Conceptualizing Multicultural Perspective Taking Skills

Abstract

Abstract : U. S. Army leaders are increasingly required to engage in full-spectrum operations that include a multinational or multicultural component. Army leaders must develop cultural understanding and skills in order to work effectively in multinational alliances, to anticipate and respond to adversary intent, and to interact successfully with local populations. The ability to take the perspective of individuals within the context of their culture enables Army leaders to understand other cultures at a level finer than that afforded by simply using global cultural dimensions alone. Perspective taking is a skill that may play a role in working effectively with diverse individuals across cultural boundaries. Individual level perspective taking is a cognitive process by which an individual is able to identify the thoughts and/or feelings of another. The competencies identified as contributing to multicultural perspective taking include fundamental competencies of self-awareness, personal and interpersonal skills, and regional expertise, and advanced competencies of extraction, interpretation, and a schema for culture. This paper describes a conceptual framework for multicultural perspective taking skills and makes recommendations for training those skills.

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