ERIC EJ839523: Cross-Cultural Instruction, Consciousness Raising, and Inviting Heightened Self-Esteem

2008·0.26 MB·English

by  ERIC

Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice
Volume 14, 2008

Cross-Cultural Instruction, Consciousness Raising, and
Inviting Heightened Self-Esteem

John J. Ivers Sr., Ed.D.
Brigham Young University – Idaho

John J. Ivers Jr., Ed.M., MA
Clark County School System – Las Vegas, Nevada

Nathaniel N. Ivers, MS
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

It is beyond debate that one’s culture plays a significant role in the self-evaluative process.
However, each particular culture uses different measurements to determine who will be
crowned with respectability and who will not. The wider the gulf between the actual self and
the culturally influenced ought self, the greater the chances are that one will experience a self-
concept dominated by the negative. Deep cultural instruction in both the classroom and in
counseling has the potential to assist one in recognizing that his or her self-esteem may be cul-
ture-bound. This realization has the potential to assist one in recognizing cultural irrationality
and ameliorating culturally created personal assumptions that do not contribute to a happy and
positive life.

In 1930, two Australian miners were search- the outside world finally entered the valley
ing for gold in a part of New Guinea where in 1938. It was a collision of two worlds; a
it was believed that few, if any, humans had collision whose magnitude was not only en-
ever been. The land was considered to be hanced by extreme technological differ-
uninhabited and uninhabitable. Camped on a ences, but also by major gulfs in sexual mo-
mountain ridge, at dusk, the receding day- res, perceptions of worth and value, and as-
light illuminated thousands of points of light sumptions on the nature of the world. There
that obviously came from campfires in the is not a single individual of the Grand Val-
huge valley below. It was the first glimpse ley of New Guinea, born at least five or six
of a civilization that had existed untouched years previous to the event, who does not
by the modern world; a civilization that had remember exactly where he or she was at
developed in isolation for thousands of that surreal time, when the walls of their re-
years; a civilization of 50,000 people, living ality came tumbling down
in the Stone Age, who were unaware that
any other humans walked the earth. In the decades since, the world of the Dani
people of the Grand Valley has become
In his book, The Third Chimpanzee, geogra- more and more like our world. They have
pher Jared Diamond (1992) briefly discusses adopted many of the conveniences and tech-
the amazing discovery and the shock experi- nologies of the wider planetary expanse. In a
enced on both sides as an expedition from subsequent book, the Pulitzer Prize winning
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Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond (1999) change. Diamond (1999) also mentions that
asks another question. Why did European Eurasia had the market on animals and
cultures come to dominate New Guinea plants that were easily domesticated. But
culture instead of vice versa? Why weren’t other cultures still had to be willing to adopt
Europeans “discovered” by the New Guin- them. In the Americas, Africa, Australia,
eans and afforded superior technological and New Guinea, the civilizations there
advantages originating in New Guinea? were willing to adopt new ideas, but geogra-
There are many proposed answers to this phy and lack of contact did not afford much
question, most of them knee-jerk and un- opportunity for diverse ideas to spread. The
critically examined. Psychologist Steven question is, if cross-cultural exposure can
Pinker (2002) sums up for us one of the have huge effects on the macro level from
more basic tenets of Diamond’s explanation: one group to another, might such exposure,
coupled with our willingness to adopt and
So Eurasia conquered the world not be- change, be able to work its magic on the mi-
cause Eurasians are smarter but because cro level in the lives of individual human
they could best take advantage of the beings?
principle that many heads are better than
one. The “culture” of any of the con- On the IAIE website, under What is
quering nations of Europe, such as Brit- Invitational Education, we read that it is a
ain, is in fact a greatest-hits collection of “model for understanding and communicat-
inventions assembled across thousands ing messages intended to summon forth the
of miles and years. The collection is realization of human potential as well as for
made up of cereal crops and alphabetic identifying and changing those forces that
writing from the Middle East, gunpow- destroy potential” (IAIE, 2007). If the
der and paper from China, domesticated aforementioned assumptions and theories
horses from Ukraine, and many others. are true, cross-cultural exposure may have a
But the necessary insular cultures of significant effect on the realization of our
Australia, Africa, and the Americas had students’ potential. Conversely, one’s par-
to make do with a few homegrown tech- ticular culture often sends messages that
nologies, and as a result they were no have the tendency to inhibit one’s potential
match for their pluralistic conquerors. rather than enhance it. Culture has the power
Even within Eurasia and (later) the to both bless and curse, to be inviting and
Americas, cultures that were isolated by disinviting.
mountainous geography—for example,
in the Appalachians, the Balkans, and Previous research has linked the knowledge
the Scottish highlands–remained back- of a second language with greater verbal
ward for centuries in comparison with ability in one’s first language, greater flexi-
