Chapter 9
Global society
Half of all Americans will be from four ethnic groups: Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.
Assimilated
Have generally embraced the dominant society
Worldview
Include, among other variables, perceptions of basic human nature, the roles of families, relationships with others, locus of control, orientation of time, work values, and activities.
Identity
Career counselors focus on how individuals understand self and form a personal identity that is recognized by others. There are, however, numerous forms of identity, but the focus here is on personal, collective, and relational identity.
Counseling considerations for Hispanics
2. Be flexible in the career counseling process, especially when we incorporate familial and environmental factors in decision making. 3. Choose assessment instruments with care relative to what is appropriate for Hispanic cultures. 4. Use immediate intervention to retain Hispanic students in school. Career information should include reasons for taking math and science courses. 5. Develop strategies to include self-efficacy as a key to future career success. 6. Provide Hispanic females with a wide variety of career information, including information on nontraditional careers.
Culture
A dynamic system of rules, explicit, and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors, shared by a group but harbored differently by each specific unit within the group, communicated across generations, relatively stable but potential to change across time.
Individualistic cultures
A great amount of value is placed on individual accomplishment. The individual strives for self actualization. The rugged individualist is revered for his or her autonomy and independence; individuals are empowered to achieve and become individually responsible.
Nonshared experiences
Account for much of the variability within cultures, whereas shared experiences reflect worldviews that are common among members of a specific culture.
Disintegration stage
Acknowledges a white identity that often results in confusion and conflict.
Asian cultures
Among traditional ______________ offering what is considered to be desirable help includes giving advice and suggestions, but avoiding confrontation and direct interpretation of motives and actions.
Characteristics of a culturally effective counselor
An ability to recognize which values and assumptions the counselor holds regarding the desirability or undesirability of human behavior. Awareness of the generic characteristics of counseling that cut across many schools of counseling theory. Understanding of the sociopolitical forces that have influenced the identity and perspective of the culturally different. An ability to share the worldview of his or her clients without negating its legitimacy. True eclecticism in his or her counseling.
Human nature
Another worldview perspective, how different groups view ______________, is an important concept for counselors to understand when working with multicultural groups. African americans and european americans consider human nature as both good and bad. In african american cultures, good and bad behavior is determined by their benefits to the community. European americans judge good and bad as a part of each individual; good and bad are two sides of human nature that are in opposition and conflict.
Bicultural
Are accepted by dominant society but also identity with tribal traditions and culture.
Personal space and privacy
Are also considered to be culturally oriented. Individuals from different cultures tend to invade each other's personal space without being aware of it. You invade personal space by waling into it, staring into it, and even through smell by wearing a strong perfume. This invasion is culturally determined; for instance, north american and arabic cultures expect others to look them in the eye when talking whereas asians consider direct eye contact to be insulting.
Conversational distances
Are also determined by language and culture; for example, latino/as usually stand closer to each other than european americans do when conversing. Arabs expect to stand very close to each other when engaged in serious conversation. Counselors need to be alert to any signals of discomfort with regard to space and adjust distances accordingly.
Collective identities
Are created as members of social groups and networks, for example, religious, cultural, occupational, and other social groups
Relational identities
Are formed through group affiliation and interactions. People strive to build meaningful and lasting relationships. Interactions within groups teach social norms.
Special needs of asian americans
Are very sensitive about verbalizing psychological problems, especially in group encounters. Tend to be inexpressive when asked to discuss personal achievements and limitations. Tend to misinterpret the role of counseling in general and the benefits that may be derived from it. Can be perceived as very passive and nonassertive with authority figures, but in reality they are reacting to cultural inhibitions that discourage them from being perceived as aggressive. May strongly resist suggestions to modify behavior that is unassuming and nonassertive.
Relevant counseling procedures for african americans
Assess the client's level of acculturation. Avoid offering causal explanations of problems. One is to avoid linking mental health problems to members of the family. Include the client's church in the counselign process. Recognize and define the roles of those who accompany the client. Involvement of fmaily in interventions can be very effective. Emphasize strengths rather than deficits. Avoid giving the impression that you as a counselor are a protector of the race.
Autonomy stage
Becomes nonracist and internalizes a multicultural identity.
Counseling considerations for Hispanics
Consider the cultural context of all clients, including Hispanics. Some Hispanics have retained traditional value systems, whereas others may not be traditional. When we are not certain about the client's cultural background, we need to be creative, that is, adopt what is referred as creative uncertainty. Using this approach, one is to direct counseling efforts toward the client's willingness to inform us of how culture has influenced his or her life.
Emic
Considers truths as culture specific. In this case the basic assumption is that we should judge an individual's behavior by the values, beliefs, and social mores of his or her particular culture. The ____________ perspective involves behavioral norms within the client's culture.
