Read the passage and answer the questions about it below.

Question

Cross-Cultural Miscue
Several years ago while walking to class with an arm-load of books, Gary Ferraro, met a group of five
students who were also on their way to class. Four of the students were local, born and raised in North Carolina, while the fifth was a foreign student from Nigeria. Upon meeting, they all greeted one another and proceeded to walk together to class. Almost immediately the Nigerian student turned to him and asked if he could carry his load of books. Professor Ferraro refused, but the young man insisted, so he relented. As soon as he handed over the books, he noticed that the Nigerian student was receiving some “funny looks” from the North Carolina students. It became immediately apparent to him that they were witnessing a classic example of cross-cultural misunderstanding.
When they arrived in class, Professor Ferraro decided to see if this incident could provide them with
some insight into the nature of cross-cultural miscommunication. After describing the incident to the
class, he asked the four students from North Carolina to share with us what was behind those negative “nonverbal” looks they were giving their classmate from Nigeria when he took the load of books. As predicted, all four of the students thought that the Nigerian had offered to carry the teacher’s books in an effort to curry favor with the professor and perhaps get a higher grade in the course than he might deserve. The four U.S. students were clearly put off by what they considered to be a blatant attempt to “suck up” to the professor.
Hearing this explanation, the Nigerian student was shocked that his gesture was so thoroughly
misunderstood. He then explained that he offered to carry Professor Ferraro’s books out of a deep sense of respect for his high status as a college professor. Professors in Nigeria enjoy much higher social status
than do their counterparts in the United States. It would be considered demeaning for a Nigerian professor to engage in any form of manual labor, including carrying a heavy load of books. The somewhat startled Nigerian student went on to say that he offered to carry Professor Ferraro’s books, so he would not “lose face” by engaging in physical labor. Clearly the status system in Nigeria is appreciably different from that found in the United States

What is the bias demonstrated by the author of this passage?
a. Positive
b. Negative
c. Neutral

Answer 1

c. Neutral