the vast network of people around them. bility in thinking, and a greater overall cog-
(pp. 68-69) nitive development (American Council on
the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 2007;
If this theory is true, the advancement that Lambert, 1963; Landry, 1973). Might expo-
Eurasia enjoyed was at least partially due to sure to diverse cultures call down similar,
what they were able to learn from different but maybe not identical, blessings? It is of-
cultures and their willingness to adopt and ten said that borrowed words from other
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languages enrich and make languages havior can be enhanced by examining the
“smarter.” Could borrowed cultural para- “phenomenal fields” of different individuals
digms, some even learned unconsciously (Purkey & Schmidt, 1987, p.30). How do
and below the surface, make individual peo- they react to and interpret the cards that life
ple “smarter?” Could lack of exposure to deals them? Just because people have the
diverse worldviews potentially limit one’s same experiences, does not mean that they
capacity to accept invitations to see oneself will share the same reactions. Most behavior
in a different, and potentially more positive, is likely the result of the perceptual field one
light? Could it also inhibit one’s ability to has developed. However, many people exer-
view others with a greater sense of value cise a sort of “phenomenal absolutism” by
than the culture affords to them? We have just presuming almost everyone interprets
no solid answer to these questions. How- reality the same as they do (Purkey &
ever, there is no doubt that some cultures Schmidt, 1987, p. 30). Phenomenal absolut-
view certain human characteristics more ists will assume those who perceive things
positively than others. There is also no doubt differently are either somehow incorrectly
that one’s particular culture plays a huge oriented, dishonest, inexperienced, unintelli-
role in the individual’s self-evaluative proc- gent, or mentally unbalanced. They fail to
ess and that different cultures produce dis- recognize the many diverse interpretations
similar, culturally created measurements that to which our world circumstances lend
their members use to evaluate themselves. themselves. Effective communication be-
To further explore the above issues, and how tween two parties requires recognition of
they can be addressed in both teaching and diverse perceptual realities (Purkey &
counseling, we will first have to take a Schmidt, 1987).
deeper look at both the perceptual tradition
and culture’s overflowing influence in our A “Perceptualist” would say that people’s
lives. feelings are manifestations not necessarily
of things as they “really” are, but rather they
The Perceptual Tradition are manifestations of their perceptions of
reality (Purkey & Schmidt, 1987). Artificial
The Perceptual Tradition is basically the social realities are created all the time and
cornerstone of Invitational Education. In a people allow these artificial realities to
nutshell, it claims that our actions and atti- function as automatic control switches for
tudes are largely determined by the way we turning their emotions and deepest feelings
perceive ourselves and the world. It is based on and off at will. One’s interpretation of
on the principle that different people will “truth” comes from one’s perceptions, which
have different, often unquestioned, frames perceptions can be ever-so-tacitly manipu-
of reference, not all of which promote well- lated by the phenomenal field that lurks over
being (Purkey & Schmidt, 1987). Failure to one as an engineer at a control panel.
fully comprehend the implications of the
above two sentences is responsible for much One of the hopes of this article is that cross-
misunderstanding, contention, and unhappi- cultural instruction, done a certain way, can
ness (Coombs, Avila, & Purkey, 1978). help the perceiver recognize at least four
things: (a) He or she has a culturally created
The ongoing quest to understand human be- frame of reference. (b) This phenomenal
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field can be replete with irrational elements. cise some control (although likely not total
(c) Irrational elements in one’s cultural control) and that irrationalities in one’s
frame of reference can assist in producing a world view are not easily recognized and
low self-concept that will bring unpleasant- often have to be brought to one’s attention.
ness for the individual and those surround- However, once brought to the surface, indi-
ing him or her. (d) Since these frames of ref- viduals could begin the laborious task of
erence are created by us (either individually overcoming their deleterious influence.
or collectively) we have the existential abil-
ity (albeit quite taxing) to replace these irra- The Power of Cultural Paradigms
tional elements with ones that are more con-
sistent with sound thought. Culture wields an often fearsome power to
both manipulate and limit our view of the
When one dares delve into the cross-cultural world, of others, and of ourselves. As we
realm, questions necessarily arise concern- grow, other people tell us what reality is
ing whether our cultural paradigms exercise like, how we should be, and how we should
almost complete subconscious control over think. A neatly packaged, culturally created
us, or, on the other hand, do we easily rec- version of happiness is even provided to us
ognize their often irrational nature yet sub- free of charge. However, Shakespeare said,
scribe to them just to satisfy peer expecta- “But, O! How bitter a thing it is to look into
tions and gain acceptance. This is a difficult happiness through another man’s eyes!”
