culture!

Yes I do believe that we are creatures of our culture.  Our lives are shaped by the way the people around us behave. Many of my mannerisms come from the habits of my family members. (I blame my dad for my mild OCD.) It’s a pretty simple concept though. You see people do things around you and you just tend to pick it up. This is true when you are young because you really don’t have any other frame of reference. Its just how we learn as children; our surroundings shape who we grow up to be. Even if you don’t necessarily like everything going on around you, it still influences who you don’t want to be. Breaking through the limits of our cultures really comes down to how open minded you are. I feel that being open minded also has to do with our culture. If you grow up to be stubborn then you will just be set in your ways and not really ever change your culture.

Nonverbal Issues

1). Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation.  Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someones nonverbal message?  Describe what happened.  How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal messages? 


I have been wrong several times about non verbal messages. One time in particular I misinterpreted what my roommates messages meant. There was a week that she was avoiding me. Whenever I would come home she would immediately go into her room. I was confused and thought she was mad at me. I didn't know the reason, but I was frustrated that she didn't want to even talk to me. It turned out later that one of her cats had chewed the cord to my computer and she was afraid to tell me. She was embarrassed about it, but I thought she was angry with me. The biggest thing I have learned about this is you need to actually talk and ask the meaning of their nonverbal messages. It might be tough, but messages can mean different things. We won't know until we actually ask. There are ways to ask that won't be offensive. (i.e. It seems you've been avoiding me... Is there anything wrong?) Its really simple, but it isn't really offensive to them. It seems to be working so far; I have avoided awkward situations because I actually ask questions now instead of being passive.