MULTICULTURALISM-Theory-and-Practices-Englsih-Version-munotes

Page 1

1 1 MULTICULTURALISM & SOCIETY Unit Structure 1.1 Culture And Cultural Identity Development 1.1.1 Racial/Cultural Identity Development Models 1.1.2 Stages of Cultural Identity Development 1.2 Understanding major cultural variables in Indian context: gender, religion, caste, social class, language and regionalism. 1.2.1 Linguistic Diversity 1.2.2 Religious Diversity: 1.2.3 Caste Diversity 1.2.4 Gender Diversity: 1.2.5 Classes Diversity 1.3 Cultural transition and Acculturation 1.3.1 Cultural transition 1.3.2 Acculturation 1.4 References 1.1 CULTURE AND CULTURAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT 1.1.1 Racial/Cultural Identity Development Models One of the most promising approaches to the field of multicultural counsel-ing/therapy has been the work on racial/cultural identity development among minority groups (Atkinson, Morten, et al., 1998; Cross, 1971, 1995, 2001; Helms, 1984, 1995; Kim, 1981; Ruiz, 1990). Most would agree that Asian Americans, African Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, and American Indians have a distinct cultural heritage that makes each different from the other. Yet such cultural distinctions can lead to a monolithic view of minority group attitudes and behaviors (Atkinson, Morten et al., 1998). The erroneous belief that all Asians are the same, all Blacks are the same, all Hispanics are the same, or all American Indians are the same has led to numerous therapeutic problems. First, therapists may often respond to the culturally diverse client in a very stereotypic manner and fail to recognize within-group or individual dif-munotes.in

Page 2

2 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
2 ferences. For example, research indicates that Asian American clients seem to prefer and benefit most from a highly structured and directive approach rather than an insight/feeling-oriented one (Hong &Domokos-Cheng Ham, 2001; Root, 1998; Sandhu, Leung, & Tang, 2003). While such approaches may generally be effective, they are often blindly applied without regard for possible differences in client attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Likewise, conflicting findings in the literature regarding whether people of color prefer therapists of their own race seem to be a function of our failure to make such distinctions. Preference for a racially or ethnically similar therapist may really be a function of the cultural/racial identity of the minority person (withingroup differences) rather than of race or ethnicity per se. Second, the strength of racial/cultural identity models lies in their potential diagnostic value (Helms, 1984; Vandiver, 2001). Premature termination rates among minority clients may be attributed to the inappropriateness of transactions that occur between the helping professional and the culturally diverse client. Research now suggests that reactions to counseling, the coun-seling process, and counselors are influenced by cultural/racial identity and are not simply linked to minority group membership. The high failure-to-return rate of many clients seems to be intimately connected to the mental health professional’s inability to assess the cultural identity of clients accu-rately. A third important contribution derived from racial identity models is their acknowledgment of sociopolitical influences in shaping minority identity (à la the Nisei student). Most therapeutic approaches often neglect their potential sociopolitical nature. The early models of racial identity develop-ment all incorporated the effects of racism and prejudice (oppression) upon the identity transformation of their victims. Vontress (1971), for instance, theorized that African Americans moved through decreasing levels of de-pendence on White society to emerging identification with Black culture and society (Colored, Negro, and Black). Other similar models for Blacks have been proposed (W. E. Cross, 1971; W. S. Hall, Cross, & Freedle, 1972; B. Jackson, 1975; C. W. Thomas, 1970, 1971). The fact that other minority groups such as Asian Americans (Maykovich, 1973; D. W. Sue & S. Sue, 1971a; S. Sue & D. W. Sue, 1971b), Hispanics (A. S. Ruiz, 1990; Szapocznik, Santisteban, Kurtines, Hervis, & Roush, 1985; Spencer, 1982), women (Downing &McNamara & Rickard, 1989), lesbians/gays (Cass, 1979), and disabled individuals (Olkin, 1999) have similar processes may indicate experiential validity for such models as they relate to various oppressed groups. Black Identity Development Models Early attempts to define a process of minority identity transformation came primarily through the works of Black social scientists and educators (W. E. Cross, 1971; B. Jackson, 1975; C. W. Thomas, 1971). While there are several Black identity development models, the Cross model of psychological nigrescense (the process of becoming Black) is perhaps the most influential and well documented (W. E. Cross, 1971, 1991, 1995; W. munotes.in

Page 3

3 Multiculturalism
& Society S. Hall et al., 1972). The original Cross model was developed during the civil rights movement and delineates a five-stage process in which Blacks in the United States move from a White frame of reference to a positive Black frame of reference: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, internalization, and internalization-commitment. The pre-encounter stage is characterized by individuals (African Americans) who consciously or unconsciously devalue their own Blackness and concurrently value White values and ways. There is a strong desire to assimilate and acculturate into White society. Blacks at this stage evidence self-hate, low self-esteem, and poor mental health (Vandiver, 2001). In the encounter stage, a two-step process begins to occur. First, the individual encounters a profound crisis or event that challenges his or her previous mode of thinking and behaving; second, the Black person begins to reinterpret the world, resulting in a shift in worldviews. Cross points out how the slaying of Martin Luther King, Jr. was such a significant experience for many African Americans. The person experiences both guilt and anger over being brainwashed by White society. In the third stage, immersion-emersion, the person withdraws from the dominant culture and becomes immersed in African American culture. Black pride begins to develop, but internalization of positive attitudes toward one’s own Blackness is minimal. In the emersion phase, feelings of guilt and anger begin to dissipate with an increasing sense of pride. The next stage, internalization, is characterized by inner security as conflicts between the old and new identities are resolved. Global anti-White feelings subside as the person becomes more flexible, more tolerant, and more bicultural/multicultural. The last stage, internalization-commitment, speaks to the commitment that such individuals have toward social change, social justice, and civil rights. It is expressed not only in words, but also in actions that reflect the essence of their lives. It is important to note, however, that Cross’s original model makes a major assumption: The evolution from the pre-encounter to the internalization stage reflects a movement from psy-chological dysfunction to psychological health (Vandiver, 2001). Asian American Identity Development Models Asian American identity development models have not advanced as far as those relating to Black identity. One of the earliest heuristic, “type” models was developed by S. Sue and D. W. Sue (1971b) to explain what they saw as clinical differences among Chinese American students treated at the University of California Counseling Center: (1) traditionalist—a person who internalizes conventional Chinese customs and values, resists acculturation forces, and believes in the “old ways”; (2) marginal person—a person who attempts to assimilate and acculturate into White society, rejects traditional Chinese ways, internalizes society’s negativism toward minority groups, and may develop racial self-hatred (à la the Nisei student); and (3) Asian American—a person who is in the process of forming a positive identity, who is ethnically and politically aware, and who becomes increasingly bicultural. Kitano (1982) also proposed a type model to account for Japanese American role behaviors with respect to Japanese and American cultures: (1)positive-positive, in which the person identifies with both Japanese and White munotes.in

Page 4

4 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
4 cultures without role conflicts; (2)negative-positive, in which there is a rejection of White culture and acceptance of Japanese American culture, with accompanying role conflicts; (3)positive-negative, in which the person accepts White culture and rejects Japanese culture, with concomitant role conflict; and (4)negative-negative, in which one rejects both. These early type models suffered from several shortcomings (F. Y. Lee, 1991). First, they failed to provide a clear rationale for why an individual develops one ethnic identity type over another. While they were useful in describing characteristics of the type, they represented static entities rather than a dynamic process of identity development. Second, the early proposals seem too simplistic to account for the complexity of racial identity development. Third, these models were too population specific in that they described only one Asian American ethnic group (Chinese American or Japanese American), and one wonders whether they are equally applicable to Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and so on. Last, with the exception of a few empirical studies (F. Y. Lee, 1991; D. W. Sue & Frank, 1973), testing of these typologies is seriously lacking. In response to these criticisms, theorists have begun to move toward the development of stage/process models of Asian American identity develop-ment (J. Kim, 1981; F. Y. Lee, 1991; Sodowski, Kwan, &Pannu, 1995). Such models view identity formation as occurring in stages, from less healthy to more healthy evolutions. With each stage there exists a constellation of traits and characteristics associated with racial/ethnic identity. They also attempt to explain the conditions or situations that might retard, enhance, or impel the individual forward. 1.1.2 Stages of Cultural Identity Development Conformity Stage Similar to individuals in the pre-encounter stage (W. E. Cross, 1991), minority individuals are distinguished by their unequivocal preference for dominant cultural values over their own. White Americans in the United States represent their reference group, and the identification set is quite strong. Lifestyles, value systems, and cultural/physical characteristics that most resemble White society are highly valued, while those most like their own minority group may be viewed with disdain or may hold low salience for the person. We agree with Cross that minority people at this stage can be oriented toward a pro-American identity without subsequent disdain or negativism toward their own group. Thus, it is possible for a Chinese American to feel positive about U.S. culture, values, and traditions without evidencing disdain for Chinese culture or feeling negatively about oneself (absence of self-hate). Nevertheless, we believe that they represent a small proportion of persons of color at this stage. Research on their numbers, on how they have handled the social-psychological dynamics of majority-minority relations, on how they have dealt with their minority status, and on how they fit into the stage models (progression issues) needs to be conducted. munotes.in

Page 5

5 Multiculturalism
& Society Dissonance Stage No matter how much one attempts to deny his or her own racial/cultural heritage, an individual will encounter information or experiences that are inconsistent with culturally held beliefs, attitudes, and values. An Asian American who believes that Asians are inhibited, passive, inarticulate, and poor in people relationships may encounter an Asian leader who seems to break all these stereotypes (e.g., the Nisei student). A Latino who feels ashamed of his or her cultural upbringing may encounter another Latino who seems proud of his or her cultural heritage. An African American who believes that race problems are due to laziness, untrustworthiness, or personal inadequacies of his or her own group may suddenly encounter racism on a personal level. Denial begins to break down, which leads to a questioning and challenging of the attitudes/beliefs of the conformity stage. This was clearly what happened when the Nisei student encountered discrimination at the restaurant. Resistance and Immersion Stage The minority person tends to endorse minority-held views completely and to reject the dominant values of society and culture. The person seems dedicated to reacting against White society and rejects White social, cultural, and institutional standards as having no personal validity. Desire to eliminate oppression of the individual’s minority group becomes an important motivation of the individual’s behavior. During the resistance and immersion stage, the three most active types of affective feelings are guilt, shame, and anger. There are considerable feelings of guilt and shame that in the past the minority individual has sold out his or her own racial and cultural group. The feelings of guilt and shame extend to the perception that during this past “sellout” the minority person has been a contributor and participant in the oppression of his or her own group and other minority groups. This is coupled with a strong sense of anger at the oppression and feelings of having been brainwashed by forces in White society. Anger is directed outwardly in a very strong way toward oppression and racism. Movement into this stage seems to occur for two reasons. First, a resolution of the conflicts and confusions of the previous stage allows greater understanding of social forces (racism, oppression, and discrimination) and his or her role as a victim. Second, a personal questioning of why people should feel ashamed of themselves develops. The answer to this question evokes feelings of guilt, shame, and anger. Introspection Stage Several factors seem to work in unison to move the individual from the re-sistance and immersion stage into the introspection stage. First, the individ-ual begins to discover that this level of intensity of feelings (anger directed toward White society) is psychologically draining and does not permit one to really devote more crucial energies to understanding themselves or to their own racial-cultural group. The resistance and immersion stage tends to be a reaction against the dominant culture and is not proactive in allowing the individual to use all energies to discover who or what he or she is. Self-munotes.in

Page 6

6 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
6 definition in the previous stage tends to be reactive (against White racism), and a need for positive self-definition in a proactive sense emerges. Second, the minority individual experiences feelings of discontent and discomfort with group views that may be quite rigid in the resistance and immersion stage. Often, in order to please the group, the individual is asked to submerge individual autonomy and individual thought in favor of the group good. Many group views may now be seen as conflicting with individual ones. A Latino individual who may form a deep relationship with a White person may experience considerable pressure from his or her culturally similar peers to break off the relationship because that White person is the “enemy.” However, the personal experiences of the individual may, in fact, not support this group view. Integrative Awareness Stage Minority persons in this stage have developed an inner sense of security and now can own and appreciate unique aspects of their culture as well as those in U.S. culture. Minority culture is not necessarily in conflict with White dominant cultural ways. Conflicts and discomforts experienced in the previ-ous stage become resolved, allowing greater individual control and flexibility. There is now the belief there are acceptable and unacceptable aspects in all cultures, and that it is very important for the person to be able to examine and accept or reject those aspects of a culture that are not seen as desirable. At the integrative awareness stage, the minority person has a strong commitment and desire to eliminate all forms of oppression. 1.2 UNDERSTANDING MAJOR CULTURAL VARIABLES IN INDIAN CONTEXT: GENDER, RELIGION, CASTE, SOCIAL CLASS, LANGUAGE AND REGIONALISM. India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.277 billion people (2015), more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2022, surpassing China, its population reaching 1.6 billion by 2050. Its population growth rate is 1.2%, ranking 94th in the world in 2013. The Indian population had reached the billion mark by 1998. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India's dependency ratio should be just over 0.4. India has more than two thousand ethnic groups, and every major religion is represented, as are four major families of languages (Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages) as well as two language isolates (the Nihali language spoken in parts of Maharashtra and the Burushaski language spoken in parts of Jammu and Kashmir). Further complexity is lent by the great variation that occurs across this population on social parameters such as income and education. munotes.in

Page 7

7 Multiculturalism
& Society Only the continent of Africa exceeds the linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity of the nation of India. India is a vast country and has a long history. Its society has evolved through the ages and has also been affected by foreign influences giving it extreme diversity and made unity amidst diversity a characteristic of the Indian society. However, to understand the process, we need to understand the meaning of diversity, unity and pluralism as well as their relevance to the Indian society. Indian society is traditionally divided into castes or clans, not ethnicities, and these categories have had no official status since independence in 1947, except for the scheduled castes and tribes which remain registered for the purpose of affirmative action. In today's India, the population is categorized in terms of the 1,652 mother tongues spoken. Diversity in Indian Society: In literary terms, diversity means differences, variety or assortment. However in social context the meaning is more specific; it means collective differences among different distinct group of people, that is, those differences which mark off one group of people from another. These differences may be of any sort: biological, religious, linguistic etc. On the basis of biological differences, for example, different group belongs to different racial group - we have racial diversity. On the basis of religious differences, similarly, which mark with several variety of religious group - we have religious diversity. The point to note is that diversity refers to collective differences. The term diversity is opposite of uniformity. Uniformity means similarity of some sort that characterizes a people. ―Uni‖ refers to one; ―form‖ refers to the common ways. So when there is something common to all the people, we say they show uniformity. For instance, when students of a school, members of the police or the army wear the same type of dress, we say they are in ‗uniform‘. Like diversity, thus, uniformity is also a collective concept. When a group of people share a similar characteristic, be it language or religion or anything else, it shows uniformity in that respect. But when we have groups of people hailing from different races, religions and cultures, they represent diversity. Thus, diversity means variety. 1.2.1 Linguistic Diversity The high degree of large diversity found in India is due to the existence of diverse population groups. The greatest variety in languages can be found in the one of the biggest democracies in the world. Most of these languages are distinct and have their own distinct form of writing and speech. The dictionary defines ‗Diversity‘, as variety or different. Languages are defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. In India, the tribal communities are smallest in geographical spread and in population strength. They cover only 8.6% (2011 census) of the Indian population. Not only we should consider linguistic diversity as a resource of human kind but also should conceive both the decline in the number of languages and the emerging trend in having mono linguistic dominance over small languages as a threat to our munotes.in