question to answer. We would guess the an-
swer is somewhere in between. If things The general importance of self-esteem for
were almost all subconscious, they would be happiness and overall mental health is basi-
extremely difficult to change and would cally uncontested in psychological circles
compromise the exercise of personal agency. (Wang & Ollendick, 2001). Lack of a
None of us would like to believe that ulti- healthy self-concept is widely considered a
mately we have little or no control over our risk factor for potential psychological dys-
lives. However, if we all just follow along function (Bednar & Peterson, 1995, as cited
just to be accepted, while really exercising in Wang & Ollendick, 2001; Purkey & No-
independent thinking deep inside, it is diffi- vak, 1984; Purkey & Schmidt, 1987). How-
cult to believe that we just pretend to be at- ever, self-esteem seems, to a significant ex-
tracted to people of a certain weight range, tent, to originate by fulfilling culturally
pretend to adopt a fatalistic or rugged indi- mandated standards (Wang & Ollendick,
vidualist world view, pretend to see time in 2001). One constructs a self-concept around
a certain way, and pretend to possess per- social values and judgments that often differ
sonal space preferences just to be accepted widely between cultures (Mruk, 1995, as
even though within ourselves we may sub- cited in Wang & Ollendick, 2001). In other
scribe to completely different personal words, people possessing the same charac-
predilections and paradigms. In the U.S., teristics could experience a higher degree of
people in “red” states don’t seem to go self-esteem in one culture and a lower de-
“blue” when in the privacy of the voting gree in another. It is widely assumed that the
booth and vice versa. We would guess larger the gulf between the actual self and
things lie somewhere between both extremes the ought self (the ought self is culturally
in that people do have the potential to exer- determined to a significant extent), the more
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substantial hit one’s self-esteem will en- recognition that much suffering is culturally
counter. If there is more congruence be- engendered. We see such irrationality all the
tween the actual and ought selves, it is as- time among the students in the schools in
sumed that better psychological health will which we teach. Most students (and proba-
result (Wang & Ollendick, 2001). bly most adults) have a form of culture-
bound self-esteem. They conform to the ir-
The intertwining of culture and psychology rationalities that decide who has got what it
is actually quite amazing. For example, ano- takes and who does not. But in a culture-
rexia nervosa, a common dilemma in more bound or emic self-esteem (emic means
economically privileged classes is almost within a particular culture or subculture)
non-existent in third-world circumstances there are some winners and a lot of losers.
(Matsumoto, 1986). Schizophrenia, which What we should desire is more of an etic
has been linked to chemical imbalances, self-esteem (etic means across cultures) that
abates more quickly in some cultures rather is not culture-bound but rather more of an
than others (Matsumoto, 1986). Hispanics, existential approach where the individual,
Blacks, Asians, and Non-Hispanic Whites armed with cross-cultural knowledge, re-
born in the U.S. have a higher incidence of sponsibly and rationally, and I repeat re-
psychiatric disorders than people of those sponsibly and rationally, makes individual
same racial types born in other countries judgments that determine one’s own per-
who moved to the U.S. later in life (Bean, sonal worth and value.
Perry, & Bedell, 2001; Breslau & Chang,
2006). A study was undertaken involving The preceding paragraphs constitute broad
females from the same socio-economic issues that cultural instruction in our many
group (upper middle class) in both Spain different academic disciplines generally fails
and Mexico. It was discovered that they had to address. For example, cultural instruction
the same rate of getting an eating disorder, in foreign language classes tends to be quite
which was probably attributable to their superficial (Ivers, 2005, 2007; Morain,
similar social class. However, despite that 1983; Webber, 1987). They generally dis-
similarity, there was a very significant dif- cuss issues such as French bread, the Auto-
ference in the girls’ perception of the perfect bahn, and Jennifer López. As their students
body. The girls in Spain wanted thinner leave their classrooms with a greater knowl-
hips, buttocks, and legs and the girls in edge of French bread, they walk out into a
Mexico wanted bigger hips, buttocks, and hallway full of cultural land mines. Any-
legs (Toro et al., 2006). thing we can do to deepen our instruction,
and familiarize our students with the often
The above information can be somewhat irrational power of culture, can better assist
representative of what Hall (1976) calls them in navigating the often difficult terrain
cultural irrationality. Cultural irrationality of life. Knowing that Jennifer López is fa-
permeates our social world and, most of the mous and is Hispanic, is not going to create
time, we simply do not realize it. All cul- greater flexibility in thinking, deeper cogni-
tures have their share of irrationalities and tive abilities, or create individuals who can
negative attributes. We will never be able to change the world.
completely ameliorate culturally induced
suffering, but we can at least inculcate the
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Cultural Oppression and come seemingly less arbitrary and more
Self-Concept concrete as we ingratiate ourselves in any
given environment. Thus freeing ourselves

