Culture and Interpersonal Communication

Chapter 2

CultureCulture consists of the relatively

specialized lifestyle of a group of people that is passed on from one generation to

the next through communication, not through genes.

Enculturation, Ethnic Identity and Acculturation

• Enculturation- The process by which you learn the culture into which you’re born.

• Ethnic Identity- A commitment to the beliefs and philosophy of your culture that can act as a protective shield against discrimination.

• Acculturation- The process by which you learn the rules and norms of a culture different from your native culture.

Culture Beliefs and Values

• The Relevance of Culture:

• Demographic changes• Increased sensitivity to

cultural differences• Economic

interdependency• Advances in

communication technology

• The fact that communication competence is specific to a culture

Demographic Changes• Most obvious relevance of culture are the vast

demographic changes.• The United States was a country largely

populated by Europeans, now it’s a country greatly influenced by the enormous number of new citizens from Latin and South America, Africa, and Asia.

• These changes have brought different interpersonal customs and need to understand and adapt to new ways of looking at communication.

Sensitivity to Cultural Differences

• American society has moved from an assimilationist attitude to a new perspective that values cultural diversity.

• In this diverse society, and with some notable exceptions- hate speech, racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism come quickly to mind.

• We are more concerned with saying the right thing and ultimately with developing a society where all cultures can coexist and enrich one another.

Economic and Political Interdependence

• Our economic lives depend on our ability to communicate effectively across different cultures.

• Our political well-being depends in great part on that of other cultures.

Spread of Technology• The rapid spread of

technology has made intercultural communication as easy as it is inevitable

• News from foreign countries is a commonplace.

• Internet has made intercultural communication easy.

Culture- Specific Nature of Interpersonal Communication

Culture-specific is what proves effective in one culture may prove

ineffective in another.

The Aim of a Cultural Perspective

Culture influences: • What you say to yourself and how you talk to your friends, lovers, and family in everyday conversation

• How you interact in groups and how much importance you place on the group versus the individual

• The topics you talk about and the strategies you use in communicating info or in persuading

• How you use the media and the credibility you attribute to them

How Cultures Differ• Power Distances• Masculine and

Feminine Cultures• High and Low

Ambiguity Tolerant Cultures

• Individualist and Collectivist Orientations

• High and Low Context Cultures

Power DistanceLow Power Distance

• General feeling of equality that is consistent with acting assertively.

• Seen as a certain distrust for authority.

• Rely less on symbols of power.

High Power Distance• Direct confrontation

and assertiveness may be viewed negatively.

• Respect authority.• Rely more on symbols

of power.

Masculine and Feminine Cultures

Masculine• Emphasize success• Assertive, ambitious,

and competitive. • More likely to confront

conflicts directly and fight out the differences

• Win-lose conflict strategy.

Feminine• Emphasize the quality

of life• Modest and emphasize

close interpersonal relationships.

• More likely to emphasize compromise and negotiation in resolving conflicts.

• Win-win strategy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGoC8FTLKSI

High and Low Ambiguity Tolerant Cultures

High-Ambiguity-Tolerant

• Don’t feel threatened by unknown situations.

• Readily tolerate individuals who don’t follow the same rules.

Low-Ambiguity-Tolerant

• Avoid uncertainty.• Have great deal of

anxiety about the unknown.

• Create very clear-cut rules for communication that must not be broken.

Individualist and Collectivist Orientations

Individualist Orientation

• Responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family.

• United States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, France and Ireland.

Collectivist Orientation

• Responsible for the entire group.

• Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Columbia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Costa Rica, Peru, Taiwan, and South Korea.

High and Low Context Cultures

High Context• Less verbally explicit

communication, less written/formal information

• Long term relationships • Knowledge is situational,

relational. • Decisions and activities

focus around personal face-to-face relationships, often around a central person who has authority.

Low Context• More knowledge is

codified, public, external, and accessible.

• Separation of time, space, activities, and relationships

• Knowledge is more often transferable

• Decisions and activities focus around what needs to be done, division of responsibilities.

Principles of Intercultural Communication

• Intercultural communication refers to communication between people who have different cultural beliefs, values or ways of behaving.

• Educate Yourself• Reduce Uncertainty• Recognize

Differences• Confront Your

Stereotypes• Adjust Your

Communication• Reduce Your

Ethnocentrism

Educate Yourself• Learn about other cultures• Recognize and face your own fears

Reduce Uncertainty• Reduce uncertainty about others• Active listening• Perception checking technique• Seeking feedback• Try to resist your natural tendency to

judge others quickly

Recognize Differences• between yourself and the culturally

different• within the culturally different group• in meaning

Confront Your Stereotypes

• Stereotype- a fixed impression of a group of people.

• Stereotyping can lead to two major barriers: 1. can lead you to perceive that a person possesses certain qualities and you will fail to appreciate the multifaceted nature of all people and all groups. 2. can lead you to ignore the unique characteristic and you may fail to benefit from the special contributions each person may have.

Adjust Your Communication

• Learn the other person’s signals, how they’re used and what they mean

• Share your own signals with others so they can understand you.

Reduce Your Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentrism- the tendency to evaluate the values, beliefs and behaviors of your own culture as being more positive, logical and natural than those of other cultures.