Page 8

8 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
8 plural existence. It is to be accepted that even in the very ecological sense, like bio-diversity, linguistic diversity should also need to maintain. Development of Languages during the British rule in India: The British Government was cautious and well planned in all its moves. The British Raj was keen on developing the regional languages, however, for the purpose of administration, they needed a common language. The major cause for the slow paced development of the nationalistic movement was mainly due to the diversity in languages. After Independence, the country was in its worst state. There was chaos and confusion everywhere. It was now time to choose a national language. But there were at least a hundred languages that were spoken in India. Post Independence Period: After India obtained its independence, policies had to be formulated for the administration of the newly born nation. While forming the constitution of India, the leaders of the nation had to come up with a national language. They decided on Hindi as the national language and the use of English for official purposes. The Present situation: Though the situation has improved from the early fifties, there has not been a significant development. India still faces the problems due to the diversity in languages. One of the foremost problems is the lack of a unified language system. Though a national language was chosen among the 22 officially recognized regional languages. There are 1365 rationalised mother tongues, 234 (Census of 2001) mother tongues and 122 major languages in India, only 25% of the populations speak hindi as their native language. People in India have a sense of belonging to a particular language speaking community rather that the nation as a whole 1.2.2 Religious Diversity Religion is a major concern of man. Religion is universal, permanent, pervasive and perennial interests of man. The institution of religion is universal. It is found in all the societies, past and present. Religious beliefs and practices are, however, far from being uniform. Religious dogmas have influenced and conditioned economic endeavours, political movements, properly dealings, and educational tasks. The major religions in India are following: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Parsi, The basic ideas and faith of the each religion differs. But they co-existently stood in Indian society. Religious Diversity in India: The preamble of the Constitution of India proclaims India to be a secular republic where citizens may freely worship and propagate any religion of their choice. The right to freedom of religion is also declared as a fundamental right by the Constitution of India. Indian religions have exerted munotes.in

Page 9

9 Multiculturalism
& Society significant influence all over the world. The major Negative impact of religions is follows: a. Groupism—religion divides people such divisions may came in the way of development of the country b. Frequent conflicts—people belonging to different religions feel that their religion is superior. They even try to impose their religious practices on others which would be lead to conflict situations. In India communal conflict has become a common feature. c. Dogmatism—every religion has a set of beliefs which may be superstitious quite often such ideas block the development of society and the progress of individuals, e.g in some communities there is no improvement of status of women on account of religious attitude. d. Block social change—it is highly challenging to transform the attitude unity and diversity of India is unique. It presents endless varieties of physical, social and cultural patterns .it is probably in India that one can find confessing all the major religions of the world. These are strong unifying which bind the nation as homogeneous socio cultural entity 1.2.3 Caste Diversity Caste Diversity Unity and Diversity India, as you know, is a country of castes. The term caste is generally used in two senses: sometimes in the sense of Varna and sometimes in the sense of Jati. (i) Varna refers to a segment of the four-fold division of Hindu society based on functional criterion. The four Varna are Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra with their specialised functions as learning, defence, trade and manual service. The Varna hierarchy is accepted all over India. (ii) Jati refers to a hereditary endogamous status group practising a specific traditional occupation. You may be surprised to know that there are more than 3,000 jati in India. These are hierarchically graded in different ways in different regions. It may also be noted that the practice of caste system is not confined to Hindus alone. We find castes among the Muslim, Christian, Sikh as well as other communities. You may have heard of the hierarchy of Shaikh, Saiyed, Mughal, Pathan among the Muslim. Furthermore, there are castes like teli (oil pressure), dhobi (washerman), darjee (tailor), etc. among the Muslim. Similarly, caste consciousness among the Christian in India is not unknown. Since a vast majority of Christians in India are converted from Hindu fold, the converts have carried the caste system into Christianity. Among the Sikh again you have so many castes including Jat Sikh and Majahabi Sikh (lower castes). In view of this you can well imagine the extent of caste diversity in India. In addition to the above described major forms of diversity, we have diversity of many other sorts like settlement patterns - tribal, rural, urban; marriage and kinship patterns along religious and regional lines; cultural patterns reflecting regional variations, and so on. These forms of diversity will become clear to you as you proceed along Blocks 1 to 7 of this course. munotes.in

Page 10

10 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
10 1.2.4 Gender Diversity Various groups have ranked gender inequalities around the world. For example, the World Economic Forum publishes a Global Gender Gap Index score for each nation every year. The index focuses not on empowerment of women, but on the relative gap between men and women in four fundamental categories – economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. It includes measures such as estimated sex-selective abortion, number of years the nation had a female head of state, female to male literacy rate, estimated income ratio of female to male in the nation, and several other relative gender statistic measures. It does not include factors such as crime rates against women versus men, domestic violence, honor killings or such factors. Where data is unavailable or difficult to collect, World Economic Forum uses old data or makes a best estimate to calculate the nation's Global Gap Index (GGI). According to the Global Gender Gap Report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2011, India was ranked 113 on the Gender Gap Index (GGI) among 135 countries polled. Since then, India has improved its rankings on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index (GGI) to 105/136 in 2013. When broken down into components of the GGI, India performs well on political empowerment, but is scored to be as bad as China on sex selective abortion. India also scores poorly on overall female to male literacy and health rankings. India with a 2013 ranking of 101 had an overall score of 0.6551, while Iceland, the nation that topped the list, had an overall score of 0.8731 (no gender gap would yield a score of 1.0). Alternate measures include OECD's Social Institutions Gender Index (SIGI), which ranked India at 56th out of 86 in 2012, which was an improvement from its 2009 rank of 96th out of 102. The SIGI is a measure of discriminatory social institutions that are drivers of inequalities, rather than the unequal outcomes themselves. Similarly, UNDP has published the Gender Inequality Index and ranked India at 132 out of 148 countries. 1.2.5 Classes Diversity Most Indians reside in villages, where caste and class affiliations overlap. Large landholders are overwhelmingly upper caste, and smallscale farmers middle caste, while landless laborers typically belong to the lowest-ranking castes. These groups tend to form a three-level class system of stratification in rural areas, and members of the groups are drawing together within regions across caste lines in order to enhance their economic and political power. For example, since the late 1960s, some of the middle-ranking cultivating castes of northern India, spurred by competition with higher-caste landed elites, have cooperated politically in order to advance their common economic interests.v In cities, class lines adhere less obviously to caste affiliations, as vested interests strongly crosscut caste boundaries. When looking at India as a whole, defining classes is a difficult task, rife with vague standards. According to various estimates, the upper classes include about one percent of the population, or some ten million people, encompassing wealthy property owners, industrialists, former royalty, top munotes.in

Page 11

11 Multiculturalism
& Society executives, and prosperous entrepreneurs. Slightly below them are the many millions of the upper middle class. At the other end of the scale is approximately half of India’s population, including low-level workers of many kinds, as well as hundreds of millions of extremely poor people, who endure grossly inadequate housing and education and many other economic hardships. But the big development in India is the rapid expansion of a prosperous middle class increasingly dictating the country’s political and economic direction. [vi] Estimated at perhaps 300 million people—-more than the entire population of the United States-—this new vanguard, straddling town and countryside and all religious communities, is mobile, driven, consumer-oriented, and, to some extent, forward-looking. This group includes prosperous farmers, white-collar workers, business and professional people, military personnel, and a multitude of others, all enjoying decent homes, reasonable incomes, and educated and healthy children. Most own televisions and telephones, and many possess cars and computers. Large numbers have close ties with prosperous relatives living abroad. 1.3 CULTURAL TRANSITION AND ACCULTURATION 1.3.1 Cultural transition Adjusting to a new culture and environment is a normal process and can generate a wide variety of reactions and feelings. Some stages in the adjustment process have been identified and are described below. Even though the adjustment process is described as a number of successive stages, not all people go though each stage and not necessarily in the order mentioned. Also, the stages, when experienced, can last different lengths of time for different people, and sometimes people cycle through these stages more than once. Stages of Cultural Adaptation The Honeymoon Stage This is usually the first stage experienced after arrival to a new culture. In this stage everything seems exciting and new. The focus is on the sense of success in being in the new culture; curiosity and interest in the novelty of the new surroundings; and an appreciation and anticipation of the opportunities to be found in the new culture. Most people feel energetic and enthusiastic during this stage. The Culture Shock Stage In this stage, the primary focus is on the differences between one’s home culture and the new culture and the conflicts that arise due to these differences, including: having to use a foreign language  not being sure how to interact with people in authority  not having a clear idea of how to make friends with people from different cultures munotes.in

Page 12

12 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
12  not having a clear idea of how to date people from different cultures  not being understood when you express yourself in your usual way  finding that food and eating customs are different  finding that religious practices are different  finding large differences in the educational system  finding that some people in the new culture are impatient when you don’t understand things right away  finding that some people are prejudiced against others from different cultures The conflicts may be with other people or internal – in terms of one’s own values, habits and preferences when contrasted with the norms and expectations of those from the new culture. Feelings that accompany the culture shock stage may include: confusion, anxiety, homesickness, anger and the following:  feeling anxious  feeling homesick  feeling angry  feeling lonely  feeling helpless  feeling overwhelmed  feeling fearful for your safety  feeling unsure of yourself  feeling less competent  feeling you don’t belong  feeling fearful of the unknown and unfamiliar  feeling confused about which values you wish to live by  feeling unsure about whether to stay in the U.S.A. or go back to your country of origin and how to raise and relate to your children in the new culture The Recovery Stage After having spent some time in the new culture, people begin to resolve some of the conflicts they may have experienced and also begin to regain a sense of appreciation that they might have experienced in the first stage. They have learned more about the new culture and are able to have a better understanding of external and internal resources that help in managing demands and conflicts that might arise. Feelings typical of this stage are a mixture of the first two stages. The Adaptation Stage This stage consists of people developing a realistic understanding of the similarities and differences between their home cultures and the new culture, so that they have clearer ideas about what they like and dislike in munotes.in

Page 13

13 Multiculturalism
& Society each. Many people move in the direction of becoming “bicultural” i.e. being able to value and appreciate the aspects of both cultures that they wish retain or include in their lives. This stage may be characterized by a sense of confidence, maturity, flexibility and tolerance. Reverse Culture Shock This is an often unexpected part of the cultural adaptation process. Based on the above stages, people eventually become relatively comfortable with the new culture, and are able to learn and incorporate new attitudes and behavior that allows them to function better in the new culture. However, when this person returns to their home culture (especially if they have not been back for a while), they may sometimes find that the changes in themselves as well as in the home culture while they were away may create the need for an entirely new adjustment process which can be similar to the process described above. This can be especially confusing if the person is expecting to fit in effortlessly into their home culture and neither the person nor members of the home culture are sensitive to the possibility of reverse culture shock. Tips for Successful Cultural Adaptation Academic Skills  Becoming familiar with expectations of the US academic system and culture can be very helpful in enhancing success as an international student.  Discuss the educational norms with other students, teaching assistants and professors  Get help in improving your reading and study skills if necessary  Look over old exams and papers to see what is expected  Keep in close contact with Teaching Assistants and Professors and let them know what your needs are. Ask them for suggestions, ideas and assistance 1.3.2 Acculturation Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and adjusts to a new cultural environment as a result of being placed into a new culture, or when another culture is brought to you.[1] Individuals of a differing culture try to incorporate themselves into the new more prevalent culture by participating in aspects of the more prevalent culture, such as their traditions, but still hold onto their original cultural values and traditions. The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels in both the devotee of the prevailing culture and those who are assimilating into the culture.[2] munotes.in

Page 14

14 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
14 At this group level, acculturation often results in changes to culture, religious practices, health care, and other social institutions. There are also significant ramifications on the food, clothing, and language of those becoming introduced to the overarching culture. At the individual level, the process of acculturation refers to the socialization process by which foreign-born individuals blend the values, customs, norms, cultural attitudes, and behaviors of the overarching host culture. This process has been linked to changes in daily behaviour, as well as numerous changes in psychological and physical well-being. As enculturation is used to describe the process of first-culture learning, acculturation can be thought of as second-culture learning. Under normal circumstances that are seen commonly in today's society, the process of acculturation normally occurs over a large span of time throughout a few generations. Physical force can be seen in some instances of acculturation, which can cause it to occur more rapidly, but it is not a main component of the process. More commonly, the process occurs through social pressure or constant exposure to the more prevalent host culture. Scholars in different disciplines have developed more than 100 different theories of acculturation,[3] but the concept of acculturation has only been studied scientifically since 1918.[3] As it has been approached at different times from the fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology, numerous theories and definitions have emerged to describe elements of the acculturative process. Despite definitions and evidence that acculturation entails a two-way process of change, research and theory have primarily focused on the adjustments and adaptations made by minorities such as immigrants, refugees, and indigenous people in response to their contact with the dominant majority. Contemporary research has primarily focused on different strategies of acculturation, how variations in acculturation affect individuals, and interventions to make this process easier. 1.4 REFERENCES Elrich, H. (2003). The Social Psychology of Prejudice: A systematic Theoretical Review and Propositional Inventory of the American. New York, Wiley. Gamst, G.C., Liang, C.T.H., Der‐Karabetian, A. (2011). Handbook of Multicultural Measures, La Verne: SAGE Garrett McAulifee & Associates (2008). Culturally Alert Counselling: A Comprehensive Introduction , Sage Publications. Sue, D.W., Sue, D. (2012). Counselling The Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (6th Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sue, Sue D.W. (2006) Multicultural Competencies: Individual and Organizational Development, Sage Publication, New Delhi. munotes.in

Page 15

15 2 PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION Unit Structure 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Understanding prejudice and discrimination. 2.2.1 Prejudice 2.2.2 Discrimination 2.2.3 Why Prejudice is not inevitable 2.3 Rights – based approach. 2.4 Equity and social justice. 2.4.1 Equity 2.4.2 Social justice 2.5 Questions 2.6 References 2.1 INTRODUCTION As we have already seen in the previous unit, prejudice is the affective or feeling component of attitude which involves negative feelings towards other members based on their group membership. In this unit, we focus on the various factors that lead to prejudice against specific groups. The emphasis is also on understanding the origins of prejudice. Prejudice has influenced in history for centuries together all over the world e.g. Hitler’s attempt to eliminate entire Jew race, caste system in India, apartheid system in South Africa, etc. Prejudices manifest themselves in many forms. It may take the forms of physical violence to one extreme or it may appear in subtle forms like slurs or maintaining distance from people of a particular group. Prejudice and discrimination is used as synonyms by many people in day to day conversation. But there are certain differences between them. Discrimination is the behavioral component of attitudes which involves treating unfavorably to the members of some prejudiced social group. Discrimination is present in society explicitly or in a subtle form. At the end of this unit, we will understand various techniques to counter prejudice. 2.2 UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION 2.2.1 Prejudice Prejudice is traditionally thought of as the feeling component of attitudes toward social groups. It reflects a negative response to another person solely munotes.in

Page 16

16 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
16 because the person is a member of a particular group. In the 1954 book, The Nature of Prejudice, Gordon Allport referred to prejudice as “antipathy” which means such generalization to the group as a whole. In this sense, prejudice is not personal because it is an affective reaction toward the category. Thus, a prejudice toward a social group will lead to evaluation of all its members negatively only because they are members of that group. Discrimination has been traditionally defined as unfavorable treatment or negative actions directed toward members of disliked groups. The prejudice will or will not be expressed in overt discrimination based on the perceived norms or acceptability of doing so. Research findings reveal that when individuals score higher on measures of prejudice than when they score lower, they process information about the targeted group differently. For instance, people give more attention to the information related to the targeted group and its members. When an individual’s group membership seems ambiguous i.e. when people cannot figure out which group the individual belongs to, then they are concerned with learning about it. This is so because we believe the groups have underlying essence. Essence can be understood as a feature, often some biologically one, that distinguishes one group from other groups, which can serve as justification for their differential treatment. Researchers reveal that all prejudices are different. Though prejudice includes negative feelings, these feelings will be different for different groups. These negative emotions can be fear, anger, envy, guilt, or disgust. Not all prejudices are due to some explicit attitude; rather some prejudices can be a result of some implicit associations. In other words, our judgments and interaction with others can be influenced without being aware of prejudice being present. The Origins of Prejudice: Contrasting Perspectives An important question arises of where prejudice comes from and why it persists. The following perspectives will aid in understanding the origins of prejudice. Threats to Self Esteem Self-esteem refers to subjective evaluation of one’s own worth. People want to see their group as worthy and more positive than another group. When people see some event potential of threatening their group’s self-esteem, they may react by devaluing the source of the threat. Research also indicates that perceiving a threat can lead us to identify more with our in-group. When our group’s image is threatened, in-group members bolster their own group’s image by holding prejudiced views of an out-group. By derogating members of another group, we can affirm our own group’s comparative value. This is strongly conveyed when a threat is experienced. munotes.in