from these norms is very difficult being that
Since self-esteem is largely culture-bound, a
we do not view them as constructs but rather
deeper understanding of the often arbitrary
as absolutes.
and artificial nature of cultural rules could

theoretically assist the student in overcom-
Those who are culturally oppressed (proba-
ing cultural influences that contribute to his
bly all of us to one degree or another) for
or her low self-concept. The work of Paulo
whatever reasons feel what Freire (1970)
Freire on oppression can be related to the
would term an “irresistible attraction” (p.
suffering faced by people who do not con-
49) to those who are the beneficiaries of
form to cultural dogma.
cultural rewards. Culturally oppressed indi-

viduals often invest a big share of their pre-
Although Freire (1970) emphasized eco-
cious lives attempting to mimic the cultur-
nomic as well as political oppression to il-
ally privileged and take part in their
luminate the plight of underprivileged indi-
lifestyles. For example, people develop
viduals, his book, Pedagogy of the Op-
eating disorders, consume harmful sub-
pressed, forces us to examine what could be
stances targeted at improving athletic per-
termed cultural oppression. Cultural oppres-
formance, expose themselves to cancer-
sion is probably active in all social settings
causing UVA and UVB rays, along with a
to one degree or another. We see it often in
slew of other destructive activities as ways
the schools where the non-athletic, the non-
to conform to socially created irrationalities.
beautiful, the non-wealthy, and the non-

popular live lives bereft of culturally granted
Many young people have the idea that
emotional privileges. Students must be pro-
everything the dominant culture says is right
vided with educational opportunities that
despite how absurd it really is! Ozman and
will allow them to liberate themselves from
Craver (1986) comment,
cultural prisons and enable them to be more

