1. society

Ronald Mah, M.A., Ph.D.
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, MFC32136
Psychotherapy, Parent Education, Consulting & Staff Development
433 Estudillo Ave., #305, San Leandro, CA 94546-4915
(510) 614-5641 Office - (510) 889-6553 fax - E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.RonaldMah.com
“Cultural Jeopardy” - WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW—THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
FOR CROSS-CULTURAL HUMAN SERVICES WORK
including experiential activities to examine areas of diverse cultural expression
While many professionals have the heart and passion for, and the commitment to respect diversity,
cross-cultural, and multi-cultural issues in human services, this not enough. Intellectual and
conceptual sophistication in and diversity orientations as it applies to the human services processes
must also be present in professionals. Five common problematic approaches including those that
lead to advanced (yet simplistic) stereotyping, divisive moralizing, recriminations, guilt, and
hatred—the very antitheses of successful human services work. Participants will be led through an
experiential "quiz" that will simultaneously reveal, facilitate deeper understanding of, allow proper
"use" of, and yet will, free professionals and clients (individuals and families) from many common
cultural stereotypes.
Main Points:
The presenter will discuss cases from pragmatic, therapeutic, and theoretical perspectives
from experiences with a vast cross section of multi-cultural individuals, couples, and families in
a variety of clinical, consulting, and personal situations.
 To properly do human services in our diverse and multi-cultural society, professionals must be
able to define culture:
 What is culture? What are the manifestations of culture?
 What is culture for? What does culture serve?
 What defines culture? What used to define culture? What defines culture now?
 What is the relationship between culture and society?
 Do Values Define Society? Or Does Society Define Values?
Human services and Culture needs to be understood from the perspective of
 survival adaptability in given contexts;
 survival principles in promoting adaptive clients' behavior;
 multi-culturally proficiency- for clients AND professionals;
 cross-cultural work & psychodynamic & systems theories must be conceptually
integrated.
Problematic Approaches to Cross-Cultural Human Services work need to be exposed and
examined:
 The Moralistic Approach—focuses individuals, families, and professionals on a moralistic
definition of life and family processes presuming a moral ascendancy of one value system or
another.
 The Enrichment Approach—focuses on information and education being the keys to
therapeutic change.
 The Atonement/Debt/Guilt Approach—requires advantaged individuals or populations to feel
guilt- to take responsibility for not just their own, but for the sins and oppression of previous
generations and of other members of that advantaged population, whether or not they have
overtly or covertly, consciously or unconsciously participated in that prior oppression.
Ronald Mah, M.A., Ph.D.
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, MFC32136
Psychotherapy, Parent Education, Consulting & Staff Development
433 Estudillo Ave., #305, San Leandro, CA 94546-4915
(510) 614-5641 Office - (510) 889-6553 fax - E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.RonaldMah.com

The Entitlement/Victim Approach—facilitates the viewing of individuals and families from
traditionally disenfranchised as victims.

