Oetting, E. R. (1964). Cross-Cultural Communication and the Semantic Differential. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 11(3), 292-293.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0038411
Reports an experience at a bilingual conference on international tensions attended by Mexican and American psychologists, which suggests that the semantic differential provides a promising technique for evaluating the differences in cultural reaction to key words. The semantic differential was administered to the participants as part of a demonstration of its potential use in the identification of nationalistic stereotypes. It is concluded that the results have implications for counseling. In relating to a person from a different culture, the psychologist brings to the relationship an already established set of cultural stereotypes. Particularly in the subtle communication of counseling, the counselor must be sensitive to these differing responses or communication will be, at the very least, distorted. Where a counselor is working intensively with one or more specific groups, the semantic differential may provide a very rapid, sensitive instrument for identifying response stereotypes that could cause communication difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)