proactive in creating their own self-concept
The oppressor is whoever or whatever
rather unconditionally accepting the poten-
serves as an overriding influence that is
tially injurious one created for them by the
uncritically accepted or chosen by the
group who has co-opted the popularity. In
oppressed. In Freire’s view, oppression
order to assist students in obtaining higher
will be present wherever one’s con-
levels of psychological well-being, it might
sciousness is characterized by the condi-
be advantageous that they understand that
tion ‘in which to be is to be like, and to
their discomfort and insecurities may not be
be like is to be like the oppressor.’ Op-
the result of inherent inferiority but rather
pression is, or forces, passivity, and
evidence of cultural irrationality.
there may be a degree of security in pas-

sivity, for nothing is risked. For Freire,
Freire (1970) writes, “Liberation is thus a
however, an education that liberates is
childbirth, and a painful one” (p. 33). Lib-
painful, for like a childbirth it brings a
eration from cultural messages engendered
new person into the world. (p. 208)
almost from birth can be a taxing transition.

These often arbitrary cultural guidelines be-
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Self-deprecation resulting from less than in- Some of the best subject areas we have
viting cultural messages is difficult to ame- found for intercultural comparison, and in-
liorate. It becomes quite difficult to accept teresting classroom discussion, have been
positive things about oneself after an un- found in the statements of foreign anthro-
flattering self-image is inculcated. We need pologists who have come to the United
to instill in our students a little less faith in States and studied Americans. We under-
the cultural proscriptions that continually stand that the word American is problematic,
bombard them. Students need to become however that is the word the foreign anthro-
“masters of their own thinking” (Freire, pologists used so we will use it here in the
1970, p. 118) instead of falling victim to colloquial, albeit narrow, use of the term. In
culturally created standards that may only her study of Americans, Cerroni-Long
serve to impair them. (1993) made some observations with which
we don’t totally agree but are instructive
What Should Be Taught? nonetheless. She felt that Americans were
not very deep intellectually. She found their
In a recently published article, Ivers (2007) personalities to be self-promoting and un-
lamented the superficiality of culture topics dercutting to potential competitors. She felt
treated in the schools. We will again use that Americans possessed an insulting sense
foreign language classes as an example. He of humor that could be interpreted as jock-
noticed that the typical college Spanish text- eying for position or even social flagellation
books included cultural topics such as food, that could be a carry-over from Puritanism
population figures, bullfighting, soccer, ce- or some other sort of socially induced infe-
lebrities, music, traditional dances, and holi- riority complex. She described American
days. culture as kind of like a war zone, extant
with problems coping, personal insecurity
There is nothing wrong with the above top- and individual isolation. Cerroni-Long, be-
ics, but Ivers (2007) proposed that a little fore her visit to America, had spent some
depth could be added to the typically cov- time in the former Soviet Union. She came
ered areas. The topics don’t necessarily have to the conclusion that conforming to the
to be for just foreign language classes but right ideology is just as important in certain
could also be utilized in classes in Social American social circles as it was in the
Studies, Anthropology, Psychology, English former communist block nations.
Composition, English Literature, Geogra-
phy, and probably many others. It is our Another foreign anthropologist, Wasserfall
opinion that deep culture can also be used in (1993) felt that in America there is no cul-
counseling, which we will discuss later. tural room for anguish, fear, angst, or ambi-
Some potentially more consciousness raising guity. People were uncomfortable with am-
cultural issues that can be explored in such biguity and also had to hide their insecurities
classes might be differences in world views behind pure image. A Dutch anthropologist,
concerning beauty, romantic behavior, toler- Pinxten (1993), claims that the American
ance for emotional expression, treatment of intellectual is basically dead. He says that
old people, materialism, respect afforded the typical professor in America takes too
different professions, attributions concerning much of a business-like approach to knowl-
success or failure, what is the good life, etc. edge production and publishing, and the re-
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sult of all that is extreme boredom. He Tacit Assumptions: Making money is basi-
claims that our current intellectual soil is not cally only a man’s role. A real man provides
rich enough for inspirational, deep, and for all his family’s needs by himself. A real
thrilling ideas to flourish. man will not have economic problems.

