A COMPARATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW
2.3. DODD, C.H
2.4.1. Influencing Factors
According to Steyn & Motshabi (1996: 14) many factors influence the exchange of message and the creation of meaning in an intercultural encounter. Different cultures have different verbal and nonverbal patterns of behavior and often parties do not know how to interpret and understand the actions of relative strangers because they are unfamiliar with the implicit and explicit rules of communication. People also talk of qualities like tolerance of ambiguity, the ability to handle fundamental differences in values and beliefs, and the knowledge of handling new experiences.
These scholars identify factors such as; perception, values, beliefs and attitudes as having influence on the exchange of message and the creation of meaning in an intercultural encounter. They contend that:
Culture acts as a screen between a person and social reality, coloring it in such a way that his or her interpretation and understanding of reality may be totally different from that of a person of another culture…. people tend to block out or avoid receiving messages that they do not like. This is particularly true of intercultural situations. If people of one culture think
they are superior to members of another culture, they will tend to receive only those messages which confirm this belief (Steyn & Motshabi 1996:
14).
Expectations may add a dimension to selective perception that can, in some cases, be a serious stumbling block. In some Western cultures, it is highly valued to be on time for appointments, meetings, or social events. In African cultures, the mere fact of attending the event is far more important than the time of arrival. Positive and negative attitudes may also influence the way people expect others to behave under given circumstances. If a person from a specific culture behaves in the way that a person from another culture expects him or her to behave, the actual behavior reinforces existing cultural expectation.
Personal values may overlap with cultural values which are of great importance in intercultural situations. Cultural values provide a person with information on what is good and bad, right and wrong, true and false, positive and negative.
These values are learned and differ from culture to culture, setting the standards and guidelines that establish appropriate and inappropriate behavior in a society.
To ensure meaningful intercultural communication, values clarification is important. Each party must know or discover the critical value structure of the other in order to limit possible confusion, mistrust and conflict. Unless one tries to understand the value differences of the other, intercultural communication may be painful for both parties (Steyn & Motshabi 1996: 15).
One of the many problems concerning intercultural situations is the tendency for people from one culture to judge people from another culture according to the formers’ set of values.
According to Steyn & Motshabi (1996: 16) “…a belief is an acceptable or conviction that something, like an event or object, is probably true or that it exists…” for example, values and beliefs are learned and are not easily changed in communication with other people.
Cultural influences like customs, traditions, rituals, and other cultural sources play an important part in forming informational beliefs. In intercultural communication, however, there should be no rights or wrongs as far as beliefs are concerned. If someone believes that the voices in the wind can guide their behavior along the proper path, we cannot throw up our hands and declare the belief is wrong; we must be able to recognize and to deal with that belief if we wish to obtain satisfactory and successful communication.
Beliefs and values contribute significantly to the development and context of attitudes. Attitudes are learned, like beliefs and values, in a specific cultural setting. Whites, for example, may have a negative attitude towards a Black township because they believe that their neighborhoods are unsafe and that it is
unwise to go there alone. This belief manifests itself in avoidance behavior (Steyn & Motshabi 1996: 14-16).
Steyn & Motshabi (1996: 17) argue that from a vast array of possible influences, three factors particularly inhibit the information of meaningful intercultural relations. These are stereotyping, prejudice and ethnocentrism.
In South Africa there are numerous stereotypes among whites about blacks and vice versa. On the one hand, some whites describe blacks as very militant, violent, inferior, and uncivilized; some blacks, on the other hand, regard whites as very cruel, oppressive, dominating and materialistic.
Prejudice is closely related to stereotype, it is the prejudgment that cannot easily be reversed when exposed to new information. Prejudice can either be positive or negative. Most of the time it is a misjudgment about people. It is strongly influenced by in–group communication and because of its inaccuracy; it is unfair, irrational, and emotionally rigid.
Steyn & Moshabi’s work is important for this research because doctors and patients need to be aware of these influencing and inhibiting communication factors in their communicative encounters. Also, it is important for doctors coming from a different cultural background to respect and understand patients’
beliefs, and to avoid unnecessary prejudgments. If doctors and patients are not
sensitive and perceptive to the needs, motivations and intents of each other, the total communication effort may be in vain.