Cross-Cultural Adaptability and Sensitivity Test - the question form
Questions: 13 · 3 minutes
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1. Guests arrive late. You are working in a Mediterranean country and invite a local colleague and their family to dinner. Dinner is ready at 7:00 p.m., but your guests do not arrive until 9:00 p.m. The food has burned and no longer looks appetizing. You decide what to do.
You say nothing and serve the meal after removing the burned parts and garnishing the dishes.
You feel irritated and explain to your guests why the food burned: you were expecting them at 7:00 p.m., not 9:00 p.m.
You serve light snacks and drinks. You say you “burned” the meat and that you are very sorry, and you suggest going out to dinner at your favorite restaurant.
2. Taking a photo. You want to photograph an unfamiliar child. You take out your camera, but just as you are about to press the button, an older man rushes at you shouting.
After some hesitation, you decide not to photograph the child and look around for another subject to photograph.
You realize the man does not want you to take the photo. You do not understand why, but you apologize and put the camera away.
You wait for a moment when the man is not watching you and take the photo.
3. You spend the evening with a young woman from a nearby village. The evening goes well and you think she likes you. However, when you try to kiss her goodbye, she pushes you away and runs home, slamming the door behind her.
You assume she is unfriendly and prejudiced against Russians (or against Europeans).
You realize that kissing on a first date may be against the local custom, but you plan to call her the next day to apologize and ask for another date.
You assume you misjudged the situation and that she simply did not enjoy the evening as much as you did.
4. A male embrace. While staying with a friend in another country, you tell him you have received a promotion at work. He warmly congratulates you, hugs you, and kisses you.
You thank him for the congratulations and respond in kind. You invite him to a bar to buy him a cup of coffee.
You are surprised, but you let him hug and kiss you. However, you feel somewhat embarrassed, and it shows in your behavior.
Feeling embarrassed, you push him away and assume he is homosexual.
5. Invitation to dance. At a party in the home of your host, you are watching people perform local dances. Suddenly, your host takes your hand and asks you to join the dancers.
You get up reluctantly, perform a few movements tensely to please them, and soon return to your seat.
You shake your head no because you do not want to make a fool of yourself.
You are pleased to be asked to join the dance and, although you are not very good at it, you try to do all the movements and stay in the circle for the next dance as well.
6. Talking with a stranger. While abroad, you sit down on a bus and the person next to you (of the same sex) smiles at you.
You smile, nod, and say hello. You try to start a conversation in their native language, even though you realize your vocabulary is very limited.
You smile back and nod silently, hoping the person will not want to start a conversation with you.
You look away and pretend you did not notice because you do not want to start a conversation.
7. You are in a city in Asia. At the entrance to the restaurant where you are about to have lunch, an elderly woman in shabby clothes is sitting with her hand out, asking for alms.
You put a coin in her hand, look at her, and wish her well.
You ignore her request and go into the restaurant. If you give money to a beggar here even once, they will keep bothering you.
You put a coin in her hand and quickly go into the restaurant without looking at her.
8. An outdoor toilet. You ask the bartender where the restroom is. He points to the exit. When you leave the bar, you do not see a restroom—only the building wall. Several men, and some women a short distance away with their skirts spread out, are using the wall as a toilet.
You feel embarrassed and decide to return to your hotel (it is nearby anyway).
You decide to wait because you would feel embarrassed relieving yourself in public. You go back into the bar.
You decide this is a local custom and join the group at the wall.
9. Heavy load. In a tropical country, you are walking to a nearby village and meet a pair of farmers. The woman is heavily loaded with baskets tied to her back. The man is walking ahead of her, unburdened. Sweat is running down the woman’s face. When she tries to wipe it away, several melons fall from her baskets. The man does not stop.
You bend down, pick up the melons, and help put them back into the baskets. The man glares at you angrily and gestures for you to leave. You do so.
You are irritated by the man’s behavior and ask him to stop and help his wife—she is not a pack animal. Meanwhile, you pick up the melons.
Although you feel sorry for the woman, you assume this is a local custom. You greet them and walk on, deciding that you should not interfere.
10. Prostitution. You are walking through a seedy area of a large Asian city. When you pause for a moment to look around, a group of men approaches you. One of them pats you on the shoulder and offers you a woman, describing her in a seductive way: “Would you like my sister, sir? Beautiful, clean, only sixteen, and very passionate!” Suppose you do not want to accept their offer. What would you do?
You decide to keep walking quickly without stopping, and avoid that area in the future.