So How Do You Teach Statement: “In America there is no life in
your celebrations and you never get excited
All This Stuff?
about anything. When I attend church serv-

ices here, it is boring.”
In 1987, one of the authors had a conversa-
Tacit Assumptions: Lack of outward emo-
tion with some foreign friends that changed
tional expression is a sign of lack of enthusi-
his professional life. It all started with a
asm.
simple question he posed. It was, “What are

some of the weird things Americans do?”
Statement: “Unlike Americans, people in my
The friends started talking and did not stop
country work to live and enjoy, not just to
for a good while. The co-author, a doctoral
possess. People don’t enjoy their work here.
student at the time, had recently experienced
There is a time for everything. Work isn’t
a class lecture on detecting tacit assump-
everything. It is just one thing.”
tions. Tacit assumptions are the implicit
Tacit Assumptions: Work is to be enjoyed
messages residing within statements. They
rather than endured. The purpose of life is to
are usually not immediately obvious, yet
experience rather than to accumulate stuff.
they provide the foundational assumptions

(sometimes dubious), upon which the decla-
Statement: “In America, older, adult
ration is based. Let us look at some of the
children often have to pay room and board
tacit assumptions behind some of the state-
in their own homes! The parents even
ments by the foreign friends that the co-
encourage them to move out! Don’t the
author wrote down. Most of the statements
parents love their children here?”
are edited to enhance their conciseness.
Tacit Assumptions: Familial closeness is

more important than personal independence.
Statement: “In America we see men helping

in the laundromat and in the kitchen. In our
The instructor can use actual statements or
country, if a man were to help in the kitchen
can simply explain the target culture’s world
he is no longer a man.”
view and have the students, in groups or in
Tacit Assumptions: The man must be in
the class as a whole, work on uncovering the
control. If he doesn’t exploit his female
tacit assumptions that sustain such a view.
partner, she will dominate him.
The view of the native culture should also

be addressed with the tacit assumptions
Statement: “Too many women work in
supporting its foundation excavated and
America. In my country a question is often
analyzed. The students should then debate
asked, ‘If you are so much a man, why does
the positives and negatives of both views. It
your wife have to work?’ Another saying is
could be that neither view is inviting and
that the woman who earns a significant
each may lack fairness, kindness, and/or
amount of money is ‘more man than her
rationality. Under those circumstances, the
husband.’”
students could possibly invent alternative
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views that, if followed, could create a better, in degree and sometimes even in kind.
more inviting world in which to live. If
students come up with, in their opinions, Comments concerning one being overweight
more inviting, honorable, and equitable Personal physical characteristics
models of reality, they can be encouraged to Public praise and recognition
live their lives with those new models in Disobedience of children
place. People living their lives in accordance Being the recipient of certain criticisms
with just and rational models can contribute, High or low expressiveness of emotion in
at least in a small way, in helping their others
culture to become a more pleasant realm and Financial struggles
can assist in fomenting individual happiness. “Need” to achieve a higher social class
Lack of stylistic clothes
Another potential instructional approach Loss of personal independence or produc-
also hails from the deeper, psychological tivity
realm. Albert Ellis, one of the 20th Century’s Personal space issues
preeminent psychologists, developed what Why did this bad thing happen?
he called Rational-Emotive Behavior Ther- Silence
apy. Part of the therapy involves recognizing Body odor
irrationalities in one’s own life that, by exer- Nepotism
cising their powerful yet questionable influ- Romantic behavior
ence, can unreasonably cause one to experi- Accumulation of possessions
ence emotional pain and discomfort (Ellis & Modesty (physical and social)
Harper, 1997; Ellis, 2001; Rector, 2004). Friendliness
For example, an essential element in Ellis’ Ambiguity
approach is his ABC Theory of self-dis- Respect afforded different social classes
turbing. An approximate diagram of the Respect afforded different achievements
concept is as follows: Lack of certain specific achievements
Lack of order
A. Event/Circumstance ----> B. Beliefs
------> C. Consequent Reactions In groups, the students can play with the
ABC concept by plugging in different real
When used cross-culturally, such a model, or potential beliefs (B’s) and seeing what
with similar A’s, will often create vastly reactions (C’s) would naturally result. This,
different C’s. Some cultures have B’s that again, will allow them to test the rationality
are more rational, inviting, kind, and just of diverse cultural models and, maybe for
than others. We could look at Ellis’ ABC the first time, critically examine their own.
concept in the metaphor of a chemical If the students find their native cultural
reaction. A is a substance which could be models to be wanting, they can examine
inert, benign, innocuous, until combined ways to change their personal thinking to
with B where, if combined with the wrong help to create a better emotional life for
B, it can result in a destructive and explosive themselves and possibly a more just world.
C. Following are some A’s that, filtered
through a vast universe of divergent cultural
B’s, can bring on C’s that vary significantly
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Cross-Cultural Instruction and spective. Clients and their problems are not
Counseling viewed in isolation, but in a cultural context.
Clients also are conceptualized as moving

