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Intercultural Communication
Some Definitions to Start Us Off…
• Culture: “that set of values, beliefs, norms, customs,
rules, and codes that socially define groups of people,
giving them a sense of commonality.”
-- Race
-- Gender
-- Disability
-- Ethnicity
-- Religion
-- SES
-- Age
-- Sexual Orientation
-- Etc.
• In-Groups and Out-Groups
• Co-cultures: “The perception of membership in a group
that is part of an encompassing culture.
• Intercultural Communication: “The process that occurs
when members of two or more cultures exchange
messages in a manner that is influenced by their different
cultural perceptions and symbol systems.”
• Intercultural sensitivity is necessary to effectively communicate
with diverse groups.
• Intercultural sensitivity involves:
• Self-esteem
• Self-monitoring
• Open-mindedness
• Empathy
• Interaction involvement
• Suspending judgment
• Using stereotypes makes communication with diverse groups
problematic
• Stereotypes resist alteration and can lead to prejudice and
discrimination
• Stereotypes create a barrier between us and others
Communication should be
approached at both the individual
and the cultural level.
• “Emphasizing differences can lead to
stereotyping and prejudice…Emphasizing
only similarities may lead us to ignore the
important cultural variations that exist,”
(Martin & Nakayama, 2000, p. 46)
• “Groups are made up of individuals with
unique as well as similar voices,” (Collier,
2000, p. 24).
Communication from a
Cultural Perspective Only
is Insufficient
• “We should not expect any group to use a
particular communication style all the
time,” (p. 159).
• When “we assume knowledge about another
person’s identity, based on his of her
membership in a particular cultural
group…we are ignoring the individual
aspect,” (p. 141).
Communication from an
Individual Perspective
Only is Insufficient
• You may overemphasize similarities, and
see others more like yourself.
• You may judge others by your own cultural
standards, rather than considering other
cultural standards.
Cultural Values and Norms
High-Context vs. Low-Context
• How much is communicated by the context,
and how much needs to be directly said?
Low Context
Swiss,
Germans,
Scandinavians
High Context
EuropeanAmericans
Self-Expression Valued
African-Americans,
Native Americans,
Hispanic-Americans,
Asian-Americans
Japanese,
Chinese
Relational Harmony Valued
*Individualism vs. Collectivism*
• Individualistic Cultures
– Loyalty to self
– Define self based on
what you do
– Value autonomy,
change, youth,
individual security,
equality
– Examples:
• US, Canada, Australia,
Great Britain
• Collectivistic Cultures
– Loyalty to family,
community, work, etc.
– Define self based on who
your in-group is
– Value duty, order,
tradition, age, group
security, status,
hierarchy, relationship
– Examples:
• Latin American and Asian
cultures
Power Difference
• More egalitarian vs. more hierarchical?
Low power deferential
Austria,
Denmark,
Israel,
New
Zealand
US,
Canada
High power deferential
Philippines, Mexico,
Venezuela, India, Singapore
Uncertainty Avoidance
• “The degree to which members of a culture feel
threatened by ambiguous situations and how
much they try to avoid them.”
• Low Uncertainty Avoidance:
– Tolerates or values nonconformity
• High Uncertainty Avoidance:
– Threatened by ambiguous situations/nonconformity
– Values security
– Clearly defined rules and regulations
Achievement vs. Nurturing
Achievement Culture
Nurturing Culture
“Hard”
“Soft”
“Masculine”
“Feminine”
Material success/Goal-oriented
Relationship-oriented
Strict gender roles
More gender neutrality
Japan,
Switzerland,
Germany
Norway,
Sweden,
Denmark,
Spain, France
The Interplay Between Culture
and Verbal & Nonverbal Codes
Verbal Codes
• Language and Identity
• Verbal Communication Style
– Directness
– Elaborateness/Succinctness
– Formality/Informality
• Language and Worldview
– Linguistic Determinism – language determines worldview
• Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: “the structure of a language affects the
perceptions of reality of its speakers and thus influences their thought
patterns and worldviews.”
– Linguistic Relativism – language strongly influences perceptions
Nonverbal Codes
• Some nonverbals have universal meanings
(e.g., smiles, crying)
• Others are more culturally-determined
–
–
–
–
Gestures
Proxemics
Chronemics
Eye-contact
Decoding Messages CrossCulturally
• Translation
• Attributions
– We tend to judge others’ behaviors less generously and
according to our own cultural norms.
– Stereotyping
• Cultural Systems of Logic
– Linear/Rational or Intuitive
– Dichotomous or Nondichotomous
Developing Greater Intercultural
Communication Competence
Intercultural Competence
• Motivation and attitude
– Tolerating ambiguity
– Being open-minded
• Not being ethnocentric
• Not being prejudiced
• Not stereotyping
• Knowledge of how other cultures communicate &
skill in creating and responding to messages
effectively
– Mindfulness – awareness of one’s own
behavior and that of others
• Passive observation
• Active strategies
• Self-disclosure
– Learn about who in a culture especially
receives respect, and how this is communicated
– Learn about how interactions are managed (the flow of
conversation, turn-taking, etc.)
– Learn about roles, rules, and expectations for goalaccomplishment (e.g., business), and for relationships
Racism
Even if you yourself are not
racist...
• Cultural Racism
– Aspects of society that overtly & covertly attribute
value and normality to white people and whiteness and
devalue, stereotype, and label people of color as
“other,” different, less-than, or invisible.
• Institutional Racism
– The network of institutional structures, policies, and
practices that create advantages and benefits for whites
and discrimination, oppression, and disadvantages for
persons of color.
– The advantages to whites are often invisible to them or
are considered available to “everyone” .
Unpacking the Invisible
Knapsack
“White Privilege”
• The concrete benefits of access to resources and social rewards AND
the power to shape the norms and values of society which Whites
receive, unconsciously or consciously, by virtue of their skin color in a
racist society.
– Examples:
• The ability to be unaware of race
• The ability to live and work among people of the same racial group as their
own
• The security of not being pulled over by the police for being a “suspicious”
person
• The expectation that they speak for themselves and not for their entire race
• “Collusion”
– Thinking and acting in ways which support the system of racism.
– Both White people and Persons of Color can collude with racism through
their attitudes, beliefs, and actions.
– All people can collude by telling racist jokes, discriminating against a
person of color, or remaining silent when observing a racist incident or
remark.
What can YOU do?
• Avoid collusion
• Become an ally or an empowered person of color
– Ally- A white person who actively works to eliminate
racism
– Empowered person of color- Understanding racism and
its impact, collectively working against victimization
and for justice.
• Educate others!