Page 17

17 Prejudice and
Discrimination Competition for Resources as a Source of Prejudice Many basic things that people want are scarce. These are zero-sum outcomes which mean if one group gets them then the other cannot. The realistic conflict theory explains the cause of prejudice as when the competition over some resource escalates members of in-group and out-group will perceive each other in negative terms. Competitions are inevitable as the wants and needs of human beings are infinite while the resources to satisfy these wants are limited. So, the struggle exists over jobs, houses, food grains, etc. As struggle gets prolonged, members of conflicting groups start evaluating each other in increasingly negative ways and start regarding each other as enemies which must be put to its place. Both groups start considering themselves as morally superior and withdraw in their own shell. So, what starts as simple, relatively emotional and hatred free competition turns into a fully blown hatred filled highly with emotionally charged conflict leading to strong negative prejudices. These negative views increase eventually. Such views will involve labeling each other as “enemies”, viewing one’s own group as morally superior, drawing the boundaries between themselves and their opponents more firmly, and under extreme circumstances, may come to see the opposing group as not even human. Thus, starting with simple competition can lead to full-scale prejudice. Social Categorization in the Indian Context People divide the social world into separate categories. Social categorization is the tendency to divide the social world in two separate categories- in-group and out-group. The in-group is the social group to which an individual perceives himself or herself as belonging to us. The out group is any group other than the one to which individuals are perceived to belong to them. This social categorization can be done on various dimensions as - race, religion, sex, age, ethnic background and occupation. This social categorization has great impact on behavior as follows: 1. In group members are viewed in more favorable terms than out group members. 2. People assume that our group members possess more undesirable traits than the in-group members. 3. People also believe that all out-group members are similar to each other I.e. homogenous than in group members. So, the out-group members are disliked more. This behavioral tendency leads to attribution error. It is to make more favorable and flattering attributions about members of one’s own group than about the members of another group. This is the reason why we attribute the desirable characteristics of in group members to stable internal factors. munotes.in

Page 18

18 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
18 Tajfel and his colleagues (1991) have given an interesting answer to the question of how social categorization leads to prejudice. They proposed social identity theory in order to explain this. This theory suggests that people identify themselves with specific social groups. It also further says that our self-esteem is enhanced with our group membership. As each group seeks to view itself superior and different from rivals, prejudice arises out of clash of social perceptions. In the Indian context, society has been categorized based on various aspects such as religion, caste, gender, language, region, socioeconomic status, etc. These categorizations help to maintain social order and harmony. When these groups want power and politics, prejudices emerge which causes challenges to maintain sharing, bonding and connectedness. Research shows prejudices can be originated even when groups are formed on a minimal or trivial basis. 2.2.2 Discrimination Discrimination refers to negative actions toward the objects of various types of prejudice such gender, racial, ethnic etc. The goal of discriminatory behavior is to harm the member of the target group but it may be done either in very subtle form or very openly depending upon the constraints imposed by the situation.However, such discriminations have decreased over the years in many countries. But still discrimination may be present in subtle ways and as it exists, we will look at ways to measure it. Modern Racism: More Subtle, but Just as Harmful Long time back, people used to openly express their racist prejudices. However, at present, few Americans express anti-black statements. This doesn’t mean that the prejudiced attitudes have vanished. Rather, social psychologists believe that modern racism is present which involves concealing prejudice from others in public settings, but expressing it in safe settings. However, research findings suggest that some people may have racist prejudices but they themselves would be unaware of. Measuring Implicit Racial Attitudes Racial attitudes can be measured directly by asking people to express their views. However, prejudiced racial attitudes can also be implicit which cannot be accepted by the people. Holding such prejudices can influence behavior but people will be unaware of it and they might vigorously deny having such views. Hence, several methods have been developed to measure implicit racial attitudes. Most of these methods are based on priming. Priming is a technique in which exposure to a certain stimulus or event influences a response to a subsequent stimulus. Priming activates information in memory available which then influences current reactions. One of such techniques which use priming is known as bona fide pipeline. In this technique, participants are first briefly exposed to faces of people belonging to various racial groups (blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos) and munotes.in

Page 19

19 Prejudice and
Discrimination then they see various adjectives. After seeing the adjectives, they are asked to indicate whether they have a “good” or “bad” meaning by pushing one of two buttons. Implicit racial attitudes of the participants will be revealed by how quickly they respond to the words that have a negative meaning. However, on the other hand, participants will take more time to respond to words with a positive meaning after being primed with the faces of those same minority group members. This is so because the positive meaning is inconsistent with the negative attitude stimulated by the priming stimulus. Research indicates that implicit racial attitudes are automatically elicited. These attitudes influence decisions and degree of friendliness that is expressed in interaction with the members of the target group. How Prejudiced People Maintain an “Unprejudiced” Self-Image Though implicit racial prejudices exist, many white Americans believe that they are unprejudiced. Research suggests people can maintain unprejudiced self-image through social comparison. People compare themselves with extreme images of bigots and perceive themselves as not fitting that prototype. When We Confront What Our Group has done to another Group People have a tendency to think that the group which they belong to or identify with is good and moral. Research has been conducted to study how people respond when they learn about the prejudicial actions of their own group. Studies show that torturing out-group was perceived as justifiable when it was a long-standing practice as compared to when it was seen as something new. Torture committed by in-group members is perceived as more moral than when it was committed by other groups. When people perceive that their group is responsible for illegitimate wrongdoings, an emotional response called collective guilt is evoked. In order to avoid the aversive feelings of collective guilt, people may blame the victims so that they will feel less burdened. This blaming will even reach to the extreme where in-group members will exclude the victims from the category of “human”. People may also use motivated forgetting of the harm done by them and in-group members. 2.2.3 Why Prejudice is not inevitable Prejudice appears to be a common aspect of life in most societies. In some conditions, prejudice can be reduced. The following part focuses on the techniques to counter the effects of prejudice. On Learning Not to Hate Social psychologists are of the view that prejudiced behavior is a learned behavior. It is learned in the same way as any other behavior is learned. Since it is learned it can also be reduced by unlearning and learning new patterns of reactions. According to learning viewpoint, we learn prejudice behavior in three ways: a. Through parents, teachers and peers b. Through mass-media c. Through models. munotes.in

Page 20

20 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
20 a. Parents, teachers and peers: Children are not born with prejudice. Children learn these prejudices from their elders, parents, teachers and peers. Children learn these behaviors at an early age and this behavior pattern continues later in life. So, if parents avoid providing training to the children that encourage discrimination, then we can reduce prejudice. Thus, prejudice can be reduced by learning not to hate. According to the social learning view, children are directly rewarded (with love, praise, and approval) to hold and express negative attitudes toward various social groups. People also develop such prejudices through their own experiences. Research indicates that when white participants’ parents were prejudiced, participants’ own positive interactions with minority group were less and their behavior was observed as more discriminatory when interacting with African Americans. Learning from parents also depends on how much children identify with their parents. The more children identify with their parents, the more they are influenced by their parents and thus, may hold prejudices toward certain social groups. Thus, parents and even institutions which exert strong influence on adults can help people mold prejudices. It is very difficult to tell parents that they have prejudiced thinking towards a particular group and that they need to overcome such prejudiced behavior. Many parents would not accept that they are prejudiced, instead they would view their negative attitude towards various groups as fully justified. It is very necessary to convince the parents that there exists a problem that needs to be tackled. Parents can also be convinced that prejudice harms not only those who are its victims but also those who hold such views as well. This is because an individual who has prejudiced feelings experiences anxiety, fear and anger. If parents realize the detrimental consequences of prejudice to their children’s self-development, then they would take necessary steps to see to it that their children do not develop prejudice or harbor negative feelings about a particular group. b. Mass Media: Films and press have a considerable influence on our behavior. The various characters depicted in the films should be such that they give a secular mage. Films or printed literature should not put a particular group in a bad light or create a poor image of a particular community. Film censor boards can play an important role in checking prejudice behavior transmitted in subtle forms through films. munotes.in

Page 21

21 Prejudice and
Discrimination c. Model: Social learning theory has pointed out the role of models in influencing our behavior. Parents and teachers are our best models. Besides them, political leaders, social reformers or religious leaders can also be models. Such models should not be encouraged to transmit prejudiced behavior. Government can also see to it that famous personalities do not pass on the message of prejudice and discrimination to the masses. The Potential Benefits of Contact In order to reduce racial prejudice, the degree of contact between different groups can be increased. This idea is known as the contact hypothesis. When contact among people from different groups is increased, the growing recognition of similarities can change the categorizations that people have already formed. By knowing the norms of the out-group members can actually aid in understanding that the norms of the group are not so “anti-out-group” as individuals might initially have believed. Research also indicates that friendships between different group members can reduce anxiety about future encounters with out-group members.However, it should be noted that the contact between the groups should take place under specific favorable conditions. Research by Sherif (1966) has shown that enhancing intergroup interaction and cooperation can lead to deadlines in hostile reactions and negative feelings. This happens because of following reasons: 1. Noticing Similarities When contact between two groups increases, the group members notice the number of similar attitudes they share between them, this increases understanding of either group and enhances mutual attraction. This in turn leads to decline in prejudice. 2. Mere Exposure Effect Repeated contact may lead to positive feelings and attitudes through mere exposure. The more familiar a person is to us, the more we like him. 3. Perception of inconsistent information Due to the increased number of similarities, the group members now perceive information that is inconsistent with their stereotypes regarding other group members. Thus, it can help to reduce stereotypes about the out-group members. 4. Reduce illusion of out-group homogeneity Increased contact reduces illusion of outgroup homogeneity. That is, because of contact with other members, people realize that all of them are different and not similar as was perceived. munotes.in

Page 22

22 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
22 To achieve these effects from contact hypothesis certain conditions must be satisfied; i. The groups that will contact must have equal social status. ii. The norms of the contact must support and encourage group equality. iii. The contact between the groups must be informal, so that they can get to know one another on a one-to-one basis. iv. The contact between groups must involve cooperation and interdependence. This can be achieved by working towards shared goals. v. The groups must interact in ways that permit disinformation of negative stereotyped beliefs about one another. vi. The persons involved must view one another as typical of their respective groups, only then will they generalize their pleasant contacts to other persons and situations. But these conditions are rarely found in real life. So social psychologists have suggested the extended contact hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that direct contact between persons from different groups is not essential for reducing prejudice between them. In fact, such beneficial effects can be produced if the persons in question merely know that persons in their own group have formed friendship with persons from the said group. The extended contact hypothesis is successful in reducing prejudice because: 1. The group members realize that it is acceptable to form relationships with members of other groups. 2. Knowing that members of one's own group enjoys friendship with our group can help reduce anxiety about our group members. 3. Interaction with other group members also conveys the message that our group members do not dislike the in-group members. It helps to clear misunderstandings. 4. Cross-group friendships increase understanding of empathetic attitudes between two groups. Thus, friendly co-operative contact between persons from different social groups could indeed promote respect and liking between them. When individuals get to know one another, many anxieties, stereotypes and false perceptions that have previously kept them apart seem to vanish in warmth of new friendship and prejudice melts. munotes.in

Page 23

23 Prejudice and
Discrimination Recategorization: Changing the Boundaries Recategorizations, termed by social psychologists, indicate the shift of boundary between “us” and “them”. This technique can be used to reduce prejudice. According to the common in-group identity model, when individuals view themselves as members of a single social identity, their attitudes toward each other become more positive. In order to induce the perception of single social identity, the individuals belonging to different groups can work together toward shared or superordinate goals. This leads to reduction of feelings of hostility toward the former out-group members. Research reveals the usefulness of this technique in laboratory settings and on the field. This technique is also found to be powerful in reducing negative feelings toward an out-group even when they had a long history, including one group’s brutality toward another. Other research studies also suggested that forming new subgroups composed of members from competing groups can help reduce prejudice. The Benefits of Guilt for Prejudice Reduction When people encounter that they have done wrongdoings towards other groups, collective guilt will help in reducing prejudice. Similarly, when a person is a member of a group which has a history of being prejudiced toward another group, they may experience guilt by association. Research suggests that such feelings of guilt can aid in reducing prejudices towards other groups. Can We Learn to “Just Say No” to Stereotyping and Biased Attributions? Individuals themselves can regulate their thoughts, beliefs and feelings toward out-group members. If individuals say “no” to the stereotypic habit then the prejudices can be actively reduced. Research evidence also suggests that people can learn to not rely on stereotypes they already possess. Social Influence as a means of reducing Prejudice Social influence also has a great impact on reducing prejudices. When people are provided with evidence that their own group members are like members of another group that is typically the target of prejudice, it can sometimes serve to weaken negative reactions. Human beings have the tendency to compare. We also compare what is the extent of prejudice others are having in comparison to us. If people realize that their own views are more prejudiced than that of others, they might be motivated to reduce their prejudice. These social psychologists gave Caucasian students a list of 19 traits. They asked them to estimate how many African American possess each of the 19 traits. Out of the 19, nine were positive and ten were negative traits. After completing the estimation, students were informed that other students in the university disagreed with their ratings. Some students were told that other students viewed African Americans more positively than they did munotes.in

Page 24

24 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
24 (favorable feedback condition). Some students had less favorable views about African Americans than they did had (unfavorable feedback condition). After receiving this information, the Caucasian students were again asked to rate the African American students on the 19 traits. As predicted, racial attitudes were influenced by the feedback they received. That is, students in unfavorable feedback gave more negative ratings the second time whereas students in favorable feedback condition gave more positive ratings than the first time. 2.3 RIGHTS – BASED APPROACH. A human rights-based approach (HRBA) is a conceptual framework that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to analyse obligations, inequalities and vulnerabilities, and to tackle discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede and undercut human rights. Under a human rights-based approach, plans, policies and programmes are anchored in a system of rights and corresponding obligations established by international law. This helps to promote sustainability, empowering people themselves (rights holders)—especially the most marginalized—to participate in policy formulation and hold accountable those who have a duty to act (duty bearers). UN agencies have agreed (see below) that a human rights-based approach consists of a number of essential attributes:  As policies and programmes are formulated, the main objective should be to fulfil human rights.  A human rights-based approach identifies rights holders and their entitlements and corresponding duty bearers and their obligations, and works towards strengthening the capacities of rights holders to make their claims and of duty bearers to meet their obligations.  Principles and standards derived from international human rights treaties should guide all policies and programming in all sectors and in all phases of the process. In practical terms, a human rights-based approach can be used to guide policies and measures of poverty. It can inform assessments and strengthen processes; it can be a mechanism for ensuring access to essential information, effective participation, and the provision of access to justice. Human rights based approaches Human rights based approaches are about turning human rights from purely legal instruments into effective policies, practices, and practical realities. Human rights principles and standards provide guidance about what should be done to achieve freedom and dignity for all. A human rights-based approach emphasises how human rights are achieved The Commission considers that, for Australia to comply with its international responsibilities, munotes.in

Page 25

25 Prejudice and
Discrimination all areas and level of government in Australia have a responsibility to apply human rights based approaches. Development of a National Human Rights Action Plan is a step towards this. The Commission seeks to apply human rights based approaches in its own work. The Australian Human Rights Commission Act (section 10A) states that the Commission must perform its functions with regard for the indivisibility and universality of human rights; and the principle that every person is free and equal in dignity and rights. The Commission also supports application of human rights based approaches by businesss and other organisations throughout society. What are human rights based approaches? Details of a human rights approach will vary depending on the nature of the organisation concerned and the issues it deals with. Common principles, however, have been identified as the "PANEL" principles: 1. Participation 2. Accountability 3. Non-discrimination and equality 4. Empowerment 5. Legality The summary below is gratefully adapted from materials on this issue by our colleagues at the Scottish Human Rights Commission. 1. Participation Everyone has the right to participate in decisions which affect their human rights. Participation must be active, free and meaningful, and give attention to issues of accessibility, including access to information in a form and a language which can be understood. 2. Accountability Accountability requires effective monitoring of compliance with human rights standards and achievement of human rights goals, as well as effective remedies for human rights breaches. For accountability to be effective, there must be appropriate laws, policies, institutions, administrative procedures and mechanisms of redress in order to secure human rights. Effective monitoring of compliance and achievement of human rights goals also requires development and use of appropriate human rights indicators. 3. Non-discrimination and equality A human rights based approach means that all forms of discrimination in the realisation of rights must be prohibited, prevented and eliminated. It also means that priority should be given to people in the most marginalised or vulnerable situations who face the biggest barriers to realising their rights. munotes.in