You shrug his hand off your shoulder and refuse firmly.
You put your hand on the man’s shoulder, smile, and refuse firmly, adding a joke: “No thanks, friend. I’m too tired even for your sister. Though she must be very beautiful if she looks like you.”
11. Tipping the driver. Your business partner sends a car to your hotel to take you to a factory. The trip takes three hours. That evening, the driver takes you back. You talked with the driver throughout the trip, and if you wanted to take photos, he readily stopped the car. His monthly salary is about $18, which is enough to live on in his country. You feel the driver is expecting a tip. What would you do?
You thank the driver for his help and pleasant company but do not give a tip. By his own account, he is paid well for his work and may also receive overtime pay.
You thank the driver for his help and pleasant company and give him $4.50. He expects a tip because you are a foreign visitor, staying in an expensive hotel, and he provided very good service.
You thank the driver for his help and pleasant company and give him $2. Given his salary, this seems like a reasonable tip.
12. Blunt guest. You are at a party talking with a foreign visitor who came to your country two months ago. You ask what they think of your country. After hesitating, they ask if they can be candid with you. You say yes. They then launch into a stream of harsh criticisms about your people’s behavior and values, especially lack of willingness to work, corruption, and heavy drinking.
You feel irritated and tell them they are venting their feelings without showing tolerance.
You listen, ask questions, and try to understand why they have formed such a negative view. You ask how people in their own country would behave if they were in similar situations.
You argue, saying they do not know your country’s customs and values well enough. You explain how they should understand them, hoping to help them adapt.
13. Bullfighting. You have been living for some time in a Latin American country and have made many close friends. One day, one of them, delighted, invites you to a bullfight. Getting the tickets took a lot of effort, not to mention that they were expensive.
You warmly thank your friend and go to the bullfight, even though you know the spectacle will disgust you.
You thank your friend for the invitation and the effort, but you ask them to invite someone else, because attending a bullfight goes against your principles. You explain exactly why.
You thank your friend for the invitation and the effort, but you decline. You explain that you consider bullfighting cruelty to animals. You try to change your friend's view in the hope that they will sell the tickets. (Your friend could easily sell the tickets on the black market for much more.)
1. Guests arrive late. You are working in a Mediterranean country and invite a local colleague and their family to dinner. Dinner is ready at 7:00 p.m., but your guests arrive at 9:00 p.m. The food has burned and no longer looks appetizing. You decide what to do.
You say nothing and serve the meal, first removing the burned parts and garnishing the dishes.
You feel irritated and explain why the food burned: you were expecting them at 7:00 p.m., not 9:00 p.m.
You serve light snacks and drinks. You say you "burned" the meat, that you are very sorry, and suggest going out for dinner at your favorite restaurant.
2. Taking a photograph. You want to photograph a child you do not know. You take out your camera, but just as you are about to press the shutter, an elderly man rushes at you shouting.
After some hesitation, you decide not to photograph the child and look around for another subject to photograph.
You realize the man does not want you to take the photo. You do not understand why, but you apologize and put your camera away.
You wait for a moment when the man is not looking at you and take the photo.
3. You are on a business trip in an African country and are one of the project leaders. As a leader, you regularly give tasks to your staff. Everything goes well until one staff member learns that you are not married. After that, your tasks are no longer carried out, or are carried out only very reluctantly.
You consider it a minor issue. You simply start monitoring completion more strictly and explain the task in detail and firmly.
You are irritated by this bias against a woman, but you try to have a male manager confirm your instructions.
You try to find out from your staff why the tasks are not being completed. Perhaps it is because you are doing something wrong?
You assume that being unmarried might be the cause. You start wearing a wedding ring and place a photo of a friend in your office where your subordinates can see it.
4. Male colleagues. You are working in a Latin American country. You are a young, unmarried woman. It has become clear that you find it difficult to keep your relationships with male colleagues strictly friendly. One day you are riding in a colleague’s car. After several suggestive remarks that you ignored, he stops the car and tries to kiss you.
You have had enough and you slap him.
You push him away and demand that he stop behaving that way immediately. Then you try to find out why even this kind colleague is misinterpreting your intentions.
You leave the car immediately, return to the office by bus, and report your colleague’s behavior to your supervisor.
You give him a quick kiss on the cheek and tell him that is the most he can expect.
5. Invitation to dance. At a party in the home of the person hosting you, you are watching local dances being performed. Suddenly, the host takes your hand and asks you to join the dancers.
