Test Your Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural sensitivity is something we all like to think we have.  It is clearly tied to empathy - the capacity to put ourselves into another person's shoes and see the world from his viewpoint.  Cultural sensitivity is an essential quality for peaceful and harmonious living in a society that admits, within the law, many different ways of thinking and behaving.  Low cultural sensitivity is associated with authoritarian personalities and also with narrow and limited experience of the world.  While it is easy to detect low cultural sensitivity in others, it is not so easy to pin it down in ourselves.  This questionnaire, however, if answered honestly and accurately, will give you some pointers.

Please print if off and tabulate your own score.

1.  When a friend does something you very much disapprove of, do you
        a.  Break off the friendship
        b.  Tell him how you feel, but keep in touch
        c.  Tell yourself it is none of your business, and behave toward him as you always did.

2.  Is it hard for you to forgive someone who has seriously hurt you?
        a.  Yes
        b.  No
        c.  It is not hard to forgive him, but you don’t forget.

3.  Do you think that
        a.  Censorship is vitally necessary to preserve moral standards?
        b.  A small degree of censorship may be necessary (to protect children, for instance)?
        c.  All censorship is wrong?

4.  Are most of your friends people
        a.  Very much like you?
        b.  Very different from you and from each other?
        c.  Like you in some important respects, but different in others?

5.  You are trying to work and concentrate, but the noise of children playing outside distracts you.
     Would you
        a.  Feel glad that they are having a good time
        b.  Feel furious with them
        c.  Feel annoyed, but acknowledge to yourself that kids do make noise

 6. If you were traveling abroad and found that conditions were much less hygienic than you are
     used to, would you
        a.  Adapt quite easily
        b.  Laugh at your own discomfort
        c.  Think what a filthy country it is

7.  Which virtue do you think is most important?
        a.  Kindness
        b.  Honesty
        c.  Obedience

8.  Do you discuss critically one friend with others?
        a.  Often
        b.  Rarely
        c.  Sometimes

9.  If someone you dislike has a piece of good luck, would you
        a.  Feel angry and envious
        b.  Wish it had been you, but not really mind
        c.  Think Good for him

10.  When you have a strong belief, do you
        a.  Try very hard to make others see things the same way as you
        b.  Put forward your point of view, but stop short of argument or persuasion
        c.  Keep it to yourself unless directly asked.

11.  A friend is suffering from depression.  Everything in his life seems to be fine, but he complains
       to you that he always feels depressed.  Would you
        a.  Listen sympathetically
        b.  Tell him to pull himself together
        c.  Take him out to cheer him up

12.  Would you employ someone who has had a severe nervous breakdown?
        a.  No
        b.  Yes, provided there was medical evidence of complete recovery
        c.  Yes, if he was suitable in other ways for the work

13.  When you meet someone who disagrees with your views, do you
        a.  Argue and lose your temper
        b.  Enjoy a good argument and keep your cool
        c.  Avoid argument

14.  Do you ever read a periodical that supports political views very different from yours?
        a.  Never
        b.  Sometimes, if you come across it
        c.  Yes, you make a special effort to read it

15.  Which statement do you most agree with?
        a.  If crime were more severely punished, there would be less of it
        b.  A better society would reduce the need for crime
        c.  I wish I knew the answer to the problem of crime

16.  Do you think
        a.  That some rules are necessary for social living, but the fewer the better
        b.  That people must have rules because they need to be controlled
        c.  That rules are tyrannical

17.  If you are a religious believer, do you think
        a.  That your religion is the only right one
        b.  That all religions have something to offer their believers
        c.  That non-believers are wicked people

18.  If you are not a religious believer, do you think
        a.  That only stupid people are religious
        b.  That religion is a dangerous and evil force
        c.  That religion seems to do good for some people

19.  Do you react to fussy old people with
        a.  Patience and good humor
        b.  Annoyance
        c.  Sometimes a, sometimes b

20.  Do you think the Women’s Rights Movement is
        a.  Run by a bunch of aggressive and insecure people
        b.  An important social movement
        c.  A joke

21.  Would you marry someone of a different race?
        a.  Yes
        b.  No
        c.  Not without thinking carefully about the various problems involved.

22.  If your brother told you that he was a homosexual, would you
        a.  Send him to a psychiatrist
        b.  Feel shocked and accept him
        c.  Feel shocked and reject him

23.  When young people question authority, do you
        a.  Feel uneasy
        b.  Think that it is a good thing
        c.  Feel angry

24.  Which statement do you agree with
        a.  Marriage is a bad institution
        b.  Marriage is sacred and must be upheld
        c.  Marriage is often difficult, but seems to meet the needs of many people

25.  Do you think you are right – in matters of belief rather than fact
        a.  Always
        b.  Often
        c.  Rarely

26.  If you stay in a household that is run differently from yours in matters of tidiness and
       regularity of meals, do you
        a.  Fit in quite happily
        b.  Feel constantly irritated by the chaos or the rigid orderliness of the place
        c.  Find it fairly easy for a while, but not for too long

27.  Do other people’s personal habits annoy you
        a.  Often
        b.  Not at all
        c.  Only if they are extreme or I am edgy

28.  Which statement do you most agree with
        a.  We should not judge other people’s actions, because no one can ever fully understand the
             motives of another
        b.  People are responsible for their actions and have to take the consequences
        c.  Even if it is tough on some people, actions have to be judged
 
Please mark your answers here
 

 Check your scores
 

Analysis Below 30
 

If your score lies in this range, you are a particularly culture sensitive person.  You are exceedingly aware of others' problems and difficulties and you have a natural capacity for accepting then even when they offend you.  you will be a good friend and popular with others.  You may find that other people abuse this sympathetic good nature because they have nothing to fear from recriminations.  Even then, you do not get really crossed with them.

31-60
 

You are a culture sensitive person, and people will recognize you as one.  If your score is above 50, however, you are probably sensitive and broad-minded in some areas only.  Actually it is easy to be culturally sensitive if one does not hold very firm beliefs about anything.  Look through the questions again and note where you picked up high rather than low scores.  Were these questions in which personal comfort was directly concerned, or in which convictions or very strong ideological beliefs were touched upon?

61-89
 

You are not as culturally sensitive as many people, and if your score is higher than 80 you are basically an insensitive type of person.  This will lead to clashes and short-term friendships.  It will also mean that little things trouble you far more than they should and that you may waste emotional energy on what is really rather insignificant.  It is very likely that you count yourself as someone with high principles, who tends to stick to important things rather than trivia.  If you can get a wider experience of life and greater genuine contact with people, however, your will be more culturally sensitive, and in the end you will feel happier for it.

Over 90
 

This high score indicates that you are a very insensitive person.  If your score is over 100, then you are also bossy, self-opinionated, and over-quick to take offense.  The only kind of friends that you are likely to retain are those that are interested in your money or generosity.  If you really have scored this high, ask yourself why you are so unable to accept the faults in others.  What are the aspects of other people that offend you most?  Could it be that you are really punishing yourself for faults that you see in yourself.