Page 26

26 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
26 4. Empowerment Everyone is entitled to claim and exercise their rights and freedoms. Individuals and communities need to be able to understand their rights, and to participate fully in the development of policy and practices which affect their lives. 5. Legality A human rights based approach requires that  the law recognises human rights and freedoms as legally enforceable entitlements, and  the law itself is consistent with human rights principles. 2.4 EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 2.4.1 Equity There is consensus in the development literature that an equity approach signifies development aimed at reaching the most marginalized and deprived populations first, in contrast to the objective of reaching only greater quantities of people. Key international organizations like the World Bank and UNICEF utilize the concept of equity prominently in their work and refer to it explicitly in their reports and strategies. The first high profile occurrence of the equity concept on the international organizations’ arena appeared with the publishing of the UNDP’s 2005 Human Development Report, the 2005 Report on The World Social Situation by UNRSID, and the World Bank’s 2006 World Development Report. Anderson and O’Neil noted this trend with the release of working papers entitled “A New Equity Agenda” as a primer to a conference held by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on the topic. This discussion dealt with the concept of equity both in terms of its intrinsic as well as its instrumental value. While intrinsically perceived as ensuring the human rights of the most deprived, the instrumental view presents equity as an instrument for growth and social cohesion. Overall, equity is not a new concept to development work. Some view the equity approach as a response to growing inequalities and a way to address those left out of the “lowhanging fruit” approach for which the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are sometimes criticized. The current dialogue around equity revolves predominantly around how equity is measured. One camp holds that increasing equality of opportunity, or equal access to services, is enough. Others argue that equity should be measured according to outcomes, or the results of how groups of people actually fare in life. Either way, an equity approach entails addressing the specific deprivations of the most marginalized in societies. The genesis of equality and equity as a concept of social justice arose from a history of evolving philosophies of societal organization and distribution of wealth and services. From natural law to the modern concept of rights, the pursuit of a socially just distribution continues. Poverty exists at record-munotes.in

Page 27

27 Prejudice and
Discrimination high levels in absolute terms, disproportionately affecting the most marginalized groups in societies across the world. The central theories underlying the equity paradigm follow, providing a theoretical background for the concept of equity and its relevance in today’s highly unequal world. While there are many social justice theories, the four contemporary frameworks relating to equity in this examination are John Rawls’ concept of justice as fairness (1971), Amartya Sen’s capability approach (2000), Charles Tilly’s concept of durable inequalities (2006), and the human rights approach to poverty by The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (2002). We examine each of these below. Social equity Social equity is concerned with justice and fairness of social policy. Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including education and public administration. Definitions of social equity can vary but all focus on the ideals of justice and fairness. Equity in old societies involves the role of public administrators, who are responsible for ensuring that social services are delivered equitably. This implies taking into account historical and current inequalities among groups. Fairness is dependent on this social and historical context. Sex, gender and sexuality Recent[when?] administration from former U.S. President Barack Obama has shed light on the subject of social equity for members of the LGBT community. The Obama administration appointed more than 170 openly LGBT professionals to work full-time within the executive branch and directed United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct “the first ever national study to determine the level of discrimination experienced by LGBTs in housing” Other LGBT advocacy interest groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign, have also worked hard to gain social equity in marriage and to receive all the benefits that come with marriage. Other references include: Mitchell, Danielle. "Reading Between The Aisles: Same-Sex Marriage As A Conflicted Symbol Of Social Equity." Topic: The Washington & Jefferson College Review 55.(2007): 89-100. Humanities Source. Web. Race Within the realm of public administration, racial equality is an important factor.[according to whom?] It deals with the idea of “biological equality” of all human races and “social equality for people of different races”. According to Jeffrey B. Ferguson his article “Freedom, Equality, Race”, the people of the United States believe that racial equality will prevail.[citation needed] Religion Social equity in regards to religion has legal protections in some jurisdictions. In the US, individuals, regardless of religious affiliation or munotes.in

Page 28

28 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
28 practice are afforded . According to 42 U.S.C. sect. 2000e(j) "Religion is defined as all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to responsibly accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without unique hardship to the conduct of the employer's business." This law was enacted to protect employees that are employed by bosses of another religion, and allow them to observe their particular religious practices and celebrations. 2.4.2 Social justice Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities. Social workers aim to open the doors of access and opportunity for everyone, particularly those in greatest need. Social justice encompasses economic justice. Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development. Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fulfill their societal roles and receive what was their due from society. In the current movements for social justice, the emphasis has been on the breaking of barriers for social mobility, the creation of safety nets, and economic justice. Social justice assigns rights and duties in the institutions of society, which enables people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation. The relevant institutions often include taxation, social insurance, public health, public school, public services, labor law and regulation of markets, to ensure distribution of wealth, and equal opportunity. Interpretations that relate justice to a reciprocal relationship to society are mediated by differences in cultural traditions, some of which emphasize the individual responsibility toward society and others the equilibrium between access to power and its responsible use. Hence, social justice is invoked today while reinterpreting historical figures such as Bartolomé de las Casas, in philosophical debates about differences among human beings, in efforts for gender, ethnic, and social equality, for advocating justice for migrants, prisoners, the environment, and the physically and developmentally disabled. While concepts of social justice can be found in classical and Christian philosophical sources, from Plato and Aristotle to Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, the term social justice finds its earliest uses in the late 18th century, albeit with unclear theoretical or practical meanings. The use of the term was early on subject to accusations of redundancy and of rhetorical flourish, perhaps but not necessarily related to amplifying one munotes.in

Page 29

29 Prejudice and
Discrimination view of distributive justice. In the coining and definition of the term in the natural law social scientific treatise of Luigi Taparelli, in the early 1840s, Taparelli established the natural law principle that corresponded to the evangelical principle of brotherly love—i.e. social justice reflects the duty one has to one’s other self in the interdependent abstract unity of the human person in society. After the Revolutions of 1848 the term was popularized generically through the writings of Antonio Rosmini-Serbati. In the late industrial revolution, Progressive Era American legal scholars began to use the term more, particularly Louis Brandeis and Roscoe Pound. From the early 20th century it was also embedded in international law and institutions; the preamble to establish the International Labour Organization recalled that "universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice." In the later 20th century, social justice was made central to the philosophy of the social contract, primarily by John Rawls in A Theory of Justice (1971). In 1993, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action treats social justice as a purpose of human rights education Justice as Fairness John Rawls’ seminal A Theory of Justice introduces the concept of "justice as fairness", shifting the philosophy of distribution to the greater society instead of individuals. Rawls presents two central principles to comprise his philosophy. The equal liberty principle holds that individuals are entitled to the maximum amount of liberties (to vote and run for office, freedom of speech and assembly, liberty of conscience, freedom of personal property and freedom from arbitrary arrest) to the extent that it is good for the society as a whole and that can be applied to all. The difference principle holds that inequalities are acceptable only if they are redressed to the greatest benefit of the most disadvantaged. Rawls’ treatment of inequalities shares a fundamental value with the concept of equity in that they both aim to redress inherent disadvantages in terms of opportunity and social mobility (Rawls 302). The equity paradigm derives the concept of a fair equality of opportunity from Rawls second principle. The difference principle then does allow for inequalities in outcomes to the extent that equality of opportunity exists. Rawls claims “undeserved inequalities call for redress; and since inequalities of birth and natural endowment are undeserved, these inequalities are somehow to be compensated for” (Rawls 100). In Rawls’ view, individuals living in a society must commit to viewing one another as free and equal unlike the distributional schemas of classical liberalism, neo-liberalism, and libertarianism. Under the social equity paradigm in the development context, this implies that a greater priority be placed on the most disadvantaged to meet their unique needs. munotes.in

Page 30

30 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
30 2.5 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the origin of prejudice in detail. 2. Describe modern racism. a. Write a detailed note on learning not to hate. b. Write in brief about the recategorization. 3. Explain the role of prejudice in discrimination. Write your answer with suitable examples. 4. Discuss social justice in brief. 2.6 REFERENCES 1. Branscombe, N. R. & Baron, R. A., Adapted by Preeti Kapoor (2017). Social Psychology. (14th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson Education; Indian reprint 2017 2. Myers, D. G., Sahajpal, P., & Behera, P. (2017). Social psychology (10th ed.). McGraw Hill Education. munotes.in

Page 31

31 3 MULTICULTURAL ASSESSMENT Unit Structure 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Cross cultural sensitivity in assessment: using tests in culturally appropriate ways. 3.2.1 What Is Culturally Sensitive Assessment? 3.2.2 Concerns in Culturally Sensitive 3.2.3 Translation and Adaptation of Tests 3.2.4 Recommendations for Nonbiased Assessment Practices 3.3 Ethical issues in multicultural assessment 3.3.1 Ethical issues and Practice 3.4 Writing psychological and educational reports for culturally and linguistically diverse client 3.4 References 3.1 INTRODUCTION There is a longstanding debate regarding appropriate testing and assessment strategies for use with minority populations that include women, ethnic minorities, limited English speakers, and the physically challenged. According to Samuda (1998), psycho-educational assessment is an area of professional practice that has been particularly criticized because of differential treatment of racial and ethnic minorities. Mensh and Mensh (1991) have noted that it is possible for standardized testing to contribute to perpetuation of social, economic, and political barriers confronting racial and ethnic minorities. Gregory and Lee (1986) note that standardized tests are used primarily for selecting and screening; consequently, if tests or their users are discriminatory toward particular groups, such groups may be unfairly denied access to educational and career opportunities. Researchers, educators, and scholars have long argued that instruments normed on majority group populations or developed using Eurocentric approaches cannot be indiscriminately used with individuals who differ from the normative population. Anyone intent on using tests with ethnic minorities needs to understand and appreciate the heterogeneity within the specific ethnic group. The reason is simply this: the reliability and validity of a test used with individuals of different cultural or linguistic groups who were not included in the standardization group are questionable. Thus, it is important to recognize that diversity may exist between test examiners and examinees even if the differences are not readily apparent. An example is a Latino adolescent who appears acculturated to the test examiner but who munotes.in

Page 32

32 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
32 nonetheless is more adept in Spanish than English (Padilla, 1992). Such an adolescent may have more difficulty on a timed test if it is administered in English. Also, the experiential background of culturally diverse individuals may differ from that of the group on whom the tests were standardized, resulting in questions about the validity of the test instrument (Sue, 1998) 3.2 CROSS CULTURAL SENSITIVITY IN ASSESSMENT: USING TESTS IN CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE WAYS. 3.2.1 What Is Culturally Sensitive Assessment? Psychological assessment is made culturally sensitive through a continuing and open-ended series of substantive and methodological insertions and adaptations designed to mesh the process of assessment and evaluation with the cultural characteristics of the group being studied. The insertions and adaptations span the entire assessment and evaluation process, from development or adaptation of instruments including translation to administration of the measure, and to analysis or scoring and interpretation of the scores. Thus, assessment is made culturally sensitive through an incessant, basic, and active pre-occupation with the culture of the group or individual being assessed. Cultural sensitivity in assessment is complex because test users need to be conscious of culturally specific behaviors or areas of development, such as ethnic identity or acculturation, that have not been viewed as significant concerns in test theory or development. Issues having to do with formal education, English language proficiency, length of residence in the United States, and level of acculturation are particularly important for Latinos and Asian Americans (Sue, 1998). There are three major ways in which tests may be biased. First, the very content or construction of test items may be biased in the sense that they give unfair advantage to one group over another. Second, there may be incidental features, such as formatting, mode of test administration, or even examiner personality factors, that favor one group of examinees over another. Third, bias may occur through inappropriate application, which results in identifying one set of applicants over others. In the first type of bias, the content of a test can be easily manipulated to favor one cultural or social group over another. Speed tests are a good example of the second bias, should an administrative procedure serve to penalize test takers who are not proficient in English. Finally, tests have sometimes been used to select individuals for a particular job even though the test really has little bearing on the tasks to be carried out in performing the job. The search for culturally fair strategies or selection rules has long been hampered by the lack of consensus on what constitutes "cultural fairness" (Samuda, 1998). This is an important problem because it demonstrates some of the relevant activities of the measurement community in attempting to find solutions to bias selection. Bias in the selection process may result in munotes.in

Page 33

33 Multicultural
Assessment unfair treatment and unequal opportunity or access for some groups. Williams (1983) also notes that consideration of selection rules is important because such rules are tools for determining which applicants are potentially successful or unsuccessful for purposes of admission or employment. Bracken and Barona (1991) note that practitioners' need for appropriate instrumentation to use in assessing children from varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds has long been a pervasive problem in education and psychology. This situation has become a major concern in education today because approximately 14 percent of all school age children nationally come from non-English-language homes (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1994). This problem is even more critical in certain states; for example, in California about one-third of all students in K12 enter school as limited English proficient, or LEP (California State Department of Education, 1994). A similar situation occurs in other states with large school-age immigrant populations, notably New York, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, and New Jersey (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1994). Research results have shown that because of varying cultural backgrounds, approximately five million students are inappropriately tested each year by standardized assessment instruments including standardized achievement tests (Torres, 1991). As a result of mandated testing, it has been estimated that, on the average, each student in the U.S. public school system takes between three and eight district- or state-mandated standardized tests each year (Haney, Madaus, and There is also a debate as to whether psychometricians and consumers of tests should use one that is considered "biased," or culturally bound in some way, with someone who is not middle class. Tests may be considered biased if they project only predominant values and knowledge and do not consider the full range of linguistic and cultural experiences of people in the United States. Such testing procedures definitely affect the assessment, interpretation, or placement outcomes of a large segment of the U.S. population today. The implication here is that test performance of an individual who comes from a nondominant cultural background or is lower in social status may be affected in ways not intended by the test maker. Thus, even though normative test information is very helpful, we need to know what the instrument assesses when used with social groups for which it was not standardized (Sommers, 1989). Johnson, Vickers, and Williams (1987) note that federal Public Law 94-142 in part provided impetus for using techniques for nonbiased assessment: "Among other guidelines for evaluation, it requires the establishment of procedures for the selection and use of a variety of tests that are not racially or culturally discriminatory" (p. 334). There are arguments to be made for a purely technical definition of bias and validity, but there are also strong arguments for including politics, values, and culture in considering the full context of test interpretation and test use in which issues of test bias arise (Messick, 1989). munotes.in

Page 34

34 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
34 3.2.2 Concerns in Culturally Sensitive Testing Gopaul-McNicol and Brice-Baker (1998) note that there is evidence to suggest that children from varying cultural backgrounds interpret test items differently, bring to the test situation differing sets of expectations and knowledge, and generally do not score as high as members of the mainstream culture on standardized tests. Although adequately translated tests can greatly enhance the accuracy of test results, examiners should not ignore the important influence of the examinee's cultural experience and history on the assessment process: ''The specific individual experience of nonmajority culture individuals will greatly influence their educational, emotional and language development" (Bracken and Barona, 1991, p. 129). Thus, it is important to consider the test taker's cultural and individual differences, in addition to language, in the assessment process. Also, when trying to fully understand minority test takers, it is important to consider information related to their immigration and educational status (Bracken and Barona, 1991). This information is important because it provides critical data about the linguistic and cultural proficiency of the person about to be assessed. For instance, from this information the examiner has a better idea of whether the assessment instrument is appropriate for the individual to be tested. The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association [APA], 1992) direct professionals to offer thorough discussion of the limitations of tests for the individual or group being assessed. This is especially important if test outcomes touch on social policy or might be construed to the detriment of persons in specific age, sex, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups. Gregory and Lee (1986) add that the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Psychological Association, 1985) make it clear that test users must avoid bias in test selection, administration, and interpretation; they should avoid even the appearance of discriminatory practice. It is the appearance of discriminatory practices, however, that has led to the familiar controversy over the issue of test bias. 3.2.3 Translation and Adaptation of Tests Sperber, Devellis, and Boehlecke (1994) have shown that the practice of translating tests from a "source" language into a second, "target" language has not generally been an acceptable solution to the pervasive problem of inappropriate assessment. Translation of tests is complex for many reasons. Here are some important considerations: Test directions are frequently too psychotechnical, difficult, stilted, or "foreign" to allow easy translation. Practitioner-produced translations are rarely translated back and forth to ensure equivalent meanings across languages (Brislin, 1980). The underlying psychological constructs assessed by translated tests are sometimes not universal across cultures (van de Vijver and Poortinga, 1982). munotes.in

