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Intercultural Communication
Chapter 3
Intercultural Communication Competence
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The United States is
Intercultural
• Metaphors that describe the United States:
– Melting Pot
– Tributaries
– Tapestry
– Garden Salad
Metaphors of US Diversity
• Melting Pot
– Implies a fusing of cultural elements
– Cultural elements lose their distinction
– Cultures lose their individual identity
Metaphors of US Diversity
• Tributary
– Identities are maintained in the short-term
– Assumes all will blend into one
– Tributaries are less important than the
mainstream
Metaphors of US Diversity
• Tapestry
– Each thread can be different
– Weaving patterns vary by location
– But, tapestries are static while cultures are not
Metaphors of US Diversity
• Garden Salad
– Each culture is distinct
– The cultures are mixed and contribute to
make a unique whole
– But, implies a lack of stability
– Cultures don’t always mix easily
What to Call us?
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American?
North American?
United Statians? United Staters?
U. S. Americans?
Negative Terms
to Describe us
• Dominant culture
• Majority culture/minority culture
• White/caucasian
Terms for Cultural Groups
• African-American
• Hispanic, Chicano, Mexican-American,
Latino
• Native-American, Asian-American, Pacific
Islander
African-American
• Recognizes African cultural influences
• Acknowledges differences in AfricanAmerican and European-American culture
Hispanic, Chicano,
Mexican-American, Latino
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Hispanic
Chicano
Mexican-American
Latino
Native-American, AsianAmerican, Pacific Islander
• Native-American
• Asian-American
• Pacific Islander
Competence and
Intercultural Communication
• Intercultural communication competence
• Components of intercultural competence
Intercultural Communication
Competence
• Competent communication is an
interaction that is perceived as effective in
fulfilling certain rewarding objectives in a
way that is also appropriate to the context
in which the interaction occurs.
Intercultural Communication
Competence
• Competence must be:
– Perceived
– Appropriate
– Effective
Components of Intercultural
Competence
• Context
• Appropriate and effective behaviors
• Knowledge, motivations, and actions
Context
• Not an individual attribute
• Based on cultural expectations
– Setting helps define acceptable behavior
– Acceptable behavior in one culture may not
be in others
Appropriate Behaviors
• Behaviors regarded as:
– proper and suitable given• the expectations generated in a given culture,
• the constraints of the specific situations,
• and the nature of the relationship between
interactants.
Effective Behaviors
• Behaviors that lead to the achievement of
desired outcomes
Sufficient Knowledge
• Culture-generated information
• Culture-specific information
• Knowledge of your own culture
Suitable Motivations
• Feelings and intentions
– Feelings refer to emotional or affective states
• Feelings are not thoughts
• Feelings are reactions to thoughts and experiences
• Feelings involve sensitivity and attitudes
• Intentions are what guides our choices
– Goals, plans, objectives, desires, used to focus
– Can be affected by stereotypes
Skilled Actions
• The actual performance of appropriate
and effective behaviors
– Must be able to do what is needed
– Can have right info, feelings, and intentions
but lack behavioral skills
BASIC
• Behavioral Assessment Scale for
Intercultural Competence
8 BASIC Behaviors
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Displays of Respect
Orientation to Knowledge
Empathy
Interaction Management
Task Role Behavior
Relational Role Behavior
Tolerance for Ambiguity
Interaction Posture
Displays of Respect
• What is respectful in one culture may be
different in others
• Verbal and nonverbal components
Orientation to Knowledge
• When our language and actions show a
focus on individuality rather than
universal group traits
• Must move beyond the perspective of our
own personal cultural framework
Empathy
• Verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are
complimentary to the thoughts, feelings
and experiences of others
• Behaving as if we understand the world as
someone else does
Interaction Management
• How to talk to others appropriately and
effectively
• Initiation, turn taking, etc.
Task Role Behavior
• Group problem solving skills
• Understanding that other cultures
accomplish tasks differently
• Entwined with cultural expectations
• Different cultures can call the same thing a
social activity or a task
Relational Role Behavior
• Efforts to build and maintain personal
relationships that support ithers and
solidify feelings of participation
Tolerance for Ambiguity
• If we do not tolerate ambiguity well we
can respond with hostility and anger
• Competent communication requires a
higher tolerance level
Interaction Posture
• Responding in a nonjudgmental way
• Avoid behaviors that state or imply
right/wrong
• Use description rather than interpretation
or evaluation
Description, Interpretation,
and evaluation (D-I-E)
• Tool used to control the meaning
attributed to verbal and nonverbal
symbols that others use
• Most people are not aware when the
interpret or evaluate the symbols of others
Description
• Identify the sensory information that will
form the basis for interpretation
• Descriptive statement allow us to consider
alternative interpretations
Interpretation
• Our interpretations are linked to our
evaluation of our perceptions
• Descriptions can have multiple
interpretations
• Don’t choose your first interpretation
• Test alternative interpretations
Evaluation
• Emotional or affective judgment
• We make judgments without being aware
• Be cognizant of descriptors and
interpretations to avoid inaccurate
conclusions