IN THIS ISSUE:

Deaf and Hearing Cultures: A Comparison of Communication Value Systems

Presented by Linda A. Siple, Ph.D.
7/28/07

Reported by Cheryl Heppner, 10/14/07

Value Systems and Culture

The foundation for this workshop came from Dr. Siple's graduate work in intercultural communication, courses she's taught, reading and studying about cultural differences, and what deaf people have taught her for over 30 years.  The National Technical Institute for the Deaf has a B.S. degree in Intercultural Communication, and students take courses in the subject.

Marshall Singer said in 1987, "We experience everything in the world not as it is, but as the world comes to us through our culture."  How we are raised influences how we see the world.  Value systems are the rules we use to judge behavior. They're learned from our families and the people around us.  The values are shared with others in our culture and represent what is expected or required.  We tend to view our value systems as superior to those of others.

In one study, a group of children from rural Mexico and a group of children from rural America were shown two pictures through a stereoscope.  One picture was of a bullfight and the other of a baseball.  The Mexican children saw the bullfight and the American children saw the baseball.  Their minds pushed aside the picture they were not familiar with.  This illustrates how our brains can manipulate what we see.

Another study involving Caucasian mothers and Navajo mothers gathered their reactions to a videotape of children interacting.  The Navajo mothers saw behaviors that they felt were negative and should be punished.  The Caucasian mothers saw the same behaviors as ones that should be encouraged.

American Culture

Americans say that we really don't have a culture, just a melting pot.  But we do have an American culture.  We value individualism, privacy, equality, materialism, time, goodness and humanity, and competition.  Some of these values can be contradictory.

Our American value system for hearing people puts individualism at the top of the list.  We have the most individual culture in the world.  We are trained since early childhood to be responsible for ourselves and often don't recognize that we share a culture with others.  Familiar sayings illustrate that individualism:

"God helps those who help themselves"
"You have to decide for yourself"
"You made your bed, now lie in it"
"Fend for yourself"
"Paddle your own canoe"

American children are encouraged to be independent, self-reliant, focus on their individual accomplishments, have autonomy, and be self-sufficient.  Our heroes are admired as people who did it on their own, standing out from the crowd as rugged individualists.

Dr. Siple used a personal illustration of a family member of Indian descent and his wife who is of Irish heritage.  When their child was invited to a sleepover with a small group of other girls, the father was shocked by the invitation.  He couldn't understand why such independence should be encouraged.

Our Constitution gives us the right to privacy, and we believe all people need time alone.  Some of the things that are considered wrong are: reading mail that doesn't belong to you, listening in on another person's conversation, sharing a secret, and asking for personal information and entering without knocking.

American Co-Cultures

Americans actually have co-cultures, formerly called subcultures.  These co-cultures are groups that share communication values different from the dominant culture. Examples are be Native Americans, Latino Americans, and Deaf Americans.  For these co-cultures to survive in a dominant culture, some have to become bicultural and manipulate their values to fit those of the dominant culture.

A study of co-cultures found some interesting similarities.  All of the co-cultures reported the same things:

- Low satisfaction in communication by the dominant culture
- A belief that there is an unequal distribution of power
- A lack of respect of their culture by the dominant one
- A feeling that they are invisible or overlooked by the dominant culture

Primary Deaf culture values have been identified in books by Dr. Carol Padden and Dr. Tom Humphries.  Dr. Siple listed these values, which she found from reading and observation: collectivism, open communication, use of American Sign Language, directness, and cultural pride.

Collectivism
Deaf culture emphasizes the goals of the group and pooling resources.  It is considered a duty to share information.  There is loyalty and strong identification to the group.  Deaf heroes tend to be people who are admired because they helped other Deaf people, such as Fred Schreiber.

Open Communication
Collectivism, which results in groups of people working toward the same goal, depends on  open communication to maintain and support the culture.  Passing along personal information shows people care about each other.  Withholding information or inhibiting access to open communication is a taboo.

With these two primary values, you can see that the stage is set for a lot of communication conflict.  Reports of experiences that show varying degrees of communication conflict, called critical incident reports, help us to see our own communication behavior from another perspective. Dr. Siple collected critical incident reports (CIRs) from NTID Deaf faculty, staff and students.  Her goal was to help them improve communication at NTID.  She found three themes: daily communication atmosphere, meetings and group interactions, and one-to-one communication.  Below are examples of comments she found in the work environment, where people are expected to know each other.

Daily Communication Atmosphere CIR #1
I think when two people approach each other from a distance, both deaf and hearing people seem to 'check out each other'. It's not really 'eye contact' yet.  When deaf people get nearer, they almost always make eye contact, smile, nod, say hi, whatever.  It doesn't matter if we know each other.

As hearing people get closer, if they know you they will make eye contact and maybe smile, nod, etc.  If they don't know you, they will avoid eye contanct, look at the floor, look straight ahead.  This is very rude and cold.

Dr. Siple said that this behavior by deaf individuals is their way of looking for some kind of connection. She has also heard from some African Americans that white people have a way of diverting their eyes when approached.

Daily Communication Atomosphere CIR #2
I think deaf people's communication distance is much farther than hearing people.  For example, when I walk down long hallways I often start talking to a friend when s/he is 50-75 feet away.  A hearing person would have to shout.

Another example, when I turn the corner I immediately hone in on the two people at the far end of the hallway.  I immediately know they are hearing because I see them talking and not signing.  Deaf eyes are more aware, more sensitive.

When I'm about 10 feet away, they might become aware of me as a Deaf person and start signing.  What about the other 90 feet?  That makes me feel invisible.