Page 35

35 Multicultural
Assessment Content assessed on achievement tests can differ in many important ways across cultures or languages. Examinee test-taking behaviors and orientations toward test directions and procedures can vary from one culture to another (Samuda, 1998). There has been a general failure to develop workable translation procedures or standards against which to systematically judge the equivalence of translations and constructs across languages or cultures (Brislin, 1970). Each of these potential threats to translation validity highlights the need for special care and attention in the procedures for producing translations of tests for multicultural-multilingual assessment (Bracken and Barona, 1991). However, because of the great cost involved in translating and adapting a test (when it is well done), in reality few tests are ever translated for use with limited English speakers. Werner and Campbell (1970) offer five basic recommendations to facilitate producing quality test translation: 1. Test items should consist of simple sentences. 2. Pronouns should be avoided in test directions and items; rather, nouns should be repeated. 3. Test items should not contain metaphors or colloquialisms. 4. Avoid the passive voice in test directions and items. 5. Hypothetical phrasing and subjective mood in test directions and items should be avoided. 3.2.4 Recommendations for Nonbiased Assessment Practices Culturally biased assessment has been described as constant error in decisions, predictions, and inferences about members of particular ethnic or cultural groups. Historically, strategies employed to eliminate these discriminatory aspects included attempts to minimize the cultural and verbal components of testingso-called culture-fair testing. One of the most publicized approaches to nonbiased assessment has been the use of pluralistic norms, such as the SOMPA (Mercer, 1979). However, civil rights legislation has made it unlawful to use group-adjusted norm scores. Even if techniques for group adjustment of scores were lawful, the fact would remain that few school psychologists are trained in nonbiased assessment and therefore know little about procedures for evaluating students from diverse backgrounds. Some educators who have suggested that psychologists seldom use techniques that could reduce bias during assessment of students from minority groups generally support the finding. Complex judgments concerning appropriate and equitable test use can best be made by users such as school psychologists, familiar with the students and the environment in which the test is administered (Lam, 1993). Eurocentric approaches to studying ethnic minority populations in education is based on the fact that these approaches have frequently resulted in erroneous interpretations because of specific biases inherent in the munotes.in

Page 36

36 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
36 paradigms themselves. Research emphasis is also usually placed on a comparative approach that uses similar measures to compare groups of people who differ in culture, language, or social class. We must keep in mind the importance of understanding how the cultural background that the ethnic respondent brings to the task of completing interviews, surveys, and questionnaires of various types determines the response patterns that emerge. An appropriate or bias-free sample may be a more likely outcome if the ethnic community is involved in the psychological assessment enterprise. All consumers of assessment measures need to address the relevance of mainstream paradigms that test developers use to define their approach. A paradigm shift is required, wherein the study of a specific ethnic group is valued for its own sake and need not be compared to another group, especially if the comparison is likely to be biased. Instruments that are biased and favor a particular group should not be used to evaluate differences between culturally distinct groups of people. Educational research involving ethnic populations should not examine students from the perspective of their failures in the educational system; rather, it should concentrate on how to achieve success regardless of the task or level involved. Further, instruments must also be appropriate for properly assessing changes in learning or behavior that are due to a treatment or educational program. However, if assessment devices are inappropriate in a pretest context, they will also be poor measures of postintervention learning or behavior changes. Test makers and users need to be aware of how test performance is influenced by inequality in educational opportunity, parents' educational attainment, cultural orientation, language spoken at home, proficiency in English, socialization experiences, family structure and dynamics, family income, and level of motivation to do well. If sufficient information is given beforehand about possible confounding variables in deciding to test a particular individual or group, an informed decision can be made about the suitability of the test to be used. To increase the cross-cultural assessment competency of test examiners, such individuals must be knowledgeable and comfortable with the traditional customs and communicative styles of many individuals who do not represent the prototypical middle-class person on whom most assessment instruments are based. We recommend that test users involve minority community members in selecting instruments to be used in a school, employment venue, placement center, and so forth. This practice increases the minority community's trust and rapport regarding testing practices and results in more appropriate assessment measures, practices, and decision making. In conclusion, it is important to sensitize professionals to discriminatory practices while broadening assessment methods. In advocating for a systems approach that is culturally sensitive, we believe it is crucial to redouble our efforts to increase the pool of qualified minority psychologists who are trained in psychometric theory and test construction. Further, we munotes.in

Page 37

37 Multicultural
Assessment need to train individuals who are expert in psychological assessment of all types to assume leadership positions in the field. There are too few psychologists with the expertise necessary to advance our discussion of culturally sensitive assessment beyond what has prevailed for the past three decades. In the new millennium, we look forward to assessment practices that better reflect the multicultural face of America. 3.3 ETHICAL ISSUES IN MULTICULTURAL ASSESSMENT 3.3.1 Ethical issues and Practice The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct [APA Ethics Code] (APA, 2002) makes clear each psychologist's obligations for providing ethical and competent services in our work with individuals of diverse backgrounds. Principle E: Respect for People's' Rights and Dignity guides psychologists to be " ... aware ?f and respect cultural, individual, and role differences ... " (p. 1063) such as race, ethnicity, culture, and language. Further, in Standard 2.01, Competence, psychologists are required to only provide clinical services with individuals of different populations when doing so falls within our boundaries of competence. This standard also requires psychologists to take the steps necessary (e.g., education, training, experience, consultation, and supervision) to ensure we provide competent professional services to individuals of diverse backgrounds. Among the wide range of clinical services provided by independent practitioners, assessment is one that is directly impacted by the rapid diversification of our population. Thus, there is a great need for culturally sensitive and appropriate psychological assessment. Relevant issues include competence of administrators, test selection, adaptation and translation, administration/ application, and assessment result interpretation. Multicultural Competence Competence is a superordinate standard in multicultural assessment. It is the most crucial and essential standard for the ethical and responsible selection, adaptation/translation, administration, and result interpretation of assessment (Dana, 1996; Ridley, Hill, & Wiese, 2001). Specific to multicultural assessment, competence is defined as "the ability and committed intention to consider cultural data in order to formulate accurate, comprehensive, and impartial case conceptualizations" (Ridley et al., 2001, p. 32). "A recent study by Fischer and Chambers (2003) found many psychologists reporting a lack of multicultural competencies in determining client acculturation, considering the culture of clients in assessment interpretation, and resolving multicultural dilemmas, potentially resulting in unintentional racism, inappropriate use of biased assessment instruments, and misinterpretation of culturally based behaviors and thus assessment results. To promote multicultural competence in the field of psychology, the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists [Multicultural Guidelines] (APA, 2003) encourage psychologists to be aware of their own values, attitudes, munotes.in

Page 38

38 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
38 and beliefs that may potentially bias their perception of and interactions with individuals who are racially and ethnically different from themselves. In addition to this self-awareness, the Multicultural Guidelines also recommend psychologists enhance their multicultural awareness and knowledge. Understanding multicultural differences fosters respect and appreciation of ethnic and cultural diversity. Incorporation of such an attitude change into professional practice ultimately promotes competence in multicultural assessment among psychologists (Dana, 1996; Gil & Bob, i999). Specifically, the Multicultural Guidelines recommend psychologists increase their consultations with ethnic minority psychologists and to be familiar with the literature on multicultural psychology (Arredondo & Perez, 2006). Language and Competence in Assessment Administration Monolingual psychologists often face challenges psychologists has not been accurately assessed. For example, is a second-generation Korean (born and raised in the United States) who learned to speak Korean at home but has no formal education in Korean qualified to provide written translation, either from English to Korean or vice versa? Psychologists need to communicate accurately and effectively with their clients/participants throughout the entire assessment process (Acevedo et al., 2003). There is evidence that language discrepancy negatively affects assessment accuracy, the type of information reported by clients/ participants, and the ability of psychologists to extract meaningful information from clients/participants (Accevedo et al., 2003; Bamford, 1991). On the other hand, there is also evidence that using well-trained interpreters greatly improves psychologists-clients/participants communication (Accevedo et a1., 2003). Thus, the language competence of psychologists might be accurately evaluated when they serve as translators for their clients/participants as well. Professional interpreters should be hired when necessary. Finally, appropriate referrals should be made when psychologists do not possess the needed competent to ethically and effectively conduct assessments with particular ethnic groups (APA, 2002; Canter, Bennett, Jones, & Nagy, 1994). Assessment Tool Selection There is ongoing debate about whether standardized assessment instruments can "be effectively used with racial and ethnic minorities (Padilla, 2001). The APA Ethics Code (2002) and Federal Public Law 94-142 require non-biased assessment (Padilla, 2001). However, the majority of the standardized psychological assessments are normed on mainstream, white, middle-class populations or developed using Western approaches to assessment (Padilla, 2001). Many of these standardized assessments are emic, or cultural specific measures designed for European Americans. Yet, without empirical and/or research support for the equivalence of measurement use with different cultural groups, these standardized munotes.in

Page 39

39 Multicultural
Assessment assessments are often assumed to be etic, or cultural-general assessment instruments (Dana, 1996). Standardized psychological assessment instruments have been primarily used for screening and selection of interventions and services (Padilla, 2001). The ability to provide culturally competent assessment for multicultural populations can determine the quantity as well as the quality of interventions and services utilized by the ethnic minorities (Dana, 1996). Using a pseudo-etic instrument with multicultural populations may lead to unethical and inaccurate evaluation/treatment or discrimination against the ethnic minorities (Dana, 1996; Padilla, 2001). To be culturally competent in assessment, psychologists need to demonstrate the use of instruments with metric equivalence and cross-cultural construct validity (Dana, 1996; Gil & Bob, 1999; Prediger, 1994). Specifically, metric equivalence allows direct comparison of the scale across cultures, whereas cross-cultural construct validity allows a construct to be empirically measured across cultures. Additionally, it is necessary to determine whether the meaning and subjective experiences of constructs are interpreted similarly even when the contrast can be measured across cultures (Dana, 1996; Gil & Bob, 1999). Cross-cultural research in assessment plays an important role in examining the cross-cultural construct validity of standardized psychological assessment instruments as well as developing appropriate cultural-specific measures (Dana, 1996). Adaptation and Translation of Assessment Measures As required by the APA Ethics Code, assessments should be conducted in participants' preferred language. Thus, psychologists may need to utilize translated assessment instruments when serving racial or ethnic groups whose primary language is not English. Translation of assessment instruments is often complex, time consuming, costly, and inherently error-pone (Padilla, 2001). Psychologists should carefully select assessment instruments for translation ensuring they are culturally valid in the other language prior to translation (Fouad & Arredondo, 2007). Further, we must be cautious of the potential threats to translation validity. For example, assessment directions are often psychotechnical and difficult to be translated easily. Likewise, the content of assessment materials can be interpreted and understood differently across cultures and languages. Thus, all translation should be completed with an established, comprehensive, multi-step translation and validation process such as the translation and back-translation method in order to ensure the quality and accuracy of translation (Pena, 2007). The original and translated versions of the instrument should demonstrate linguistic, functional, cultural, and metric equivalences to guard against validity threat (Pena, 2007). Nevertheless, translation may not be available for certain types of assessment. In fact, standardized assessments are routinely being administered in English to linguistic minority individuals in some settings such as schools (Padilla, 2001). Although the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Education Research Association, 1999) clearly states that bias in test selection, administration, and interpretation munotes.in

Page 40

40 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
40 must be avoided, potentially discriminatory assessment practices in these settings (Padilla, 2001). For example, given that the majority of the standardized achievement assessments are normed on the mainstream population and that there is often a mismatch between the cultural experiences of minority students and those of their present school and social environments, achievement test performance of minority students, not surprisingly, tends to be deflated (Padilla, 2001). This often leads to inappropriate labeling or placement, such as placement in lower academic tracks (Oakes, 2000), special language assistance or diagnosis of a learning disability (McCardle & Leung, 2006), or a special-education referral (Padilla, 1988). From a theoretical standpoint, the practice of administering assessment in English exclusively assumes that individuals must attain and demonstrate certain competence in English in order to function effectively in American society (Padilla, 2001). However, with the increasingly diverse u.s. population, the population of non-English speakers has increased rapidly (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). Thus, evaluation that credits individuals for bilingual competency skills must be incorporated as part of culturally-appropriate assessment practices (Padilla, 2001). Administration/Application of Assessment Techniques With ethnic minority clients/participants, psychologists must carefully adopt an appropriate interaction approach in order to facilitate the assessment process (Dana, 1996). Influenced by the style of service delivery in the medical setting that requires compliance and discourages informal, personal relationships, European American psychologists tend to expect immediate cooperation and response to assessment materials from clients/participants (Dana, 1996; Gil & Bob, 1999). However, some ethic groups may perceive such social etiquette as intrusive and unfriendly, and as a result, may not cooperate immediately or respond comfortably. To develop a culturally competent style of assessment delivery, psychologists must increase awareness of cultural diversity, tailor their style towards the culture of their client participants, and adopt a more personalized approach when necessary (Gil & Bob, 1999). In addition, establishing a trusting relationship at the initial interaction through informed consent is essential. Because many ethnic minority groups may have misgiving and mistrust toward psychological assessment as a result of either lack of familiarity or past negative experience (e.g. biased or incomprehensible feedback due to technical jargon, inadequate informed consent), it is necessary that psychologists develop cooperative relationships with their clients/participants in the assessment process (Allen, 2002). Next, psychologists must make sure that their clients/ participants are capable of providing valid informed consent to the assessment process (APA, 2002; Barnett, Wise, Johnson-Greene, & Buckey, 2007). Information should be presented in the language of preference of clients/participants, either orally or in writing, in an understandable, jargonfree manner. Client participants should be fully informed of the purpose/goal, nature, method, scheduling, and expected duration of the munotes.in

Page 41

41 Multicultural
Assessment assessment process. The issues of confidentiality, as well as limits to confidentiality, should be clearly addressed. Information regarding the assessment should be fully and accurately explained to clients/ participants, including (1) the potential risks, discomfort, or adverse/side effects; (2) available alternatives; and (3) prospective benefit of the assessment. Like'wise, clients/participants should be informed of their right to decline or withdraw from the assessment and any foreseeable consequences of doing so. They should also be informed of their right to obtain assessment records and the circumstances in which this may be restricted. Prior to the assessment, psychologists should (1) ensure that clientparticipants have read and understand the informed consent document; (2) offer sufficient opportunity for them to ask questions and receive answers; and (3) allow sufficient time for them to consider whether or not to participate. Some ethnic minority clients/participants may regard their family members, community persons, or advocates as significant individuals to be fully involved in the assessment process (Dana, 1996). Whether the clients/participants consent to participate in assessment may be considered as a group decision. Psychologists should be aware of social norms and cultural expectations of their clients/participants and be prepared to involve these individuals in the process of informed consent. Accordingly, limits to confidentiality should be addressed clearly, depending on the situation of the clients/participants and their significant others (Barnett, 2005). Also, advanced arrangements should be made so that clients/participants and their significant others are fully informed about what information may be disclosed and to whom in cases of emergency situations (Barnett, 2005). In addition to careful selection of assessment instruments, psychologists also need to select methods of assessment that are normed and appropriate for the ethnic groups they assess (Fouad & Arredondo, 2007). Over reliance on paper-and-pencil assessment is problematic (Fouad & Arredondo, 2007). Not only does it exclude the people who are illiterate, it also negatively biases the assessment results for people who have limited reading ability or have limited proficiency due to the use of a second language. Additionally, paper-and pencil assessment may not be appropriate for use with some ethnic groups that traditionally reply on verbal transmission of information instead. Thus, the use of a multiple method assessment approach including both qualitative and quantities methodologies is suggested (Ridley et al., 2001). Interpretation and Release of Assessment Results After the assessment has been completed, psychologists need to ensure the interpretation of the assessment results is culturally appropriate when serving ethnic minority clients/participants (Fouad & Arredondo, 2007). This process has been called the "interpreting cultural data" phase (Ridley et al., 2001, p. 36). Psychologists need to consider whether the information collected may be influenced by the linguistic and cultural background and experience of their clients/ participants. They also need to ascertain the role of environmental stressors on the performance of their clients/participants, leading to potential negative bias in the assessment results. Psychologists munotes.in

