He says the people who liked to think were perceived by their partners as generating more valid arguments and as being effective persuaders. The NC results might also explain past research showing that group decisions are influenced by variables such as a person's level of education and occupation. Wegener's study was conducted with Donna Shestowsky of Yale University and Leandre R. Fabrigar of Queen's University. It was reported in May in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Sometimes cultural understanding may be just as important as medical knowledge for today's nurses, says Sharon Posey, a national expert who is an associate professor of nursing at Purdue University.
American society provides plenty of opportunities.
Often, she says, a nurse trying to help an injured or ill person meets resistance from the patient or from the patient's family that makes treatment difficult, if not impossible. For example, trying to treat a Vietnamese person with head injuries can present a problem, because some Vietnamese believe that touching the head can allow the soul to escape. She says some Chinese may veto the drawing of a patient's blood. Even a critical surgery might be refused. She says some Chinese also view their body as a gift from their parents and believe it should be maintained as a whole and not be cut or have parts taken from it.