through different stages of cultural con-
There is no doubt that Ellis’ ABC concept
sciousness. These stages include pre-
can be a tool for counselors as well as teach-
encounter, encounter, immersion/emersion,
ers. No one can doubt the importance of
and internalization (Ivey, Ivey, Myers, &
methods in counseling that will serve to en-
Sweeney, 2005; Ivey, 1995).
hance the client’s recognition of elements

that impair his or her self-concept. The pro-
Individuals in the pre-encounter stage of
fessions of psychology and counseling have
cultural awareness tend to have little or no
long recognized the powerful influences of
cognizance about how their culture influ-
culture on people’s self-esteem. Humanistic
ences them. They are in a place of “naiveté
Psychology and Multicultural Counseling
with acceptance of the status quo” (Ivey et
and Therapy, for example, have illustrated
al., 2005, p. 256). Counselors working with
the power of culture to influence individu-
these clients may employ various types of
als, both positively and negatively. Human-
sensorimotor questions to help increase their
istic psychology was created as a reaction to
cultural awareness. For example, clients
behaviorism and psychoanalysis in an at-
may come into counseling exhibiting very
tempt to develop a more holistic approach to
low self-esteem, and the counselor may ask
understanding and counseling humans.
them to describe a situation in which they

felt particularly vulnerable. The counselor
Abraham Maslow, one of the major theorists
may help the clients to describe the situation
in humanistic psychology, developed a the-
by asking specific questions, such as:
ory of human development and a hierarchy

of human needs. The highest stage of devel-
“What are you seeing (in the situa-
opment in Maslow’s hierarchy is called self-
tion where you feel vulnerable)?
actualization. People who attain self-actuali-
“What are you hearing?”
zation, according to Maslow, make up less
“What are people saying?”
than 1% of the population and have certain
“What are you feeling in your
traits, values, and behaviors in common
body?”
(Maslow, 1970).

As clients gain awareness of what they are
One particular trait of self-actualized people
seeing, hearing, experiencing, and feeling,
is an ability to recognize the positive and
they become more aware of their cultural
negative aspects of their culture and there-
context, and move towards the encounter
fore refuse to participate in the negatives as
stage of cultural awareness.
far as they affect others and themselves. And

along with that, self-actualized people are
In Ivey’s encounter stage, clients begin to
not adversely affected when they do not
gain awareness of their culture and how it
measure up to unnecessary culturally created
affects them. They also begin to put names
artificial needs (Maslow, 1970).
to their experiences. For example, the client

with low self-esteem might name his or her
Multicultural Counseling and Therapy
particular situation “inadequacy” or “not
(MCT) also works from a contextual per-
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