Improving One’s Social
Wellness Through
Familiarity with Cultural
Self
University of Wisconsin-Madison Wellness Symposium
Wellness Now: Being Our Best Selves in the Current
Moment
October 28, 2015
Who Are You?
Typical Response

My name is _(insert_name) . I am a
_______________ at UW-Madison.
Is this “who you are” or “what you are?”
Does It Matter?
Does it matter who you are?
Does It Matter?
Does it matter how you view others?
Why?
Population Demographics
– Wisconsin, 2000-2010
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2013)

Gender
– Females, +6%
– Males, +7%
Population Demographics
– Wisconsin, 2000-2010
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2013)

Race/Ethnicity
– Hispanic, +74%
– Biracial or Multiracial, +56%
– Asian, +46%
– African American, +18%
– American Indian, +15%
– Caucasian, +3%
Campus Demographics UW-Madison, 2005-2014
(Data Digest, 2014-2015)

Gender
– Students
Females, +9%
 Males, -<1%

– Faculty and Staff
Females, +7%
 Males, +5%

Campus Demographics UW-Madison, 2005-2014
(Data Digest, 2014-2015)

Race/Ethnicity
– Students
Hispanic, +67%
 Asian, +8%
 Caucasian, -3%
 African American, -9%
 American Indian, -54%

Campus Demographics UW-Madison, 2005-2014
(Data Digest, 2014-2015)

Race/Ethnicity
– Faculty/Staff
Black, +18%
 Asian/Pacific Islander, +11%
 Hispanic, +10%
 White/Unknown, +3%
 American Indian, -7%

Does It Matter?


Does it matter how you view others?
Persons appear to us according to the
light we throw upon them from our
minds (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Importance of
Discovering Cultural Self


People’s attitudes toward others come
from the people’s backgrounds and
who they are (cultural self)
Culture determines how people think,
believe, and behave and these affect
how they interact with others (Gay, 2010)
Importance of
Discovering Cultural Self

To strategically approach diversity
issues, people must begin with an
exploration of their own beliefs. (Breese,
2008)

Consciously, we teach
what we know;
Subconsciously, we teach
who we are (Hamachek, 1994)
Cultural Self-Mapping

List on the bones of the fish (next
slide), things that have made you into
the person you are today
– Examples: family, friends, colleagues,
students, teachers, schools attended,
where lived, jobs, interests, qualities

Add more bones to existing branches;
add more branches of bones
Examination of Attitudes


Think about your attitudes toward human
differences and responses to experiences with
diversity
How has your cultural self influenced your attitudes
and responses?
How Have Your Attitudes
Influenced You?


Think about instances when your attitudes
influenced your interactions with others
Which aspects of your cultural self have influenced
your interactions with others?
Importance of
Discovering Cultural Self

“Examining one’s own beliefs and
assumptions is an essential skill in
becoming culturally proficient. Cultural
proficiency involves an inward journey
in which one increasingly understands
his or her own beliefs and actions and
the impact that those beliefs and
actions have on others.” (Lindsey, Roberts, &
CampbellJones, 2005)
Cultural Proficiency
Continuum (Cross, 1989; Lindsey,
Robins, & Terrell, 1999)

Cultural Destructiveness
– Deny the existence of, discredit, or purge
cultures different than one’s own

Cultural Incapacity
– Elevating the superiority of one’s own
culture and suppressing cultures that are
different
Cultural Proficiency
Continuum

Cultural Blindness
– Refusing to recognize differences among
cultures; acting as if differences do not
exist

Cultural Pre-competence
– Recognizing that not being familiar and
experienced with other cultures limits
one’s ability to effectively interact with
them
Cultural Proficiency
Continuum

Cultural Competence
– Interacting with other cultures in ways
that recognize and value their
differences, expand one’s knowledge and
resources, adapt one’s relational behavior

Cultural Proficiency
– Honoring differences, seeing diversity as
a benefit, interacting knowledgeably and
respectfully among other cultures
Adjusting Attitudes to
Improve Yourself




On an index card, list a few attitudes
you need to improve
Exchange cards
Write suggestions to improve the
attitudes listed on the card you
selected
Share ideas
Importance of
Knowing Self

“I did not realize how much of who I was
would impact my teaching…I soon realized
that all my lessons, my posters, my props,
my kids’ journals, and the bins I so
meticulously arranged for my students to
keep their class supplies in were all just
parts of an empty shell as long as I ignored
who I was and what I brought to my
teaching.” (Student comment) (Merseth, Sommer,
& Dickstein, 2008)
Improving Social
Wellness



Your background determines who you
are
Who you are influences what you think
and do, and how you interact with
others
“Our philosophy and behaviors are
framed by our histories, and that can
be productive or problematic” (Hoerr, 2011)
Thank You!

Dan Timm, Ed.D.
Faculty Associate
Department of Kinesiology
2000 Observatory Drive
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1189
608-262-7714
[email protected]