Useful/Interesting Topic

What I found interesting in chapter 12 was the story under culture perception, and the story of the women who moved with her husband to Iran from California and how she wore shorts and casual tops when she went out to the stores and a man grabbed her and made lewd suggestions. He thought she was a prostitute and when she called the police and told them she was attacked they just looked at her like she was crazy!!!! I find this story very interesting, its amazing to actually think that by the way one dresses will perceive her in a certain way in which is totally out of content. I think the same thing happens here in California, I like to go out to bars and clubs and there are allot of girls out there that like to wear very provocative clothing. My male friends automatically assume that just because a female dresses a certain way that she is seen as being promiscuous. In some cases that is so not the case. Its sad how females cant dress the way they want to without the possibility of being judged by men and also females. They are looked at in a very negative view. So what if someone decides to dress that way, hey its a free country and we should be able to express ourselves with out clothing and not have to worry about criticism.

Rationality, Perfectiblity, Mutability

I do agree with the idea of the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premise. I agree with perfectibility premise: that most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis. The reason i agree with this is because i think that everyone has the capability to discover the truth for themselves. i think that by trial and error helps one discover many things and gives them a better understanding on things.


I however, do not agree with perfectibility premise: that humans are born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control. I don't think that humans are born in sin, i believe people make bad judgment and do horrible things because of the type of lifestyle they grew up in, i think that the way one is raised when they are young has a big impact on the way people think and the choices that they make, good or bad.

I do agree with mutability premise: assumes that humans behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the way to improve human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the way to improve humans is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances. I think that the way one behaves has a great deal to do with environmental factors and in order to shape this behavior is to improve their phyiscal and psychological circumstances. I think a big impact of the way we think and that actions that we choose have to do with our surroundings.


I think that some institutions and practices that are based on these beliefs are religion, and the justice system.

Creatures Of Our Culture

I agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict when she states that we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture. The reason I agree is because as we develop and grow as human beings, we watch and learn from others around us and we create our own identities. Through our eyes (interpretation) we see things a certain way and that’s how we perceive that is how things are and should be. This is embedded into our actions, beliefs, values and morals, this is what forms us into the type of people we become. My person habits and beliefs come from what my family and my culture have taught me. The things that I have been expose to within my culture and family is morals, religion, beliefs, tradition, education and so forth.
I also believe that if we truly want to we can also break free from our cultural norm. My family is fairly traditional and they have certain beliefs and values set forth for everyone to follow. However, I think that I have broken away from that social norm in the perspective that I have continued my education to obtain a college degree, instead of settling for a high school diploma and then moving onto work. By looking at the way other cultures other than mine do things gave me a different direction on how I lived my life. I also think that educations has a big impact on the outlet of breaking through the limits of our culture, and also surrounding yourself with other cultures other than yours.

Useful/Interesting Fact

As I was reading chapter 5, what caught my eye was the section on Physical Appearance and Object Language. I agree with what is stated in the book “Whether or not we realize it, our design efforts matter. Personal appearance affects the way others act toward us, as well as how we feel about ourselves”.

I truly agree with this statement, and the best example that I can give when I was shopping at Santana Row. I didn’t plan on doing any shopping their, but I thought I would stop and look for a purse. I wasn’t dressed very well, I was wearing a sweat suit with some tennis shoes, needless to say this is the typical attire of the people that you see their. As I walked into the Gucci store I got several stares from the employees as well as the security guard at the front of the store. At first I didn’t really notice it but as I began to look around I started to notice they were looking at me as if thinking, what the heck is she wearing??? I noticed one of the employees none saliently following me where ever I moved around in the store, which I felt was discriminating. I also couldn’t get the full attention of a sales person, which I didn’t feel was right, so I walked out of the store even after my intention was to purchase something that day.

As with the body type of a person I find it to be mean and hurtful when someone is ridiculed just because they don’t have a model figure. I found it very interesting when they said that researchers classify people according to how closely they approximate three extremes. But sadly it still exist today, you don’t see short stubby models on the run way you only see tall and slender women. I don’t think that this is a very good show for our younger impressionable generation.

Non Verbal Messages in Other Cultures

Non verbal messages are sometimes much more powerful than a verbal message. Every culture has its own form of non verbal messages, where to them its perfectly normal but to us we may see it as rude. Eye contact is a very important gesture of non verbal communication, within the Unites States we use eye contact as a form of respect and to let the listener know that our attention is on them. However within the Asian culture this holds a totally different meaning. For example: the first time that I noticed it was when I was in a communication class. A student went up to the podium ( he happened to be Asian) and he performed his speech, and not once did he look at the audience, he kept his eye on his paper the entire speech. The teacher then critiqued his speech just like he would always do, and commented on how he needs to give eye contact to his audience. He then replied by saying that in his culture it was a form of disrespect if he were to give someone direct eye contact. It was seen as rude in his particular culture. Wow, was I amazed, I had never know that until then.

