Download Culture

The Global Village
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Marshall McLuhan:
“Global village”
“Members of every
nation are
connected by
communication
technology.”
Culture and Interpersonal
Communication
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Culture:
The relatively specialized lifestyle of a
group of people.
Includes:
values, beliefs, ways of behaving and
communicating, artifacts
Cultural and other influences
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UNIVERSAL LEVEL: characteristics that are
shared by all humans (biological traits)
INDIVIDUAL LEVEL: characteristics that are
unique to a particular individual.
COLLECTIVE LEVEL: certain values,
attitudes, and, consequently, behavior, are
shared with other members of a group (culture,
subculture)
Acquiring culture
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Enculturation: learning culture into
which you were born
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Acculturation: learning a new culture
Boundaries of cultures
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Not all members of a culture are alike; each
member has a unique view of their culture.
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The differences are due, at least in part, to the
existence of subcultures: groups within a culture
whose members share many of the values of the
culture but also have some values that differ from
the larger culture.
Fundamental Concepts
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In-groups
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Out-groups
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Social identity
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Co-culture
Degrees of Cultural Significance
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Encounters fit along a spectrum of “interculturalness”
Least intercultural: Cultural differences mean little
Most intercultural: Differences, backgrounds, beliefs
noteworthy
“Salience”: The weight we attach to a particular person or
phenomenon.
Interpersonal / Intercultural
significance
American culture
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Liberty: the perception that a minimum of limitations
should be preserved
Support for free enterprise
Individual responsibility.
Equality: Equal opportunity, but not equal outcomes.
Democracy: Government accountable to the people.
Civic duty: People should be involved in community
and civic affairs.
Interpersonal Trust. Confident expectation of reliable
and truthful cooperation.
Cultural traits
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Power Distance
Individualism / Collectivism
Uncertainty Avoidance
Achievement
High- and Low-Context cultures
Individualism / Collectivism
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The extent to which individuals are expected to
look after themselves, as opposed to strong social
and family ties that offer unconditional support
and protection in exchange for loyalty.
Individualistic societies are characterized by
open choices, while collectivistic societies are
characterized by prescribed choices.
Power distance
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The extent to which the less powerful expect
and accept that power is distributed unequally.
Power is distributed by the role ones play. Mother
- child, Boss - subordinate, Teacher - student.
High Power distance usually indicates
authoritarian structures in governments.
Low Power distance indicates more open
societies. Members are not punished for
challenging authority.
Uncertainty Avoidance/
Tolerance for Ambiguity
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The extent to which uncertain or unknown
situations are perceived as threatening.
High Uncertainty avoidance indicates a strong
desire for stable and predictable relationships.
Often, not to lose security, people agree to
conform. They agree to any form of social rules
for the sake of security and peace.
Achievement versus Nurturing
(Masculine/Feminine)
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It measures the extent to which assertiveness,
ambition, and achievement dominate in
particular culture.
Societies characterized by achievement orientation
judge individuals by their accomplishments, while
societies with ascriptive values measure
individuals by their group membership.
Interpersonal Trust.
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Trust can be defined as non
opportunistic behavior.
A person whom we trust will not take
advantage of a situation to promote his
own interest
High- Versus Low-Context
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Anthropologist Edward T.
Hall:
Low-context culture
 Language expresses
thoughts, feelings,
and ideas as directly
as possible.
High-context culture
 Relies heavily on
subtle, often
nonverbal cues to
maintain social
harmony
Low- and High-Context
Communication
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High-context messages
Message senders expect other people to know
what is on their mind and they are not specific
when they talk; the listener is supposed to figure
out what is happening.
High-context communication tends to be indirect
and vague.
Low- and High-Context
Communication
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Low-context messages
They are characterized by the majority of the
information being in the explicit code.
Message senders are expected to express
themselves clearly and directly, limiting the need
for the listener to figure out what is happening.
Low- and High-Context
Communication
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Low- and high-context messages occur in
both individualistic and collectivistic
cultures, but
low-context messages predominate in
individualistic cultures and
high-context messages predominate in
collectivistic cultures.
Verbal Communication Styles
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Three important
differences:
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Directness and
indirectness
Elaborateness and
succinctness
Formality and
informality
Nonverbal Codes
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People of all cultures
convey messages through
facial expression and
gesture.
What similarities or
differences in facial
expression interpretations
exist between cultures?
Gestures?
What cultures have larger
“personal space” zones?
How do personal space
variances create difficult
communication situations?
Developing Intercultural
Communication Competence
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Motivation and Attitude / Desire
Tolerance for ambiguity / Living with uncertainty
Open-mindedness
 Beware of ethnocentrism
 Beware of prejudice
 Beware of stereotyping
Knowledge and skill
 Mindfulness
 Passive observation / Active strategies
 Use appropriate self-disclosure