Page 42

42 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
42 must also give careful consideration and use critical judgment in interpreting the results if standardized assessment instruments are used. Further, psychologists need to examine the "consequential validity" of the assessment to understand the issues associated with assessment bias, assessment fairness, and cultural equivalence, and to consider the foreseeable consequences for the clients/participants (Padilla, 2001). Consultation with other professionals with relevant expertise is recommended when needed. The final steps of the assessment process include providing feedback and sharing the evaluation results and recommendations. The written evaluation report is an essential element of the assessment process and is often used to obtain access to appropriate and needed services. However, misuse or misinterpretation of the information obtained from assessment reports may lead to limited access to services or treatment resistance due to impaired trust in psychologists. Further, misdiagnosis and labeling may be stigmatizing and result in harm. It is vital that the interpretation of assessment findings be done in a culturally-informed and sensitive manner that thoughtfully addresses all relevant factors that may impact the client's/participant's performance during the evaluation process. Reports should be jargon-free and presented at a level the client/participant can understand. It is also recommended that psychologists have an in-person discussion with clients and offer them the opportunity for questions to be answered in order to prevent any potential misinterpretation or misunderstanding (Michaels, 2006). Additionally, as has been mentioned, in many ethnic groups family members, community persons, advocates, or significant others often play an active role in the assessment process as well as in the implementation of intervention for clients. These individuals may actually authorize, facilitate, or take active responsibility for subsequent services or interventions (Dana, 1996). Their wishes and expectations concerning the welfare of the client/participant are critically important for making any decision regarding the services or interventions recommended. Therefore, with the client's consent, psychologists should actively include these significant others in the assessment feedback and treatment planning processes. 3.4 WRITING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL REPORTS FOR CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE CLIENT What Is a Psychological and Educational Report? A psychological and educational report (often termed a psycho-educational report) is an organized, comprehensive, and integrated written account of the results obtained from a psychological/educational assessment. Traditionally, the criteria followed are to write such a report plainly and succinctly, describing personal student history, the results of quantitative measures, clinical deductions, and specific recommendations. There are several purposes for a psychological report; for the school psychologist, the munotes.in

Page 43

43 Multicultural
Assessment primary reasons are to explain the results of the assessment, to provide recommendations for interventions, and to stress the need for special services when applicable. Professional and Legal Mandates Relevant to Writing Reports Rogers et al. (1999), representing the APA’s Division 16 Task Force on Cross-Cultural School Psychology Competencies, suggest that school psychologists be well informed about local, state, and federal regulations, but be aware particularly of major court cases, both historical and ongoing, that involve CLD children and their families. For example, Diana v. California State Board of Education provides the legal underpinnings for school psychologists to examine children in the native (dominant non-English) language. The authors also highlight the need for fluency with regard to: (a) immigration and naturalization laws; (b) civil rights, as they pertain to educational services; and (c) bilingual and ESL program legislation—in particular, the implementation of such laws in different states, and their relative effectiveness. School psychologists are also encouraged to enter the debate regarding public educational policies, and advocate for such policies when they determine they will have a beneficial outcome for their racial/ethnic CLD students. In the Professional Conduct Manual prepared by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) (2000), culturally diverse populations Practice Guideline 5 highlights the following: School psychologists have the sensitivity, knowledge, and skills to work with individuals and groups with a diverse range of strengths and needs from a variety of racial, cultural, ethnic, experiential, and linguistic backgrounds. School psychologists incorporate their understanding of the influence of culture, background, and individual learning characteristics when designing and implementing interventions to achieve learning and behavioral outcomes. Ethical Standards Both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists have compiled codes of ethics for psychologists to follow when providing services in schools or in independent practice. The NASP (2000) Professional Conduct Manual defines ethical standards for report writing in a list provided for the Professional Practices-General Principles, Assessment and Interventions (Section IV: Professional Practices—General Principles; D: Reporting Data and Conference Results, Point 3, p. 28). This particular principle addresses psychological report writing, and reads as follows: munotes.in

Page 44

44 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
44 School psychologists prepare written reports in such form and style that the recipient of the report will be able to assist the child or other clients. Reports should emphasize recommendations and interpretations; unedited computer- generated reports, pre-printed “check-off” or “fill-in-the-blank” reports, and reports that present only test scores or global statements regarding eligibility for special education without specific recommendations for intervention are seldom useful. Reports should include an appraisal of the degree of confidence that could be assigned to the information An additional principle cautions school psychologists to “review all of their written documents for accuracy, signing them only when correct.” The ethical principles take account of important aspects of the report, but do not provide in-depth information on how to structure a report, or what to include in it. As mentioned previously, the literature reveals that specific ethical guide- lines for writing culturally competent reports have not been proposed. However, it has been assumed that practitioners who practice ethically appropriate multicultural assessments are both interested in the theoretical and practical considerations in ethics, and put their ethical knowledge into practice (Ridley, Hill, & Li, 1998). As defined in this context, ethics involve acquiring ethical competence and practicing professional responsibility by acting upon the recommended ethics. In this respect, it can be assumed that ethical report writing should abide by the same ethical competence and responsibility. Consequently, report writing has to be interconnected once again to assessment practice in an attempt to review ethical codes and laws. In addition, NASP’s standards recommend the following five areas of sound psychological assessment that should be adhered to, so as to ensure that ethical and legal concerns have been respected (Jacob-Timm & Hartshorne, 1998). Assessment should be: Multifaceted—it should ensure the use of multiple methods of assessment to avoid a single test score being used as the sole basis for decision-making; Comprehensive—assessments should cover all areas of the child’s difficulties (e.g., health, vision, hearing, social/emotional functioning, intellectual abilities, educational achievement, communication skills, and motor abilities); Fair—the selection of assessment instruments and procedures takes into consideration age, gender, native language, socioeconomic status, disabilities, and cultural and ethnic background. More specifically, for the child with a disability, appropriate assessment procedures must be selected in order to ensure that cognitive ability, educational achievement, and adaptive behavior are fairly evaluated. Additionally, students with limited English proficiency (LEP) should undergo a language proficiency and dominance screening; the latter will aid in the selection of instruments, as well as the interpretation of outcomes. Furthermore, ethical codes and special education laws also mandate munotes.in

Page 45

45 Multicultural
Assessment that nonbiased assessment methods be adopted for culturally and racially diverse children; Valid—the validity of the test utilized should be assured by following the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999). A summary of the standards indicates that school psychologists are ethically responsible for evaluating the technical standards (validity, reliability, standardization norms) of the tests they use, so as to guarantee that they are valid for their intended purposes; useful—appropriate assessment instruments should be selected that provide the strengths and weaknesses of the assessed child and aid in formulating an assigned diagnosis. Accordingly, the results of an assessment are shared with parents and educators through a written report and in conferences. Furthermore, parents have a legal right to obtain a copy of their child’s psychological report (Public Law 94-142). School psychologists should make certain that reports include recommendations and interventions, and do not solely describe test scores Practice Implications of Writing Psycho-Educational Reports for CLD Students It is important to recognize that there are several important variations involved in conducting an appropriate assessment for a CLD child or youth. Among these differences are the gathering of cultural and experiential back- ground, determining language dominance in addition to second-language acquisition, acculturation stages and/or stressors, educational levels, and other important community/school/home factors. This additional essential information obtained from the assessment is vital to the report. Failure to accomplish this results in a more traditional report prepared for a monolingual English-dominant U.S. mainstream student, which will be distinctly unhelpful for the CLD student. Several additional objectives are needed to provide school psychologists with the appropriate framework for CLD report writing. To carry out this aim, the following culture-specific objectives are presented. Prior to discussing the objectives of a culturally focused psycho-educational report, the format of a traditional psychological report should be examined. Sattler (2001) describes the typical sections of a report as follows: 1. Identifying Information 2. Assessment Instruments 3. Reason for Referral 4. Background Information 5. Observations During the Assessment 6. Assessment Results and Clinical Impressions 7. Recommendations 8. Summary 9. Signature munotes.in

Page 46

46 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
46 The traditional sections that address the objectives of a report continue to be appropriate; however, a review of the literature regarding multicultural assessment competencies revealed additional objectives necessary for inclusion in order to ensure a culturally fair report. Several supplementary objectives are suggested below. 1. Adhere to the recommendations for conducting a multicultural assessment (Armour-Thomas & Gopaul-McNicol, 1998; Gopaul-McNicol & Brice- Baker, 1998; Ortiz, 2002; Rogers et al., 1999; Ridley et al., 1998). 2. Report all results in a culturally sensitive manner. 3. View the report as an instrument to plan instruction and provide guidance with regard to the academic strengths and weaknesses of the CLD student. 4. Consider the impact of social and cultural issues, language, and environmental/ political factors (Rogers et al., 1999). 5. Include background information that covers cultural information pertaining to ethnic and racial/biracial identity, religious/traditional beliefs, social class, health care practices, immigration and/or acculturation stages of the student and parents, and disciplinary norms of the family (Gopaul-McNicol & Brice-Baker, 1998). 6. Acknowledge the weight of learning a second language and adjustment to a second culture on the social/emotional and intellectual development of the CLD student (Rogers et al., 1999). 7. Report language proficiency and, for English Language Learners (ELL), provide a description of the current progress in the acquisition of a second language (Meller, Ohr, & Marcus, 2001; Ortiz, 2002; Rogers et al., 1999). 8. A good report should address cultural and linguistic information (Rogers et al.,1999) and, when appropriate, the results of some screening measure or other qualitative method used to assess the CLD student’s language dominance and/or bilingualism (e.g., The Bilingual Verbal Ability Test (BVAT) (Munoz- Sandoval et al., 1998), which is used for students who are less dominant in the native language, and the Woodcock language proficiency assessment). 9. Address the quantitative results of the evaluation, and endeavor to assess the outcomes in an unbiased manner, as well as describe any deviations/ modifications adopted during the testing (Ortiz, 2002; Rogers et al., 1999). If a standardized test was used that has not been normed for the CLD student, the results should be explained in a descriptive and qualitative manner (Rogers et al., 1999). munotes.in

Page 47

47 Multicultural
Assessment 10. Use appropriate comparison groups when discussing the assessed CLD student (Rogers et al., 1999). 11. Incorporate in the interpretation of tests section of the report a psychometric estimate of the cognitive results. This section describes the child’s potential and provides an estimate of intellectual functioning when certain biases in testing practices are removed or modified (Gopaul McNicol & Brice- Baker, 1998; Ortiz, 2002). 12. Include qualitative outcomes obtained from other assessments. Other assessments imply the integration of alternative methods of assessment that consist of the evaluation of other intelligences in the areas of musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal abilities, and other domains of functioning (Suzuki et al., 2001). A description of the latter covers those areas of functioning that are not commonly included in a psycho-educational report, causing important areas of functioning of the CLD child to be overlooked. Performance-based assessment, functional assessment, dynamic assessment, and/or developmental assessment techniques can also be regarded as part of qualitative, alternative methods of assessment (Rogers et al., 1999). 13. Include a section that addresses the results of the learning ecology assessment which involves the following steps: (a) review of educational records; (b) observation of the student during class instruction, as well as an examination of the content of the instruction; (c) suitability of the curriculum; (d) evaluation of the fit between the student and the curriculum with consideration of the student’s needs; (e) deductions made from parent and teacher interviews; and (f) review of medical records (Ortiz, 2002). 14. Ensure that the clinical impressions of the report truly reflect the CLD child’s personality and behaviors according to his/her culture and ethnicity. 15. Describe the results of an ecological assessment. In this section, the goal is to provide information concerning the CLD child’s functioning within her/his family and community (Gopaul-McNicol & Brice-Baker, 1998). 16. Describe the limitations of using interpreters for interviewing or testing purposes in conjunction with a detailed explanation of the interpreters’ training and credentials (Hamayan & Damico, 1991; Figueroa, Sandoval, & Merino, 1984). munotes.in

Page 48

48 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
48 17. Acknowledge the use of a translated test and to explain that the psychometric structure of the original non-translated instrument and the translated version of the instrument are not comparable (Rogers et al., 1999; Tallent, 1998, p. 250) (see Appendix 7.2 for Checklist of Objectives). Cross-Cultural Competencies Relevant to Report Writing The notion of multicultural assessment practice has been summarized in the literature as encompassing several areas of competencies, such as knowledge and skills in cross-cultural issues concerning: (a) clinical interviewing and assessment of individuals from diverse backgrounds; (b) maintaining culturally centered ethics in testing; (c) expertise in cultural identity and acculturation; (d) appropriate selection of assessment instruments; and (e) knowledge of diagnosing individuals from diverse cultures. Correspondingly, knowledge and skills for selecting culturally appropriate interventions and recommendations are also part of cross-cultural practice (Suzuki et al., 2001), and report writing should adhere to the same competencies recommended for cross- cultural assessment practice because the two are directly related. However, since the field is lacking in specific cross-cultural competencies for report writing, the best way to distinguish the competencies that are relevant to report writing is to review the specific domain of culturally competent practice in assessment advocated by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and observe how it might be connected to psychological report writing. Standard III. Psychoeducational Assessment: 1. Knowledge of and skills in assessing CLD students, including consideration of variables such as environment, social issues, language development, second language acquisition, acculturation, educational history, quality of educational program, SES and racism. 2. Understanding that normed tests may not be a valid measure for English Language Learners (ELLs) due to inappropriateness of norms, scores reflecting English proficiency, product as opposed to process orientation, fairness of content, and differences in educational background, acculturation, and economic situation; need to be familiar with second language acquisition stages; cultural variables that influence the results of an assessment; use of translators. munotes.in

Page 49

49 Multicultural
Assessment 3.4 REFERENCES 1. Elrich, H. (2003). The Social Psychology of Prejudice: A systematic Theoretical Review and Propositional Inventory of the American. New York, Wiley. 2. Gamst, G.C., Liang, C.T.H., Der‐Karabetian, A. (2011). Handbook of Multicultural Measures, La Verne: SAGE 3. Garrett McAulifee & Associates (2008). Culturally Alert Counselling: A Comprehensive Introduction , Sage Publications. 4. Sue, D.W., Sue, D. (2012). Counselling The Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (6th Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 5. Sue, Sue D.W. (2006) Multicultural Competencies: Individual and Organizational Development, Sage Publication, New Delhi. munotes.in

Page 50

50 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
50 4 MULTICULTURAL PRACTICE IN PSYCHOLOGY Unit Structure 4.1 Multicultural counselling: counsellor’s self-awareness and counsellor’s awareness of the clients’ world view, developing multicultural competencies and culturally appropriate interventions. 4.1.1 What Is Multicultural Counseling 4.1.2 Counsellor’s self-awareness and counsellor’s awareness of the clients’ world view 4.1.3 Developing multicultural competencies and culturally appropriate interventions 4.1.4 Developing Appropriate Intervention Strategies and Techniques: 4.2 Barriers to multicultural counselling. 4.3 Managing diversity and conflicts in organizations 4.3.1 Leadership Skills to Reduce Conflict Pitfalls 4.3.2 Managing Conflict Diversity Tips 4.4 References 4.1 MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING: COUNSELLOR’S SELF-AWARENESS AND COUNSELLOR’S AWARENESS OF THE CLIENTS’ WORLD VIEW, DEVELOPING MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCIES AND CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS 4.1.1 What Is Multicultural Counseling In light of the previous analysis, let us define multicultural counseling/therapy (MCT ) as it relates to the therapy process and the roles of the mental health practitioner: Multicultural counseling and therapy can be defined as both a helping role and process that uses modalities and defines goals consistent with the life experiences and cultural values of clients, recognizes client identities to munotes.in