The Psuedo-Catharsis Therapeutic Molestation Approach—is an inadvertent exploitive and
violating approach that can traumatize clients.
A Pragmatic Theoretically Sound Cross-Cultural Approach to Human Services Work
The training will prompt participants to a clear definition of what "culture" is, and is for.
Cross-cultural approaches often, unfortunately lack a clarity on what culture is all about. Culture
will be defined as the values, attitudes, and behaviors for survival in a given context. After
survival is secured, only then does the possibility of flourishing develop. Various contexts
include historical times, social conditions, political circumstances, and family units. Survival
issues in a given context (family, ethnic community, etc.) may or may not be identical in a
different context (different family unit, generational shift, different ethnic community, class
situation, political circumstance, economic situation, etc.). An effective cross-cultural
therapeutic process entails (among other things) helping client improve survival skills in new,
evolved, blended, and/or different cultural contexts.
Expression Areas of Cultural Diversity & Method of Training
The foundation of the approach suggested is:
 first, understand the human process of survival as it translates into cultural patterns
(community, family, or individual), and then
 second, to recognize the expression areas of cultural diversity.
 The beginning of the training will establish the theoretical foundations of the thesis. This
will be presented with the first “quiz” (see attached quiz)—this elicits a series of straightforward and critical definitions that are often missed by people.
 Next, the expression areas of cultural diversity will be presented in an interactive and
provocative second "quiz" that brings ups a vast array of stereotypes. With each answer,
the participants will be challenged to offer a sound theoretical (historical, economic,
political, anthropological, or other scientific orientation) explanation for the development
of such a pattern of values, attitudes, and behaviors (as opposed to "that's the way they
are!"). With the discussion, the presenter will offer his theoretical explanations and how
they relate to human services work, including examples from his therapeutic experiences.
In examining these stereotypes and their origins, the participants will be empowered to
more astutely examine for potential values, attitudes, and behaviors derived from the
traditional cultural foundations of the individuals and families.
For example the following question, “When a student is faced with a conflict, whose needs is
he/she encouraged to think of first by American mainstream American culture?” allows a discussion
to arise over the different social, economic, and political circumstances experienced by various
individuals, communities, and societies that predisposes or inhibits a willingness to engage in
confrontation. In addition, it points to the circumstances that will also free an individual,
community, or society from that stereotyped behavior. In this manner, each quiz question both
brings up the historical origins and historical relevance of stereotypes and the changing and current
circumstances that allow them to be transcended.
Ronald Mah, M.A., Ph.D.
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, MFC32136
Psychotherapy, Parent Education, Consulting & Staff Development
433 Estudillo Ave., #305, San Leandro, CA 94546-4915
(510) 614-5641 Office - (510) 889-6553 fax - E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.RonaldMah.com

In addition, the professional can examine the effectiveness (for survival and flourishing)
of these cultural values, attitudes, and behaviors for the individual and family in their
present (and eventual) cultural contexts—that is, for example, modern, American , or
cross-cultural environments and communities; and then offer for consideration of the
individual and family cross-cultural options for success in relationships, life, and work.

The professional can also examine whether or not the environmental constraints and
demands of the individual or family's prior cultural contexts continued in their present or
eventual contexts. If the constraints and demands of the individual's and family's life
experiences were and/or current situations are different from the circumstances defining
their cultural heritage, then the professional can recognize the possibility and probability
that the individual and family would not fit the traditional cultural stereotypes.