You get up reluctantly, perform a few movements tensely to please the host, and soon return to your seat.
You shake your head no because you do not want to make a fool of yourself.
You are pleased to be invited to join the dance, and although you do not do very well, you try to follow the movements and stay in the circle for the next dance as well.
6. Talking with a stranger. While abroad, you get on a bus, take your seat, and the person sitting next to you smiles at you.
You smile, nod, and say hello. You try to start a conversation in her native language, even though you realize your vocabulary is very limited.
You smile back and nod silently, hoping she will not want to start a conversation with you.
You look away and pretend you did not notice because you do not want to talk with her.
7. Begging. You are in a city in Asia. At the entrance to the restaurant where you are about to have lunch, an elderly woman in poor clothing is sitting. She holds out her hand, asking for alms.
You put a coin in her hand, look at her, and wish her well.
You ignore her request and enter the restaurant. If you give money to a beggar here even once, they will keep bothering you.
You put a coin in her hand and quickly enter the restaurant without looking at her.
8. Outdoor toilet. You ask the bartender where the restroom is. He points to the exit. When you leave the bar, you do not see a restroom—only the building wall. Several men, and at some distance several women with their skirts lifted, are using the wall as a toilet (assume you are wearing a skirt).
You feel embarrassed and decide to return to your hotel (it is nearby anyway).
You decide to wait because you would feel embarrassed relieving yourself in front of everyone. You go back into the bar.
You decide this is a local custom and join the group at the wall.
9. You are a young unmarried woman living in a Latin American country and staying in the home of an older couple (about your parents’ age), friends of friends. You pay them a small amount for room and board. You soon realize that the woman of the house does not want you to go out alone in the evening. She believes you should be home by 11:00 p.m., like her daughters. What would you do?
You feel it is your business and yours alone. You can take care of yourself and do not feel you need to justify your behavior to anyone.
Because it seems important to her, you give in. You try to be home by 11:00 p.m. and do not go out alone in the evenings.
You ask her why she wants you to be accompanied in the evening and why she thinks you should come home early. You tell her you will keep her wishes in mind.
10. You are in a developing country with your partner. Unlike you, your partner has a domestic worker. You learn that both people from your home country and local residents believe you should hire at least one maid to cook and clean.
You do not want to imitate colonial behavior. You would also feel uncomfortable letting an unfamiliar woman into your home. You decide not to hire a maid.
You hire a maid (even though you could manage very well without one), because working for foreigners is an important source of income for local people.
You compromise and hire a woman to do the work only in the mornings.
11. Tipping the driver. A business partner sends a car to your hotel to take you to a factory. The trip takes three hours. That evening, the driver takes you back. You talk with the driver the whole way. If you want to take photos, he stops the car without complaint. His monthly salary is about $18, which is enough to live on in his country, where most people live on less. You think the driver is expecting a tip. What would you do?
You thank the driver for his help and pleasant company, but you do not tip him. He has said he is paid well for his work and may also receive overtime pay.
You thank the driver for his help and pleasant company and give him $4.50. He expects a tip because you are a foreigner, are staying at an expensive hotel, and he provided excellent service.
You thank the driver for his help and pleasant company and give him $2. Given his salary, this amount seems reasonable as a tip.
12. Blunt guest. You are at a party talking with a foreigner who arrived in Russia two months ago. You ask what he thinks of your country. After some hesitation, he asks whether he can be frank with you. You say yes. He then launches into a stream of harsh criticism about Russians’ behavior and values, especially a reluctance to work, corruption, and heavy drinking.
You feel irritated and tell him that he is venting his feelings without showing tolerance.
You listen, ask questions, and try to understand why he has formed such a negative view. You ask how people from his country would behave if they were in similar situations.
You argue with him, saying he does not yet understand your country’s customs and values well enough. You explain how he should interpret them, hoping you are helping him adapt.
13. You have lived for some time in a Latin American country and have made many close friends. One day, one of them happily invites you to a bullfight. Getting the tickets took a lot of effort and cost a considerable amount of money.
You thank your friend warmly and go to the bullfight, although you know the experience will disgust you.
You thank your friend for the invitation and the effort, but ask them to invite someone else because attending a bullfight goes against your principles. You explain which principles and why.
You thank your friend for the invitation and the effort, but refuse to go with them. You explain that you consider bullfighting to be cruelty to animals. You try to change their view in the hope that they will sell the tickets. (Your friend could easily sell the tickets on the black market for three times the price.)