Page 51

51 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology include individual, group, and universal dimensions, advocates the use of universal and culturespecific strategies and roles in the healing process, and balances the importance of individualism and collectivism in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of client and client systems. (D. W. Sue & Torino, 2005) This definition often contrasts markedly with traditional definitions of counseling and psychotherapy. A more thorough analysis of these characteristics is described in Chapter 4. For now, let us extract implications for counseling practice from the definition just given. 1. Helping role and process. MCT involves broadening the roles that counselors play and expands the repertoire of therapy skills considered helpful and appropriate in counseling. The more passive and objective stance taken by therapists in clinical work is seen as only one method of helping. Likewise, teaching, consulting, and advocacy can supplement the conventional counselor or therapist role. 2. Consistent with life experiences and cultural values. Effective MCT means using modalities and defining goals for culturally diverse clients that are consistent with their racial, cultural, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation backgrounds. Advice and suggestions, for example, may be effectively used for some client populations. 3. Individual, group, and universal dimensions of existence. As we have already seen, MCT acknowledges that our existence and identity are composed of individual (uniqueness), group, and universal dimensions. Any form of helping that fails to recognize the totality of these dimensions negates important aspects of a person’s identity. 4. Universal and culturespecific strategies. Related to the second point, MCT believes that different racial/ethnic minority groups might respond best to culture-specific strategies of helping. For example, research seems to support the belief that Asian Americans are more responsive to directive/active approaches and that African Americans appreciate helpers who are authentic in their self-disclosures. Likewise, it is clear that common features in helping relationships cut across cultures and societies as well. 5. Individualism and collectivism. MCT broadens the perspective of the helping relationship by balancing the individualistic approach with a collectivistic reality that acknowledges our embeddedness in families, significant others, communities, and cultures. A client is perceived not just as an individual, but as an individual who is a product of his or her social and cultural context. 6. Client and client systems. MCT assumes a dual role in helping clients. In many cases, for example, it is important to focus on the individual clients and encourage them to achieve insights and learn new behaviors. However, when problems of clients of color reside in prejudice, discrimination, and racism of employers, educators, and neighbors, or in organizational policies or practices in schools, mental munotes.in

Page 52

52 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
52 health agencies, government, business, and society, the traditional therapeutic role appears ineffective and inappropriate. The focus for change must shift to altering client systems rather than individual clients. 4.1.2 Counsellor’s self-awareness and counsellor’s awareness of the clients’ world view Therapist Awareness of One’s Own Assumptions, Values, and Biases In almost all human service programs, counselors, therapists, and social workers are familiar with the phrase, “Counselor, know thyself.” Programs stress the importance of not allowing our own biases, values, or hang-ups to interfere with our ability to work with clients. In most cases, such a warning stays primarily on an intellectual level, and very little training is directed at having trainees get in touch with their own values and biases about human behavior. In other words, it appears to be easier to deal with trainees’ cognitive understanding about their own cultural heritage, the values they hold about human behavior, their standards for judging normality and abnormality, and the culture-bound goals toward which they strive. What makes examination of the self difficult is the emotional impact of attitudes, beliefs, and feelings associated with cultural differences such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, able-body-ism, and ageism. For example, as a member of a White Euro-American group, what responsibility do you hold for the racist, oppressive, and discriminating manner by which you personally and professionally deal with persons of color? This is a threatening question for many White people. However, to be effective in MCT means that one has adequately dealt with this question and worked through the biases, feelings, fears, and guilt associated with it. Understanding the Worldview of Culturally Diverse Clients It is crucial that counselors and therapists understand and can share the worldview of their culturally diverse clients. This statement does not mean that providers must hold these worldviews as their own, but rather that they can see and accept other worldviews in a nonjudgmental manner. Some have referred to the process as cultural role taking: The therapist acknowledges that he or she has not lived a lifetime as an Asian American, African American, American Indian, or Hispanic American person. It is almost impossible for the therapist to think, feel, and react as a racial minority individual. Nonetheless, cognitive empathy, as distinct from affective empathy, may be possible. In cultural role taking the therapist acquires practical knowledge concerning the scope and nature of the client’s cultural background, daily living experience, hopes, fears, and aspirations. Inherent in cognitive empathy is the understanding of how therapy relates to the wider sociopolitical system with which minorities contend every day of their lives. munotes.in

Page 53

53 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology 4.1.3 Developing multicultural competencies Elsewhere, one of the authors (D. W. Sue, 2001) has proposed a multidimensional model of cultural competence (MDCC in counseling/therapy. This was an at ) - tempt to integrate three important features associated with effective multicultural counseling: (1) the need to consider specific cultural group worldviews associated with race, gender, sexual orientation, and so on; (2) components of cultural competence (awareness, knowledge, and skills) and ( ; 3) foci of cultural competence. These dimensions are illustrated in Figure 2.2. This model is used throughout the text to guide our discussion because it allows for the systematic identification of where interventions should potentially be directed. Dimension I: Group-Specific Worldviews In keeping with our all-encompassing definition of multiculturalism, we include the human differences associated with race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, age, and other significant reference groups. Figure 2.2 originally identified only five major groups organized around racial/ethnic categories. This dimension can be broadened to include multiracial groups and other culturally diverse groups such as sexual minorities, the elderly, women, and those with disabilities. In turn, these group identities can be further broken down into specific categories along the lines of race/ethnicity (African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and EuroAmericans), sexual orientation (straights, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals), gender (men and women), and so forth. We are aware that a strong case can be made for including socioeconomic status, religious preference, and other group differences as well. Unfortunately, space limitations force us to make hard choices about which groups to cover. Dimension II: Components of Cultural Competence As we have already stated, most multicultural specialists have used the divisions of awareness, knowledge, and skills to define cultural competence. To be effective multicultural therapists, specialists must be aware of their own biases and assumptions about human behavior, must acquire and have knowledge of the particular groups they are working with, and must be able to use culturally appropriate intervention strategies in working with different groups. Dimension III: Foci of Therapeutic Interventions A basic premise of MCT is that culturally competent helping professionals must not confine their perspectives to just individual treatment, but must be able to intervene effectively at the professional, organizational, and societal levels as well. Figure 2.3 reveals the four foci of intervention and development. munotes.in

Page 54

54 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
54 Focus 1: Individual. To provide culturally effective and sensitive mental health services, helping professionals must deal with their own biases, prejudices, and misinformation/lack of information regarding culturally diverse groups in our society. In this case, positive changes must occur in their attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors regarding multicultural populations. Focus 2: Professional. It is clear that our profession has developed from a Western European perspective. As a result, how we define psychology (the study of mind and behavior) may be biased and at odds with different cultural groups. Further, if the professional standards and codes of ethics in mental health practice are culture bound, then they must be changed to reflect a multicultural worldview. Focus 3: Organizational. Since we all work for or are influenced by organizations, it is important to realize that institutional practices, policies, programs, and structures may be oppressive to certain groups, especially if they are monocultural. If organizational policies and practices deny equal access and opportunity for different groups or oppress them (redlining in home mortgages, laws against domestic partners, inequitable mental health care, etc.), then they should become the targets for change. Focus 4: Societal. If social policies (racial profiling, misinformation in educational materials, inequities in health care, etc.) are detrimental to the mental and physical health of minority groups, for example, does not the mental health professional have a responsibility to advocate for change? Our answer, of course, is affirmative. Often, psychologists treat individuals who are the victims of failed systemic processes. Intervention at the individual level is primarily remedial when a strong need exists for preventive measures. Because psychology con-centrates primarily on the individual, it has been deficient in developing more systemic and large-scale change strategies. 4.1.4 Developing Appropriate Intervention Strategies and Techniques Effectiveness is most likely enhanced when the therapist uses therapeutic modalities and defines goals that are consistent with the life experiences and cultural values of the client. This basic premise will be emphasized throughout future chapters. Studies have consistently revealed that (1)economically and educationally marginalized clients may not be oriented toward “talk therapy”; (2)self-disclosure may be incompatible with the cultural values of Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American Indians; (3)the sociopolitical atmosphere may dictate against self-disclosure from racial minorities and gays and lesbians; (4)the ambiguous nature of counseling may be antagonistic to life values of certain diverse groups; and munotes.in

Page 55

55 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology (5)many minority clients prefer an active/directive approach to an inactive/nondirective one in treatment. Therapy has too long assumed that clients share a similar background and cultural heritage and that the same approaches are equally effective with all clients. This erroneous assumption needs to be buried. Because groups and individuals differ from one another, the blind application of techniques to all situations and all populations seems ludicrous. The interpersonal transactions between the counselor and client require differential approaches that are consistent with the person’s life experiences (Sue et al., 1996). In this particular case, and as mentioned earlier, it is ironic that equal treatment in therapy may be discriminatory treatment! Therapists need to understand this. As a means to prove discriminatory mental health practices, racial/ethnic minority groups have in the past pointed to studies revealing that minority clients are given less preferential forms of treatment (medication, electroconvulsive therapy, etc.). Somewhere, confusion has occurred, and it was believed that to be treated differently is akin to discrimination. The confusion centered on the distinction between equal access and opportunities versus equal treatment. Racial/ethnic minority groups may not be asking for equal treatment so much as they are asking for equal access and opportunities. This dictates a differential approach that is truly nondiscriminatory. Thus, to be an effective multicultural helper requires cultural competence. In light of the previous analysis, we define it in the following manner: Cultural competence is the ability to engage in actions or create conditions that maximize the optimal development of client and client systems. Multicultural counseling competence is defined as the counselor’s acquisition of awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society (ability to communicate, interact, negotiate, and intervene on behalf of clients from diverse backgrounds), and on a organizational/societal level, advocating effectively to develop new theories, practices, policies, and organizational structures that are more responsive to all groups. (D. W. Sue & Torino, 2005) This definition of cultural competence in the helping professions makes it clear that the conventional one-to-one, in-the-office, objective form of treatment aimed at remediation of existing problems may be at odds with the sociopolitical and cultural experiences of their clients. Like the complementary definition of MCT, it addresses not only clients (individuals, families, and groups) but also client systems (institutions, policies, and practices that may be unhealthy or problematic for healthy development). This is especially true if problems reside outside rather than inside the client. For example, prejudice and discrimination such as racism, sexism, and homophobia may impede the healthy functioning of individuals and groups in our society. Second, cultural competence can be seen as residing in three major domains: (a)attitudes/beliefs component—an understanding of one’s own cultural conditioning that affects the personal beliefs, values, and attitudes of a culturally diverse population; (b)knowledge component—munotes.in

Page 56

56 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
56 understanding and knowledge of the worldviews of culturally diverse individuals and groups; and (c)skills component—an ability to determine and use culturally appropriate intervention strategies when working with different groups in our society. Third, in a broad sense, this definition is directed toward two levels of cultural competence: the person/individual and the organizational/system levels. The work on cultural competence has generally focused on the micro level, the individual. In the education and training of psychologists, for example, the goals have been to increase the level of self-awareness of trainees (potential biases, values, and assumptions about human behavior); to acquire knowledge of the history, culture, and life experiences of various minority groups; and to aid in developing culturally appropriate and adaptive interpersonal skills (clinical work, management, conflict resolution, etc.). Less emphasis is placed on the macro level: the profession of psychology, organizations, and the society in general (Lewis, Lewis, Daniels, & D’Andrea, 1998; D. W. Sue, 2001). We suggest that it does little good to train culturally competent helping professionals when the very organizations that employ them are monocultural and discourage or even punish psychologists for using their culturally competent knowledge and skills. If our profession is interested in the development of cultural competence, then it must become involved in impacting systemic and societal levels as well. Last, our definition of cultural competence speaks strongly to the development of alternative helping roles. Much of this comes from recasting healing as involving more than one-to-one therapy. If part of cultural competence involves systemic intervention, then roles such as a consultant, change agent, teacher, and advocate supplement the conventional role of therapy. In contrast to this role, alternatives are characterized by the following:  Having a more active helping style  Working outside the office (home, institution, or community)  Being focused on changing environmental conditions as opposed to changing the client  Viewing the client as encountering problems rather than having a problem  Being oriented toward prevention rather than remediation  Shouldering increased responsibility for determining the course and outcome of the helping process  It is clear that these alternative roles and their underlying assumptions and practices have not been perceived as activities consistent with counseling and psychotherapy. munotes.in

Page 57

57 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology Communication Styles Effective therapy depends on the therapist and client being able to send and receive both verbal and nonverbal messages accurately and appropriately. It requires that the therapists not only send messages (make themselves understood) but also receive messages (attend to clients). The definition for effective therapy also includes verbal (content of what is said) and nonverbal how something is said) elements. Most therapists seem more concerned with the accuracy of communication (getting to the heart of the matter) than with whether the communication is appropriate. The case of Betty illustrates how traditional Asian culture prizes a person’s subtlety and indirectness in communication. The direct and confrontational techniques in therapy may be perceived by traditional Asian or Native American clients as lacking in respect for the client, a crude and rude form of communication, and a reflection of insensitivity (Duran, 2006). In most cases, therapists have been trained to tune in to the content of what is said rather than how something is said. When we refer to communication style, we are addressing those factors that go beyond the content of what is said. Some communication specialists believe that only 30 to 40 percent of what is communicated conversationally is verbal (Condon & Yousef, 1975; Ramsey & Birk, 1983; Singelis, 1994). What people say and do is usually qualified by other things that they say and do. A gesture, tone, inflection, posture, or degree of eye contact may enhance or negate the content of a message. Communication styles have a tremendous impact on our face-to-face encounters with others. Whether our conversation proceeds with fits or starts, whether we interrupt one another continually or proceed smoothly, the topics we prefer to discuss or avoid, the depth of our involvement, the forms of interaction (ritual, repartee, argumentative, persuasive, etc.), and the channel we use to communicate (verbalnonverbal versus nonverbal-verbal) are all aspects of communication style (Douglis, 1987; Wolfgang, 1985). Some refer to these factors as the social rhythms that underlie all our speech and actions. Communication styles are strongly correlated with race, culture, and ethnicity. Gender has also been found to be a powerful determinant of communication style (J. C. Pearson, 1985; Robinson &Howard-Hamilton, 2000). Nonverbal Communication Although language, class, and cultural factors all interact to create problems in communication between the culturally diverse client and therapist, an oftneglected area is nonverbal behavior (Duran, 2006; Singelis, 1994). What people say can be either enhanced or negated by their nonverbals. When a man raises his voice, tightens his facial muscles, pounds the table violently, and proclaims, “Goddamn it, I’m not angry!”he is clearly contradicting the content of the communication. If we all share the same cultural and social upbringing, we may all arrive at the same conclusion. Interpreting nonverbals, however, is difficult for several reasons. First, the same nonverbal behavior on the part of an American Indian client may mean something quite different than if it were made by a White person (Duran, 2006). Second, nonverbals often occur outside our levels of awareness but influence our evaluations and behaviors. It is important to note that our munotes.in

Page 58

58 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
58 discussion of nonverbal codes will not include all the possible areas, like olfaction (taste and smell), tactile cues, and artifactual communication (clothing, hairstyle, display of material things, etc.). Paralanguage The term paralanguage is used to refer to other vocal cues that individuals use to communicate. For example, loudness of voice, pauses, silences, hesitations, rate, inflections, and the like all fall into this category. Paralanguage is very likely to be manifested forcefully in conversation conventions such as how we greet and address others and take turns in speaking. It can communicate a variety of different features about a person, such as age, gender, and emotional responses, as well as the race and sex of the speaker (Banks & Banks, 1993; Lass, Mertz, & Kimmel, 1978; Nydell, 1996). There are complex rules regarding when to speak or yield to another person. For example, U.S. Americans frequently feel uncomfortable with a pause or silent stretch in the conversation, feeling obligated to fill it in with more talk. Silence is not always a sign for the listener to take up the conversation. While it may be viewed negatively by many, other cultures interpret the use of silence differently. The British and Arabs use silence for privacy, while the Russians, French, and Spanish read it as agreement among the parties (Hall, 1969, 1976). In Asian culture, silence is traditionally a sign of respect for elders. Furthermore, silence by many Chinese and Japanese is not a floor-yielding signal inviting others to pick up the conversation. Rather, it may indicate a desire to continue speaking after making a particular point. Often silence is a sign of politeness and respect rather than a lack of desire to continue speaking. 4.2 BARRIERS TO MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING. Verbal/Emotional/Behavioral Expressiveness Many counselors and therapists tend to emphasize the fact that verbal/emotional/behavioral expressiveness is important in individuals. For example, we like our clients to be verbal, articulate, and able to express their thoughts and feelings clearly. Indeed, therapy is often referred to as talk therapy, indicating the importance placed on Standard English as the medium of expression. Emotional expressiveness is also valued, as we like individuals to be in touch with their feelings and to be able to verbalize their emotional reactions. In some forms of counseling and psychotherapy, it is often stated that if a feeling is not verbalized and expressed by the client, it may not exist. We tend to value behavioral expressiveness and believe that it is important as well. We like individuals to be assertive, to stand up for their own rights, and to engage in activities that indicate they are not passive beings. All these characteristics of therapy can place culturally diverse clients at a disadvantage. For example, many cultural minorities tend not to value verbalizations in the same way that Americans do. In traditional Japanese culture, children have been taught not to speak until spoken to. Patterns of communication tend to be vertical, flowing from those of higher prestige and status to those of lower prestige and status. In a therapy situation many Japanese clients, to show respect for a therapist who is older, munotes.in