Reintegration stage
Devalues other races and idealizes whiteness.
Relevant counseling procedures for african americans
Discuss racial differences. One is to ask how the client feels about working with a white counselor. The obvious purpose of the discussion is to convince the client of the counselor's sensitivity to racism and oppression and that all client shave unique experiences that are considered in the counseling process. African american counselors are not to assume that they have a guarantee of success because of their ethnic background.
Pseudo independent stage
Intellectualizes the understanding and acceptance of other races and is somewhat tolerant.
Culture
Is a learned behavior.
Contact stage
Is unaware of any biases associated with his or her race and racial identity.
Personal identity
Makes one unique and has been a key issue in the career choice process for all clients, especially for those who come from different cultural groups.
Acculturation
Refers to the extent to which a client has assumed the beliefs, values, and behaviors of the dominant white society.
Worldview
Refers to the individual's perception and understandings of the world.
Shared experiences
Reflect worldviews that are common among members of a specific culture.
Self awareness
Requires the counselor to recognize any prejudice that would make it difficult to empathize with people of color.
Transitional
Speak both native language and english and may question traditions of the past.
Marginal
Speak of themselves as Indian but identify with roles in dominant society.
Traditional
Speak only native language and observe traditions.
Knowledge of the client's culture
Suggests that counselors ar eto prepare for counseling by familiarizing themselves with the client's cultural orientation. Suggested topics include country of origin, sociopolitical context, preferred language, religion, family role, gender roles, cultural assumptions of appropriate behavior, cultural values and ideologies, class definitions if any, power in relationships, work roles, customs, and traditions. Knowledge of the client's culture is most relevant in the counseling process, especially in the development of appropriate collaborative relationships between client and counselor that are essential for productive counseling outcomes.
Etic
Suggests that there are universal truths across cultures. The basic assumption, for example, is that one can evaluate behavior and motivation by universal cultural norms. Thus a counselor's own culture has relevance for people of all cultures; One's perspective is to judge behavior on what a counselor considers to be universal standards of behavior.
Collectivist cultures
The individual's major function is focused on the welfare of the group for their collective survival. Individuals strive to build group solidarity. In these societies, individual uniqueness is not rejected, but more emphasis is placed on being identified with one's social group. The needs of the group take precedence over self interest. What is important here are sharing, cooperation, and social responsibility.
Individualism/collectivism
This dimension attempted to answer the question about which cultures foster individual tendencies rather than group or collectivist tendencies. The results of this study suggested that the united states, great britain, australia, and canada had the highest scores for individualism. Peru, colombia, and venezuela were most collectivistic. People in highly individaulistic countries were characterized as placing more importance on employees personal lifestyle, were emotionally independent from the company, found small companies attractive, and placed more importance on freedom and challenge in jobs. People in countries with low individualism were emotionally dependent on companies, frowned on individual initiative, considered group decisions better than individual ones, and aspired to conformity and orderliness in managerial positions.
Power distance
This dimension attempts to answer the basic hierarchical relationship between immediate boss and subordinate. In some countries, such as the philippines, mexico, venezuela, and india, individuals tended to maintain strong status differences. In countries such as New Zealand, denmark, israel, and austria, status and power differentials were minimized. In the united states, there was some degree of minimizing power differences.
Masculinity
This dimension is thought to be an indicator of which cultures would maintain and foster differences between sexes in the workplace. However, most employees who answered the questionnaire were men, so the conclusions drawn here should be considered tentative. People in countries that had high scores on this variable were characterized as believing in independent decision making, having stronger achievement motivation, and aspiring for recognition. People in countries that had low scores on this variable were characterized as believing in group decisions, seeing security as more important, preferring shorter working hours, and having lower job stress.
Dynamics of difference
This skill is seen as a counselor's knowledge of subtle differences between cultures in the way they interact and communicate. Eye contact, for instance, has different meanings; some cultures avoid eye contact and others may expect it while conversing. Counselors can communicate an awareness of differences between cultures by adopting appropriate cultural counseling techniques.
Uncertainty avoidance
This term is used to describe how different cultures and societies deal with anxiety and stress. On a questionnaire designed for this study, countries that had low uncertainty avoidance indexes differed significantly from countries that had high scores. Workers with low scores had lower job stress, less resistance to change, greater readiness to live for the day, and stronger ambition for advancement. Workers with high uncertainty avoidance scores tended to fear failure, were less involved in risk taking, had higher levels of job stress, experienced more worry about the future, and tended to have higher anxiety. The countries with the highest scores on this dimension were Greece, portugal, belgium, and japan. Countries with lowerst scores were sweden, denmark, and singapore.
Ethnocentriscism
When counselors insist on using their own background of biases, values, and beliefs to interpret culturally different actions and behavior, they are suggesting that their race is superior.
