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reflectrelate5e_lectureppt_ch05.pptxChapter 5
Understanding Culture
Understanding Culture
Culture: An established, coherent set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices shared by a large group of people
Influences: Nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, age
Culture Defined
Culture is:
Learned
Communicated
Layered
Lived
Intercultural communication: Communicating with someone from a different culture
Co-cultures (1 of 2)
In any society, there are groups of people who have more power than others.
Co-cultural Communication Theory: People who have more power within a society determine the dominant culture.
Co-cultures: Members of a society who don’t conform to the dominant culture
Co-cultural communication: Underrepresented groups interact with people from the dominant group.
Co-cultures (2 of 2)
Members of co-cultures develop communication practices for dealing with members of the dominant culture.
Use overly polite language
Suppress reactions to offensive comments
Try to excel to counteract negative stereotypes
Conform to negative stereotypes in an exaggerated way
Try to act, look, and talk like members of the dominant culture
Openly disparage their own co-culture
Express co-cultural identity through appearance, actions, and words
Cultural Identity
Intersectionality: Notion we are the sum total of our overlapping experiences, rather than a singular category
Prejudice (1 of 2)
Prejudice: When stereotypes reflect rigid attitudes toward groups and their members
Stereotype Content Model: Prejudice centers on two judgments about others.
How warm and friendly they are
How competent they are
Prejudice (2 of 2)
Benevolent prejudice: Thinking of a particular group as inferior but also friendly and competent
Hostile prejudice: Having negative attitudes toward a group of individuals we see as unfriendly and incompetent
Cultural Influences on Communication
Seven characteristics shape our intercultural communication.
Individualism versus collectivism
Uncertainty avoidance
Power distance
High and low context
Emotion displays
Masculinity versus femininity
Views of time
Individualism versus Collectivism
Individualistic cultures: Value independence and personal achievement
Collectivistic cultures: Emphasize group identity, interpersonal harmony, and the well-being of ingroups
Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance: Measure of how different cultures tolerate and accept unpredictability
High-uncertainty-avoidance: People place value on control.
Low-uncertainty-avoidance: People put more emphasis on letting the future happen without trying to control it.
Power Distance (1 of 2)
Power distance: Degree to which people in a particular culture view the unequal distribution of power as expected and acceptable
Power Distance (2 of 2)
High-power-distance: People give privileged treatment and extreme respect to those in high-status positions.
Expect individuals of lesser status to behave humbly around people of higher status
Low-power-distance: People with high status try to minimize the differences between themselves and lower-status persons.
More informality, treating as equals
High and Low Context
High-context cultures: Use relatively vague and ambiguous language to convey important meanings
Low-context cultures: Tend not to presume that others share their beliefs, attitudes, and values, so they strive to be clear and direct in communication
Emotion Displays
Display rules: Cultural guidelines for when, where, and how people should and shouldn’t express emotion
Masculinity versus Femininity
Masculine cultural values: Accumulation of personal wealth, assertiveness, and personal achievement indicative of success
Feminine cultural values: Compassion, cooperation, relationship health, and quality of life for all people
Views of Time
Cultures with a monochronic time orientation view time as a precious resource that can run out.
Cultures with a polychronic time orientation view time as flexible, not as a resource to be spent, saved, or guarded.
Creating Intercultural Competence
Intercultural competence: The ability to communicate appropriately, effectively, and ethically with people from diverse backgrounds
World-Mindedness
World-mindedness: The ability to accept and respect other cultures’ beliefs, values, and customs
Ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s own cultural beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices are superior to others’
• The opposite of world-mindedness
Attributional Complexity
Attributional complexity: Acknowledging that other people’s behaviors have complex causes
Communication Accommodation
Communication accommodation theory: People adapt their communication when:
They seek social approval
They wish to establish relationships
They view others’ language use as appropriate