Page 59

59 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology wiser, and who occupies a position of higher status, may respond with silence. Unfortunately, an unenlightened counselor or therapist may perceive this client as being inarticulate and less intelligent. Emotional expressiveness in counseling and psychotherapy is frequently a highly desired goal. Yet many cultural groups value restraint of strong feelings. For example, traditional Hispanic and Asian cultures emphasize that maturity and wisdom are associated with one’s ability to control emotions and feelings. This applies not only to public expressions of anger and frustration, but also to public expressions of love and affection. Unfortunately, therapists unfamiliar with these cultural ramifications may perceive their clients in a very negative psychiatric light. Indeed, these clients are often described as inhibited, lacking in spontaneity, or repressed. Self-Disclosure (Openness and Intimacy) Most forms of counseling and psychotherapy tend to value one’s ability to self-disclose and to talk about the most intimate aspects of one’s life. Indeed, self-disclosure has often been discussed as a primary characteristic of a healthy personality. The converse of this is that people who do not selfdisclose readily in counseling and psychotherapy are seen to possess negative traits such as being guarded, mistrustful, or paranoid. There are two difficulties in this orientation toward self-disclosure. One of these is cultural, and the other is sociopolitical. First, intimate revelations of personal or social problems may not be acceptable because such difficulties reflect not only on the individual, but also on the whole family. Thus, the family may exert strong pressures on the Asian American client not to reveal personal matters to strangers or outsiders. Similar conflicts have been reported for Hispanics (Leong, Wagner, & Tata, 1995; Paniagua, 1998) and for American Indian clients (Herring, 1999; LaFromboise, 1998). A therapist who works with a client from a minority background may erroneously conclude that the person is repressed, inhibited, shy, or passive. Note that all these terms are seen as undesirable by Western standards. Related to this example is many health practitioners’ belief in the desirability of self-disclosure. Self-disclosure refers to the client’s willingness to tell the therapist what he or she feels, believes, or thinks. Jourard (1964) suggests that mental health is related to one’s openness in disclosing. While this may be true, the parameters need clarification. Chapter 4 uses as an example the paranorm of Grier and Cobbs (1968). People of African descent are especially reluctant to disclose to White counselors because of hardships that they have experienced via racism (Ridley, 2005). African Americans initially perceive a White therapist more often as an agent of society who may use information against them, rather than as a person of goodwill. From the African American perspective, noncritical self-disclosure to others is not healthy. Ambiguity The ambiguous and unstructured aspect of the therapy situation may create discomfort in clients of color. The culturally different may not be familiar with therapy and may perceive it as an unknown and mystifying process. Some groups, such as Hispanics, may have been reared in an environment munotes.in

Page 60

60 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
60 that actively structures social relationships and patterns of interaction. Anxiety and confusion may be the outcome in an unstructured counseling setting. Language Barriers Asking children to translate information concerning medical or legal problems is common in many communities with high immigrant populations, but may have devastating consequences: (1)it can create stress and hurt the traditional parent-child relationship; (2)children lack the vocabulary and emotional maturity to serve as effective interpreters; (3)children may be placed in a situation where they are privy to confidential medical or psychiatric information about their relatives; and (4)they may be unfairly burdened with emotional responsibilities that only adults should carry (Coleman, 2003). As of this writing, California Assembly Bill 775 was introduced to ban the use of children as interpreters. California will become the first state to do so, if passed. Further, the federal government has acknowledged that not providing adequate interpretation for client populations is a form of discrimination. As our opening case of the M. family suggests, the lack of bilingual therapists can result in both inferior and damaging services to linguistic minorities. Recently, the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (2005) published national standards for interpreters of health care that address issues of cultural awareness and confidentiality. Clearly, use of Standard English in health care delivery may unfairly discriminate against those from a bilingual or lower socioeconomic background and result in devastating consequences (Vedantam, 2005). This inequity occurs in our educational system and in the delivery of mental health services as well. The bilingual background of many Asian Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, and American Indians may lead to much misunderstanding. This is true even if a minority group member cannot speak his or her own native tongue. Early language studies (M. E. Smith, 1957; M. E. Smith &Kasdon, 1961) indicate that simply coming from a background where one or both of parents have spoken their native tongue can impair proper acquisition of English. Even African Americans who come from a different cultural environment may use words and phrases (Black Language, or Ebonics) not entirely understandable to the therapist. While considerable criticism was directed toward the Oakland Unified School District for their short-lived attempt to recognize Ebonics in 1996, the reality is that such a form of communication does exist in many African American communities. In therapy, however, African American clients are expected to communicate their feelings and thoughts to therapists in Standard English. For some African Americans, thisis a difficult task, since the use of nonstandard English is their norm. Black language code involves a great deal of implicitness in communication, such as shorter sentences and less grammatical elaboration (but greater reliance on nonverbal cues). On the other hand, the language code of the middle and upper classes is much more elaborate, relies less on nonverbal cues, and entails greater knowledge of grammar and syntax. Romero (1985) indicates that counseling psychologists are finding that they must interact with consumers who may have English as a second language, or who may not speak English at all. The lack of bilingual therapists and the requirement that the client munotes.in

Page 61

61 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology communicate in English may limit the person’s ability to progress in counseling and therapy. If bilingual individuals do not use their native tongue in therapy, many aspects of their emotional experience may not be available for treatment. For example, because English may not be their primary language, they may have difficulty using the wide complexity of language to describe their particular thoughts, feelings, and unique situations. Clients who are limited in English tend to feel like they are speaking as a child and choosing simple words to explain complex thoughts and feelings. If they were able to use their native tongue, they could easily explain themselves without the huge loss of emotional complexity and experience. Generalizations and Stereotypes: Some Cautions White cultural values are reflected in the generic characteristics of counseling (Table 6.1; see also Table 12.1). These characteristics are summarized and can be compared with the values of four racial/ethnic minority groups: American Indians, Asian Americans, Blacks, and Hispanics (see Table 6.2). Al-though it is critical for therapists to have a basic understanding of the generic characteristics of counseling and psychotherapy and the culture-specific life values of different groups, overgeneralizing and stereotyping are everpresent dangers. For example, the listing of racial/ethnic minority group variables does not indicate that all persons coming from the same minority group will share all or even some of these traits. Furthermore, emerging trends such as short-term and crisis intervention approaches and other less verbally oriented techniques differ from the generic traits listed. Yet it is highly improbable that any of us can enter a situation or encounter people without forming impressions consistent with our own experiences and values. Whether a client is dressed neatly in a suit or wears blue jeans, is a man or a woman, or is of a different race will likely affect our assumptions. First impressions will be formed that fit our own interpretations and generalizations of human behavior. Generalizations are necessary for us; without them, we would become inefficient creatures. However, they are guidelines for our behaviors, to be tentatively applied in new situations, and they should be open to change and challenge. It is exactly at this stage that generalizations remain generalizations or become stereotypes. Stereotypes may be defined as rigid preconceptions we hold about all people who are members of a particular group, whether it be defined along racial, religious, sexual, or other lines. The belief in a perceived characteristic of the group is applied to all members without regard for individual variations. The danger of stereotypes is that they are impervious to logic or experience. All incoming information is distorted to fit our preconceived notions. For example, people who are strongly anti-semitic will accuse Jews of being stingy and miserly and then, in the same breath, accuse them of flaunting their wealth by conspicuous spending. The information in Tables 6.1, 6.2, and 12.1 should act as guidelines rather than absolutes. These generalizations should serve as the background from which the figure emerges. For example, belonging to a particular group may mean sharing common values and experiences. Individuals within a group, however, also differ. The background offers a contrast for us to see individual differences more clearly. It should not munotes.in

Page 62

62 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
62 submerge, but rather increase the visibility of the figure. This is the figure-ground relationship that should aid us in recognizing the uniqueness of people more readily. 4.3 MANAGING DIVERSITY AND CONFLICTS IN ORGANIZATIONS Conflict is unique in that, although it may cause turmoil, without it people tend to become complacent. If you do not have an incompatibility of ideas in the workplace, then it is difficult to keep moving forward. Organizations need challenge in order to grow. Another unique aspect of conflict: It generates ideas. The best ideas stem from finding the best solutions to problems that exist. For instance, many organizations seek trainers with high self-esteem, but at the same time, trainers who have high self-esteem tend to provoke conflict to develop. Therefore, it is important to build the team member's self-esteem as well by initiating exercises that promote idea generation. Conflict arises when people with high self-esteem confidently throw their ideas out on the table; and the more ideas that are thrown out, the more conflict is developed. The next step is to then teach team members how to resolve conflict and choose an idea that allows the company to build innovative products or solutions. When a diverse team is able to transform conflict and ideas into an innovative solution, then you have true teamwork and it does not matter if the team members are gay, straight, white, or black. The differences no longer matter: What matters is that the team was able to use its ideas to create a solution, and its members have worked together. However, just as there are benefits to conflict, there are also negatives. When conflict does not create innovative solutions, it often creates destruction. Many employees are unable to work when there is conflict brewing, even if it is for the generation of new ideas. What tends to happen is that people become sour and negative. They have petty arguments that hurt their relationships with their team members. They gripe and complain about company policies and particularly those that are mandated by federal law, over which the company has no control. Many conflicts related to diversity are never beneficial, and then we see the "isms" present themselves again. Organizations must have a zero tolerance policy for the "isms," as hatred only leads to conflict that cannot be solved and no compromises can be made. Sexual harassment is one area of conflict that many companies cannot seem to overcome. This kind of discrimination causes many problems, including:  Decreased productivity  Illness  Turnover  Low self-confidence munotes.in

Page 63

63 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology 4.3.1 Leadership Skills to Reduce Conflict Pitfalls Leaders in an organization must keep their listening skills sharp in the workplace. Listening can allow leaders to detect the nuance of negative behaviors and be aware of potential conflict situations. However, no matter how well we communicate, there will always be misunderstandings that result in conflict. It is vital to be as constructive as possible when communicating with your team members when these conflicts and misunderstandings occur. There are five response skills that you must use to reduce and respond to these situations: 1. Support: Show that you recognize when diverse groups of people are working together and communicating effectively. 2. Clarify: Paraphrase and ask for more information to increase your understanding of another person's perspective. 3. Suggest: If you hear something clearly stated, but you think it is not appropriate or the correct solution, then suggest something different by using phrases such as "I feel…" or "I believe…." Use humor when possible, but be specific and creative. 4. Request: We often need to establish our boundaries when a situation goes too far. Asking for cooperative action allows you to solve the problem with a sense of shared responsibility. 5. Insist: In more serious conflict situations, you need to utilize a quick response, such as, "Tom, this is the third time you have interrupted Sherry during our meeting. Please let her finish speaking." 4.3.2 Managing Conflict Diversity Tips 1. The Team-building Wheel This wheel, developed by William Sonnenschein in The Diversity Toolkit, can be used to maintain a high-performance team in a diverse workplace. It is a wheel because it eliminates the need for a hierarchy and shows the team-building process as a circular one. The best way to develop the team is to follow it clockwise with all spokes of equal importance. Follow the spokes of the wheel with equal importance. Team members must first get to know others on the team, recognize differences, establish a mission, and find ways to support one another. Once the team has been working together for a while, then you can begin to incorporate evaluations. Remember that developing a high-performance team is an ongoing process. 2. Embracing Differences Embracing differences means that each team member needs to understand the differences among team members. We can be equal munotes.in

Page 64

64 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
64 team members but still acknowledge that we have differences. We often do this in conversation. If you ignore those differences, then you are likely to have issues arise at the worst possible moments. When team members refuse to acknowledge that each one is different from the next, then they are essentially sweeping their differences under the rug and waiting for them to arise at an inopportune time in the future. When people hold back minor prejudices, then assumptions are made about one another. This causes work production to become sloppy and leads to performance problems. When performance problems occur, then blame is assigned. Eventually the team becomes so dysfunctional that it simply does not work. Members end up sabotaging one another's work. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge differences. 3. Group Discussion Exercise When working with a team, it is best to engage our active listening skills. Begin a discussion with one of the following questions so that you may all learn a little more about your backgrounds.  Where did you grow up? How did that influence who you are today?  What specific area of your culture is important to you, that you are not likely to give up?  What do you remember about your favorite holiday or tradition when you were growing up? 4. Celebrating Humanity No matter how diverse our backgrounds, we all have some things in common. As human beings, we communicate through language; and physically we are all similar. We all love to go on vacation, eat good food, and have fun with our families. These are things that all people have in common. Any good team is able to find the areas members have in common and then use those as a starting point to build better relationships. 5. Building on Uniqueness Even though we all have something in common, we are all unique. We all have individual strengths and weaknesses that we bring to the workplace. As a team, we have to learn what those are in our team members so that we can work together and be strong as a whole. By understanding the uniqueness of each person, you are able to utilize strengths in one another and build team synergy. Remember, the total sum is greater than its individual parts. People work well together when everyone feels as though his or her talents and skills are being utilized. Teams often make the mistake of assuming that fairness also means equal treatment. This is not necessarily the case. In many instances, teams assume that equality means that everyone has to do munotes.in

Page 65

65 Multicultural Practice
in Psychology her or his fair share in all of the tasks. However, there are situations in which those team members who excel in certain areas should handle those areas and allow the other team members to use their skills in other areas as well. Just because the whole team is not sharing the responsibility of all the tasks does not mean that some are not doing their fair share. Use one another's strengths fairly, and you will excel as a team. 6. Establish a Team Mission Statement Just as an organization needs a mission statement to focus its goals and understand core values, so does the team. One of the most important roles of a team leader is to get with the team and create a team mission statement that lays out the core values of the team. Consider these areas when developing your core values:  How important is the diversity in our team?  How does diversity in the team affect our response to conflict?  How does diversity positively impact the team's mission?  How do our differences shape our values?  How does our diversity of values come together to form a single set of values? 7. Develop a Supportive Climate A team cannot last long if the members do not support one another. Diversity often causes a lack of confidence, but this can be reversed. Encourage a supportive climate in which team members respect one another for being unique and praise one another for doing what they do well. A team leader should develop a supportive climate, be supportive of all members, and encourage support among members. Team members should feel as though they are respected and safe and know that it is okay to make mistakes. Team members should also be able to take constructive criticism. 8. Continuously Evaluate the Team Improvement in team member relations is a constant process. Continuous improvement is also one of the reasons that leading-edge companies are so productive. The best way for a team to be productive and innovative is if its members are constantly evaluating and growing. They should give feedback to one another on a regular basis and constantly communicate. A good team should never stop communicating. By communicating, the team will never stop growing. 4.4 REFERENCES 1. Elrich, H. (2003). The Social Psychology of Prejudice: A systematic Theoretical Review and Propositional Inventory of the American. New York, Wiley. munotes.in

Page 66

66 Multiculturalism: Theory & Practice
66 2. Gamst, G.C., Liang, C.T.H., Der‐Karabetian, A. (2011). Handbook of Multicultural Measures, La Verne: SAGE 3. Garrett McAulifee & Associates (2008). Culturally Alert Counselling: A Comprehensive Introduction , Sage Publications. 4. Sue, D.W., Sue, D. (2012). Counselling The Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (6th Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 5. Sue, Sue D.W. (2006) Multicultural Competencies: Individual and Organizational Development, Sage Publication, New Delhi. munotes.in