Areas to be explored include gender behavior expectations, attitudes towards aggression,
assertive, and other interpersonal traits, eye contact, perceptions of family, the elderly,
social reciprocality, indirect versus direct communication, cleanliness, individual, family,
vs. community obligations, emotional openness or reticence (anger, affection, sadness,
etc.).
CULTURE QUIZ
1. What is the difference between the terms, cross-cultural, multicultural, and diverse (or, crosscultural-ism, multiculturalism, and diversity)?
2. What is culture?
3. What is culture made up of?
4. What is culture for? What does culture serve?
5. What has historically defined culture?
6. What defines culture now?
7. What makes a culture "successful?"
8. What is the functional definition of culture?
9. What is the challenge of cross-cultural or multicultural situations for an individual (whether a
member of the couple, a neophyte, or a therapist with new clients)?
10. What is the relationship between culture and society? Does cultural change cause change in society?
Does society change cause cultural changes?
11. What is the relationship between culture and couples or families? Does the culture that each member
of the couple brings into the relationship define the couple and family? Do the needs of each
member of the couple, the couple itself, and the family combine two create a new culture?
12. How has societal and cultural change affected the family and couples dynamics?
Ronald Mah, M.A., Ph.D.
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, MFC32136
Psychotherapy, Parent Education, Consulting & Staff Development
433 Estudillo Ave., #305, San Leandro, CA 94546-4915
(510) 614-5641 Office - (510) 889-6553 fax - E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.RonaldMah.com
13. What is the normal speed historically of cultural change? What is the normal speed historically of
societal change?
14. What is the normal reaction historically of society to the need for change? What is the normal
reaction of families to the need for change?
15. Under stress, what is the normal reaction of individuals, couples, families, communities, and society?
16. What is the relationship between the survival culture in a totalitarian society and the survival
attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior of an individual who has grown up in a dysfunctional and
abusive family?
17. What is the relationship between the survival and flourishment culture in a democratic society and
the survival and flourishment attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors of an individual who has grown
up in a functional and supportive family?
18. What are the foundations to a successful cross-cultural relationship?
CULTURAL JEOPARDY (short version—w/o multiple choices; w/o answers & theoretical foundations)
***Warning: This game is designed to bring up topics, including cultural stereotypes, and IS NOT intended
to be definitive about the ethnic groups discussed, or gender roles. Understanding & transcending
stereotypes is the goal of the game.
1) In what way would many mainstream Americans mostly likely to greet a friend-- a way that many Asians
find too intrusive?
2) What is most correct in how most Americans differ from Asians in terms of their bodies?
3) Who (ethnic group? gender? debt?) is most likely to give abundant praise? 4) Who is most likely to give
a present?
5) Who is most likely to confront his/her child's teacher over a bad grade? and the least likely?
6) When "your family" is mentioned, most adult European-Americans think first of this as being what?
7) When a student is faced w/ conflict, whose needs is he/she encouraged to think of first by mainstream
American culture?
8) When an African-American is faced w/ conflict, whose needs is he/she encouraged to think of first by
African-American culture?
9) For American men, from childhood, many are encouraged to do what the most?
10) In an American household with a husband and wife, two children, the husband's older brother, mother,
and father, traditionally who is considered the head of the household? in an Asian household?
11) Prior to the past thirty years, what was considered to be the most important thing for a young American
woman to do?
12) What way do American women prefer to get presents? 13) What way do most American men prefer to
give presents?
14) When most American women complain about a problem at work what do they most want from their
husbands?
15) What do most American men do when their wives complain about a problem at work?
16) Cooperation, being the best, having close friends-- what usually is the most important to an American
man? 17) …to a woman?
18) When an American man is depressed, who's he least likely to go to for help? 19)…a woman… go to
who for help?
Ronald Mah, M.A., Ph.D.
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, MFC32136
Psychotherapy, Parent Education, Consulting & Staff Development
433 Estudillo Ave., #305, San Leandro, CA 94546-4915
(510) 614-5641 Office - (510) 889-6553 fax - E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.RonaldMah.com
20) Who is most likely to give his/her friend a hug? 21) Who is least likely to give his/her friend a hug?
22) Which ethnic/religious group parents are least likely to confront teachers treating their child unfairly?
23) …most likely?
24-28) Traditionally, direct eye contact from a Native American child means… an African-American child
means… a European-American child… an Asian-American child means… an Hispanic-American child
means…
29) When a Asian child does poorly or does something negative, who in the family has he/she let down?
30) For which ethnic group is it the most upsetting to be out in public with their child when he/she is
wearing dirty clothes?
31) For which group(s) is aggression considered a desirable trait?
32) Which ethnic children tend to be the most polychromatic? 33) Traditional American teaching style
emphasizes
tempo.
34) Who is most likely to use direct communication and ask for something?
35) In which society, do teachers have the lowest status?
36) African-Americans children tend to be comfortable with being affectionately touched by others, if what
occurs?
37) Which culture is time defined by "place, community, process, and ritual?"
38) Which culture is time defined by concrete measurement?
39) Which ethnicity has a disproportionately large percentage (relative to the group's percentage of the
population) of physical abuse reports to the Child Welfare System in Alameda County in 1993?
40)…
of sexual abuse reports?
41) In which ethnic group does "adolescence" last the longest?
TRUE or FALSE: In American schools, which of the following tend to be TRUE or FALSE?
42)
Boys are steered away from feelings, while girls supported to explore feelings.
43)
Girls and boys are equally encouraged to be aware and to be responsible.
44)
Girls are complimented on appearance, while boys are complimented on achievement.
45)
The non-verbal cues given by boys are missed more often than the non-verbal cues given
by girls.
46)
Boys allowed to explore.
47)
Girls are often curtailed to adhere to others needs and schedules.
48)
Girls are encouraged to gain a sense of personal effectiveness.
49)
Boys' active participation encouraged.
50)
Girls' passively observing is seen as participating.
**51) Define and differentiate the following four terms:
PRE-PREJUDICE, PREJUDICE, BIGOTRY, & RACISM