The other thing that bothers me is that when they become aware of me, they just start signing to each other -- no eye contact with me, no 'hello', no acknowledgment.  Now they see me but I'm still invisible.

Daily Communication Atmosphere CIR #3
I don't think hearing people understand that before an interaction can start you must first have eye contact.  It's very rude to just take the paper or money from a deaf person and avoid eye contact.  I feel ignored; I feel invisible.

Dr. Siple has found that bank tellers and store cashiers in the Rochester area were particularly lax in making eye contact. There are local and regional variations in making eye contact.  One of the attendees said that bank tellers in the Midwest and South often make eye contact.  Another said that making eye contact in places like New York City is considered dangerous.

Daily Communication Atmosphere CIR #4
I really hate it when I'm in the middle of a conversation with a hearing person and all of a sudden s/he looks away and grabs the phone. I understand that the person has to answer the phone, but this says to me the phone is more important than I am.

A more polite way would be to hold up a finger to stop the conversation, tell me the phone is ringing, and then answer it.

Daily Communication Atmosphere CIR #5
Hearing people are very impatient.  They are not willing to take the time to communicate.  I often feel my conversations with hearing people are rushed and superficial.

Dr. Siple notes that superficial communication is a common theme in co-cultural literature.

Daily Communication Atmosphere CIR #6
Later I found out my boss had come to the door and had called everyone back into the meeting, but the hearing colleague never told me.  She just let me keep talking. I was really humiliated.  Why would anyone deliberately make me look bad?

Meetings CIR #7
We have a big department. Often I don't know who is talking, and it really bothers me that people start talking without first getting eye contact with everyone.  The deaf people are trying to read the handout and miss out on the discussion, or we see the discussion and miss the information on the handout.  We can't win!

I think hearing people are very self-centered in meetings. They don't care if I can't see them signing. They won't take responsibility to stand up or walk to the front of the room. I think this is disrespectful. To me this says that only hearing people are important.

Meetings CIR #8
In my department meetings, we use SimCom [signing and speaking at the same time].  Everyone can sign, but they won't have a 'no voice' meeting.  A couple of them have said they think using SimCom is best because then everyone is equal.  Then why don't I feel equal?  If I had to mesaure the communication, I'd say 70% was speaking and 30% was signing.

Yes, they are signing all the time, but the message I get is missing a lot of information.  I have to work very hard to understand what is going on.

One-to-One CIR #9
The other day I was trying to explain to our secretary how I needed a project done.  She didn't seem to understand what I wanted, so I explained it again.  Later my boss told me she complained that I was talking to her like she was an idiot.  I don't get it.  She sat there with a blank look on her face and then she complains.

- Dr. Siple noted that many hearing people have a tendency not to use facial expressions, so people who are deaf assume they don't understand.

One-to-One CIR #10
Deaf people are masters at making themselves understood.  They will change how they communicate because sharing information is very important.  Most hearing people have one way to communicate with Deaf people.  Too bad if you don't understand.  I think hearing people value talking, but they don't value communicating.

Comment from the audience: Some hearing people love to talk but hate to repeat.  They lack patience with communicating.

One-to-One CIR #11
Deaf and hearing people use SimCom different.  Deaf SimCom emphasizes the visual aspect of the message and deemphasizes the auditory aspect.  The concepts make sense to me.  The message is spatial.  The language is still mostly English but that's okay because it's now 'visually accessible English'.

Hearing SimCom emphasizes the auditory aspect of English. For me the concepts are frequently unclear.  The structure and thinking style follow 'hearing rules'. One on one I'm usually fine, but in a group it's very hard to follow.  I see a lot of signs and words but no communication.

Hearing SimCom is like reading the dictionary. Deaf SimCom is like reading a novel or viewing a movie; I get it.

Who needs to change?  See Part 2!

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Deaf and Hearing Cultures: A Comparison of Communication Value Systems - Part 2

Presented by Linda A. Siple, Ph.D.
9/28/07

Reported by Cheryl Heppner, 10/14/07

Who Needs to Change?

The Deaf and hard of hearing co-culture is very experienced at accommodating everyone else.  General hearing society is clueless about the extent of communication dissatisfaction they cause with lack of eye contact, etc.

There is a lot of research showing ways to improve intercultural communication.  Some keys are:

1. Knowing yourself -- your values and where you came from

Hearing people have rarely experienced poor communication.  They don't realize they are being guided by a set of values that guide their communication, and don't know what it feels like to get lousy communication.  They are not aware of communication uncertainties like being unable to grasp a name.  They don't know about the different ways and styles to communicate.

Comment from Audience:  Hearing people have never had to experience trying to comprehend 100% of the time.

2.  Employing empathy to understand the other person's perspective

Hearing people need education to understand the experiences, feelings, thoughts, attitudes and culture of deaf and hard of hearing people.  Dr. Pitzer shares the stories in the critical incident reports to help hearing people know another perspective.  Knowledge is the first step in developing empathy.  With knowledge, people can learn to pay attention in a different way, communicate empathy, use culturally acceptable behaviors, and learn to accept differences.

3. Understanding cultural differences in listening

Hearing people only know one way to listen.  It is frustrating to have to keep reminding them that you can't hear.  They will benefit from:

- Learning to be an active listener, giving feedback -- "I get it" or "I understand"
- Learning the importance of eye contact when listening
- Learning that "do you understand?" is a real question

4.  Having communication flexibility

Hearing people will benefit from:

- Learning how to tolerate ambiguity (being a willow tree, not an oak)
- Learning which communication behaviors are inflexible and which are flexible
- Learning to develop communication options
- Learning visual ways to communicate

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