The message is clear. Most people prefer the familiar and too often“shut the door”
on the unfamiliar. This bias for similarity poses a potential problem when engaging in
communication with someone of a different culture who may look, act, speak, and
think differently from you. Overcoming that bias requires making an extra effort to
appreciate and understand those differences.Managing Uncertainty
Uncertainty is another potential intercultural communication problem and one that
is directly related to the natural inclination to seek similarities. As suggested above,
during initial meetings, conversation generally involves efforts to learn about the
other person, which helps you reduce the cognitive feelings of uncertainty and
increase predictability. In other words, it helps you reduce uncertainty about your
communicative interaction and lessen your feelings of apprehension. First-time
meetings with anyone carry some level of uncertainty, but if the person is from a dif-
ferent ethnic group, that sense of uncertainty and anxiety will be increased. This is
especially true when you are unable to anticipate the other person’s behaviors or
understand the reasons for their actions. Simply stated, uncertainty is magnified
when you meet people of cultures different from your own.^13
When engaging with someone of another culture, it is important to realize that the
other person will also experience feelings of uncertainty. To help alleviate this mutual
sense of uncertainty, Gudykunst advocates being“mindful.”By this, he means assum-
ing an increased awareness of your own behaviors and being more accepting of differ-
ent practices and perspectives.^14 In other words, Gudykunst is telling us that when we
communicate interculturally, we need to be more attentive to the behaviors and what
is said both by ourselves and the other party.Withdrawal
The potential for withdrawing from an intercultural communication event is
increased when you cannot find similarities and/or fail to adequately reduce uncer-
tainty to a satisfactory level. In this case, withdrawal can occur at the interpersonal
or group level. In short, your withdrawal from a face-to-face interaction or an interna-
tional negotiation can increase the potential for difficulties. Characterized by a rapid-
paced lifestyle, increased urbanization, and ideological alienation, contemporary soci-
ety can represent an overwhelming challenge for some individuals, causing them to
withdraw from some or all social activities. For instance, Japan may have as many as
1 million individuals, calledhikikomori, who have withdrawn from society and spend
their time socially isolated from others.^15 On the international level, the reluctance of
Israel and Hamas to negotiate with each other has led to a series of devastating con-
flicts in Gaza.
See if you can recall ever having a seemingly irreconcilable difference with a
family member or very close friend and ended the argument by withdrawing. Did
the withdrawal resolve the difference? Probably not. When this occurs, the conse-
quences are obvious—communication becomes impossible, and in the absence of
communication, the problem usually remains unresolved. In many cases, withdrawal388 CHAPTER 11• The Challenges of Intercultural Communication: Managing Differences
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