Contrary to its hypothesis, the study found that US Americans display significantly higher levels of rhetorical sensitivity than the Thai. When I examined the instrument, I would guess that Thai subjects in the study did not rate themselves high on rhetorical sensitivity because all of items in that category are obviously positive traits. If they rated themselves high on those items, they would have been considered bragging which is against their value. So they may have tried to be humble in that study. When communication behaviors do not match with theories, such as Thai communication in this case, an interpretive viewpoint can provide a rich description and explanation why they do not work.