cultures are likely to be more considerate of others. The author adds that understanding other people’s cultures influences communication and cross-cultural interactions. The fourth element is skills. Intercultural relations require skills to manage cultural differences and eliminate cultural discrimination effectively. Therefore, I can increase my coworker’s cultural competence by educating him on cultural differences to create cultural awareness for an unbiased interpretation of the idea of an intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives.

I would also focus on eliminating cultural destructiveness to enable the coworker to interpret the concepts I discuss on the idea of intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives without unconscious bias. Cultural destructiveness includes policies, attitudes, practices, and structures that limit the accommodation of a specific cultural group. In most instances, individuals may develop a negative attitude towards a specific cultural group due to specific beliefs or stereotypes passed from one generation to another. Therefore, I need to establish whether my coworker has any negative attitudes towards other cultures based on how he describes other cultures. A negative attitude towards a culture may limit the development of an intercultural mindset by creating an unconscious bias that portrays only the negative side of other cultures. This further limits the shift in cultural perspectives because the individual does not appreciate other cultures. I also need to ensure that my coworker does not have cultural blindness, characterized by the failure to acknowledge other cultural values and beliefs by treating everyone the same. I may eliminate my coworker’s cultural blindness by creating awareness of other cultures and their important values and beliefs. However, I need to ensure that the coworker sees the beliefs through his lenses by giving him a chance to interpret the cultural values and beliefs. This may play a significant role in establishing the rationale for the shift in cultural perspective based on how the individual coworker sees other cultures.

I must maintain an open mind during the discussion to avoid getting offended when the coworker makes contradictory comments about other cultures because such comments may be influenced by unconscious bias. Osman (2021) argues that in some instances, a person may unintentionally make an offensive comment about a specific culture because, according to them, the statement is not offensive but is only viewed as offensive due to cultural values and beliefs. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that unconscious bias cannot be entirely eliminated and may influence cultural perspectives based on an individual’s cultural awareness. However, I need to support my arguments on the idea of an intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives with facts from research articles and books to avoid being influenced by my unconscious bias.

References

Ikiseh, B. N. (2021). Unconscious bias: The unconscious conscious affect. Academia Letters. https://doi.org/10.20935/al2291

Leavitt, L., Wisdom, S., & Leavitt, K. (2017). Cultural awareness and competency development in higher education. IGI Global.

Osman, M. (2021). UK public understanding of unconscious bias and unconscious bias training. Psychology, 12(07), 1058-1069. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.127063

Wiersma-Mosley, J., & Butcher, M. M. (2021). Creating cultural competence.

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Here is the assignment given to us: You are tasked with explaining to a coworker the idea of an intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives.

Intercultural mindset and shifting cultural perspectives

How would you incorporate current research and data to your coworker?