I'm not too sure within other cultures what their culture is like. But I know that in my culture Mexican men are warm and friendly, and make a lot of physical contact. They often touch shoulders or hold another’s arm. To withdraw from this touch is considered insulting.

Non Verbal Messages

There have been many instances where I have been wrong in the way I interpret someones non verbal message. A very good example of my misinterpretation of non verbal communication, I would have to say I tend to do with my boyfriend a whole lot. I tend to ask the question " "What's wrong, is everything OK?" because of either the expression on his face makes me think that he is either upset, bothered, or irritated. Also, it can be because of the tension in his voice . Sometimes he sounds agitated, annoyed or tense, and I sometimes try to think and I say to myself "Maybe its something I said or did, that has upset him". Then after sitting down and having a talk with him I come to find out that the reason he is acting in that manner has nothing to do with me what so ever, and that he is just tired and stressed out from school and work. I cant help it but I tend to do this allot and most of the time my interpretation of someones mood is very wrong.....

I think that our behavior can portray a variety of meanings. Therefore, we need to be careful on how we interpret those behaviors, we need to be aware of the context, and should always ask for verbal feedback to clear up any misunderstanding that there may be. Something else that may help with increasing the accuracy in which we interpret non verbal communication is to get into depth of knowing someone Else's culture and how they do things, because every culture is very different.

Useful/ Interesting Topic

After reading chapters 3 and 4 I found the Table in chapter 3 to be very useful to me. I like how table 3.1 talks about ways to improve listening performance. As I was reading the list I couldn't help but notice that some of the stuff that is listed I tend to do myself. I don't have a positive attitude about speakers when I know the topic of the speech is not very interesting. This is very unfair to the speaker because I am already assuming that I will be bored without even giving them a chance. I also need to be more aware of my purpose for listening because I tend to think too much about certain things which in hand makes me miss the more important things. I also agree with the book when it states that we as the audience need to prepare ahead of time by knowing about the topic. I think I need to do this more often so that I am not so oblivious as to what the speaker is talking about. By doing this in return will help me to follow the speech allot better. I also think that in order to better respond to the speaker I need to see things from their perspective, I am not very good at doing this. I really need to work on that as well as responding to what is not said as well as what is said. One area that I have the most difficulty in is storage and retrieval. I need to determine what is worth remembering and toss the rest. I tend to try and remember everything and that's when I get into trouble, because the information that I need to remember I cant seem to remember because I have too much stored in my brain. I also need to figure out a way to use mnemonic devices and memory aids to help me with this issue.

Table 3.1 is very beneficial to anyone who wasn't to improve themselves in certain areas. I will definitely use this table and incorporate it into every day life and every time I listen to a speech. This information is very useful for me.

Language of Men & Women

I definitely agree that men and women use language differently. When boys are younger in age they tend to use their language as mocking, teasing, and insults while interacting in a game. Girls tend to use their language to compromise rather than submit to conflict and tend to be more encouraging. Boys give order like " OK, go stand over their" as with girls they will say something like " OK lets get in a group". I notice this when I watch my daughter play with my nephew, she tends to say things like 'oh lets do this together, and he tends to say no I can do it myself'.Just like the book states, "Men bond through physical activity and women through talk". As they progress into adulthood Mend tend to be less sincere when listening to a conversations as with women who tend to be very good listeners and sincere at that. With women they tend to talk more about private matters and men tend to talk more about public matters. I work for Juvenile Hall and I work with both males and females. What I have noticed in regards to the way they communicate is that the girls do talk more about personal matters such as their family, kids, relationships and the future. With the boys they tend to talk more about gangs, whats going on in the streets and girls. I definitely see the difference between both genders. When women speak they are more detailed in their conversations and tend to use more descriptive words and men don't. A good example of this would be a conversation that i had with my boyfriend. I tend to use allot of detail in my conversations and do not get straight to the point very often. i like to explain the entire story not just the main part. this drives my boyfriend crazy, he is always telling me "Get to the point already". I cant help it, its just what i like to do. I also think its funny how men don't NOT ask for directions, they would rather drive around for hours and how women don't mind asking for directions. I also find it interesting that women tend to want to know every detail of their partners day and build their intimacy through talking with their partner.

Throughout their lives men know to be competitive is to be masculine and women know that recognizing stress detectors is part of being feminine. There is definitely a difference when it comes to the language of men and women. Women talk in a totally different language and when they say things it could be something totally the same, however mean 2 different things.Not to say that just ALL men fall into this category and ALL women fall into that category, but its most that fall within these categories.