Cultural Differences in Interpreting Behavior: Staring and Spitting

Abstract

Several times recently I've been reminded of the differences in interpretation of behavior across cultures. A relative who was visiting was telling me about how, in his retirement, he mentors inner city kids. He related that among many other things, he was trying to teach them to maintain eye contact. I responded that not all cultures value eye contact; he reacted by saying that to avoid eye contact was an evasive or resistant behavior, or an insecure or inattentive behavior.A column that I edited two months ago by Scott Trueman (Trueman, 2013) focused on providing mental health services to aboriginal Australians. In the context of eye contact, he wrote that many factors determine the amount of appropriate eye contact between nurse and client, including their respective genders and ages, whether sensitive topics are being discussed, and the level of trust/relationship between nurse and client. He went on to say that what is not acceptable is fixed or intrusive eye contact. Trueman provided some techniques or mannerisms that may be employed by the nurse to avoid direct eye contact, such as staring into the distance or at the ground or hands while talking, and occasionally looking at the client.I related this information to my relative, but he insisted that in our culture it was important to maintain eye contact. I had written about this behavior earlier in my career, cautioning psychiatric nurses that direct eye contact might be considered aggressive, confrontational, and hostile by some clients, and rude, immodest, or even dangerous (e.g., "if looks could kill") by others, particularly if there were age, gender, or ethnic/racial differences between the nurse and client. On the other hand, in some cultures, looking at someone while talking to them might be considered essential to a respectful dialogue. A friend of South

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