Having set out their theory, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck proposed a means of measuring the orientations it produced. They suggested intensive interviewing be used, with a series of probing questions exploring each of the value dimensions with the interviewee. However they also recognized that many people find it difficult to think in the abstract, so suggested that real-life situations be outlined which involved the particular value being investigated. Moreover Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck also stressed that the real-life situations used must be appropriate to the culture of the people being studied.
To test their theory out, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck interviewed members of five different cultural groups in the South-West USA. These included itinerant Navaho, Mexican-Americans, Texan homesteaders, Mormon villagers, and Zuni pueblo dwellers. In doing so, however, they did not attempt to develop measures of the Nature of Human Nature orientations, finding them too complex. For the remaining four dimensions, however they were able to develop real-life situations relevant to all five cultural groups, and questions to probe the value orientations used by members of those cultures in dealing with the situations involved. They were then able to draw value profiles of each group, showing the ways in which they differed from each other, and the ways in which they were similar. All of this work was published in their 1961 book, and immediately made a strong impact on cross-cultural psychologists.
跨文化交际入门_中国大学MOOC(慕课) https://www.icourse163.org/learn/CCNU-1206432811?tid=1473037488#/learn/content?type=detail&id=1259690365&cid=1295204672&contentid=1220805441
Values behind sayings
In intercultural communication the values held by participants are important because values develop standards and guidelines that establish appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Find out values behind the following proverbs and sayings.
What values do they suggest?
God helps those who help themselves. (the U.S.)
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.（China）
1.Which statement about values is incorrect?
A.Values guide both perception and communication.
B.Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s theory of values orientations suggested three basic types of problem to be solved by every society.
C.An awareness of cultural value priorities also helps us understand our own behavior.
D. Cultures are mainly differentiated from others by way of different values people hold.
2.Concerning orientation toward time, people of Past- oriented culture assume that today flow out of the legacy of the past, regarding history as context and teacher.
A.Yes.
B.No.
