COMM 1031 Chapter 2

achievement culture

a culture that places a high value on the achievement of material success and a focus on the task at hand

• also termed "masculine" culture

• puts an emphasis on outperforming others

• those who see themselves as highly capable feel more empowered to voice their opinions and are satisfied when they can do so

co-culture

a group within an encompassing culture with a perceived identity

• includes categories based on a number of factors including age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality, geographic region, physical disability, religion, and activity

code-switching

the practice of adapting one's manner of speaking when changing cultural or co-cultural contexts

• ex: an American expat living in Ireland offered an amusing account of how switching codes to sound more like a native helped save money

collectivistic culture

a culture whose members feel loyalties and obligations to an in-group, such as extended family, a community, and even a work organization

• are more attentive to and concerned with the opinions of others

• more likely to define themselves in terms of group membership

• value duty, order, tradition, age, group, security, status, and hierarchy

culture

the language, values, beliefs, traditions, and customs people share and learn

• is a matter of perception and definition

characteristics

When you identify yourself as a member of a culture, you must a) recognize yourself and others as sharing certain _____ and b) see others who don’t possess these _____ as members of different categories.

ethnicity

a person's identification with a social group on the basis of common national or cultural traditions

ethnocentrism

an attitude that one's own culture is superior to that of others

• a person with this attitude thinks that anyone who does not belong to his or her in-group is somehow strange, wrong, or even inferior

high-context culture

a culture that relies heavily on subtle, often nonverbal cues to maintain social harmony

• communicators pay close attention to nonverbal behaviors, the history of relationships, and social rules that govern interactions

• contextual cues such as time, place, relationship, and situation

individualistic culture

a culture in which people view their primary responsibility as helping themselves personally rather than looking out for the needs of the larger group

• characterized by self-reliance and competition

• tend to view themselves in terms of what they do

• value autonomy, change, youth, individual security, equality

in-group

a group with which an individual intensifies

• describes groups with whom we identify

intercultural communication

communication that occurs when members of 2 or more cultures or other groups exchange messages in a manner that is influenced by their different cultural perceptions and symbol systems, both verbal and nonverbal

intersectionality

the notion that culture is multidimensional, and therefore no single label can fully explain an individual's indentity and group memberships

• describes the interplay of social categories, including gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and disability status

• no single label (e.g. woman, black, or lesbian) can fully explain someone's identities, perceptions, and behaviors

low-context culture

a culture that primarily uses language (rather than nonverbal cues) to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas as clearly and directly as possible

• the meaning of a statement lies in the words spoken

• explicit verbal messages, with less focus on the situational context

nurturing culture

a culture that regards the support of relationships as an especially important goal

• also termed "feminine" culture

• puts an emphasis on helping

• those who see themselves as less capable feel valued as important group members and feel more satisfied when they have an opportunity to voice their opinions

out-group

a group that an individual sees as different from herself or himself

power distance

the degree to which members of a society accept an unequal distribution of power among members

low power didtance

power distance culture that believes in minimizing distinctions between various social classes

• there is a pervasive belief that one person is as valuable as another

• support the notion that challenging authority is acceptable— even desirable

high power distance

power distance culture where power automatically comes with age

• children who are raised in this culture are expected to obey their parents and other authority figures to a higher degree

• ex: Korean language has separate terms for older brother, oldest brother, younger sister, youngest sister, etc.

• in this power distance culture, employees have less input into the way they perform their work

prejudice

an unfairly biased and intolerant attitude toward others who belong to an out-group

• important element of this attitude is stereotyping

• ex: "all women are emotional," "all men are sex-crazed and insensitive" or "all older people are out of touch with reality"

race

a social category originally created to explain differences between people whose ancestors originated in different regions of the world

salience

the significance attached to a particular person or phenomenon

• ex: Members of a school basketball team—some Asian, some black, some Latino, and some white—are intent on winning the league championship. During a game, cultural distinctions aren't salient. There's plenty of communication, but it isn't fundamentally intercultural. Away from their games, however, they might notice some fundamental differences in the way members of each group communicate.

social identity

the part of the self-concept that is based on membership in groups

• might include social categories such as your ethnicity and nationality

uncertainty avoidance

the tendency of a culture's members to feel threatened by ambiguous situations, and how much they try to avoid them

• deviant people and ideas are generally considered dangerous, and intolerance and ethnocentrism are high

• especially concerned with security, so they have a strong need for clearly defined rules and regulations