Chp. 2: Communication, Culture, and Diversity

PDF: Pgs. 27 - 38 (Book: 17 - 28)

• Culture - the distinctive ideas, customs, social behavior, daily habits, products, or way of life of a particular nation, society, people, or community.

• A complicated and powerful part of human development

• Influences the entire communication process

• Co-cultures - smaller groups within and alongside larger cultures

  High vs. low power distance

• High power distance: high levels of inequality in power distribution in organizations, families, and other institutions, monarchies, and dictatorships, adhere to parents’ decisions and seek the permission of elders for certain actions, value stability, tradition, and experience

• Low power distance: less inequality, democratic countries typically have low power distance and embrace a more inclusive approach, where major decisions are arrived at through a group discussion and decision

• Power distance, or distance from power, plays a major role in how individuals and groups behave and help identify things they value.

  High vs. low uncertainty avoidance

• High uncertainty avoidance - low tolerance for ambiguity and minimizing the possibility of uncomfortable, unstructured situations by enforcing strict rules, safety measures, and a belief in absolute truth, individuals will ask questions to reduce their uncertainty over the status of a relationship, value planning, and stability

• Low uncertainty avoidance -  fewer rules, take risks and are tolerant of change, tend to be more flexible and open to spontaneity and change

  Individualist vs. collectivist

• Individualists - have loose ties between individuals and expect each person to look out for themselves and their immediate family, value personal achievement and personal opinions

• Collectivist - value silence, maintains group harmony, strong ties between individuals, strong communal bonds, and often live in extended families that are deeply loyal to the group, tend to “talk around” an issue until the other side realizes what is being said

  Masculine vs. feminine

• Masculine: highly assertive and competitive, style of communication is seeking to establish or defend status and express competition, emphasize competition,

• Feminine: less assertive and competitive, style of communication is where the purpose is establishing connections and creating cooperation, both men and women are more modest and caring, emphasize cooperation and census

• “Genderlect” - coined by Deborah Tannen, gender is a cultural difference and that men and women simply communicate differently

  Long-term vs. short-term orientation

• Long-term orientation: pragmatic and focus on future rewards w/ an emphasis on saving, persistence, and adaptation, might mean next week/month/year, long-term goals and where one wants to be in five years, also short-term

• Short-term orientation: present and past and emphasize national pride, tradition, social obligations, and saving “face” in the here and now.

  Indulgent vs. restrained

• Indulgent - freely allow gratification, co-sign with individualistic countries, value individual happiness, vacation, leisure time, and the expression of emotions and thoughts, ppl may be more likely to speak out of turn or to say something inappropriate

• Restrained: strict social norms and discourage acting simply out of want, leisure and vacation are not that important, ppl may not freely express dissent or unhappiness

  High vs. low context

• High context: the nonverbal expressions, environment, and situation in which the communication is taking place, and less emphasis is placed on the words ex: Korea and Saudi Arabia

• Low context: the language used in interaction, and less emphasis is placed on the nonverbal communication, environment, and situation ex: US and Germany

Other cultural categories in addition to nationality:

• Race - physical characteristics of a group
• Ethnicity - a group who identifies with each other based on common experiences, geographic, or national origin, ancestry, history, cultural and social norms, religion, race, language, ideology, food, dress, or other factors
• Both figure prominently in the experience of culture

Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

• Sex - biological sex
• Gender - socially constructed notions of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny
• Sexual orientation - one’s romantic attractions
• Gender identity - one’s sense of self as ID as a woman, non-binary, etc.

Age: influences our experiences

• From GIs to Gen Z
  • The GI Generation 1901-1924
  • Silent Gen. 1925 - 1942
  • Baby Boomers 1943 - 1964
  • Millennials (Gen Y) 1980-2000
  • Gen Z 2001-2013
• Generation affects us but does not pre-determine our experience

Physical and Cognitive Diversity

• Physical abilities affect the experience
• Cognitive abilities, too
  • Multiple intelligence theory states that although all individuals can access and learn about the world through each of the seven intelligences he identified, people differ in the strength of their aptitude or preference for those various intelligences. (Pg. 26 in textbook)
  • These differences shape our perspectives and actions.

Ideological Diversity

• Diversity - the recognition and valuing of difference
• Ideologies - a set of ideas, beliefs, and ideals that form one’s worldview and provide a basis for action.
• Impact political beliefs, for example
• Family and society are significant in developing ideologies.

Religious Diversity

• Religion can have a strong impact on the experience
• Developing trend in “spirituality”
• Must be sensitive to others’ beliefs

Other concepts to ponder about Intercultural Communication

• Multiculturalism - engagement with and respect of people from other cultures
• Melting pot philosophy - view of assimilation into the dominant culture
• Ethnocentrism - the tendency to see one’s own culture as superior to all others
• Cultural relativism - the acceptance of other cultural groups as equal in value to one’s own
• Accommodation - co-culture members maintain their own cultural identity while est. relationships with members of the dominant culture

Barriers to Communication, Culture, and Diversity

• Stereotypes - popular beliefs about groups of people, perceptions of others belonging to another ethnic or social group
• Prejudice and discrimination - prejudice: dislike or hatred toward a particular group; discrimination: the verbal and nonverbal actions that demonstrate or corroborate prejudiced attitudes
• Ethnocentrism - negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture; people who view their culture as dominant are unwilling to learn and not open to the ideas of other cultures
• Hate speech - uncivil discourse (talk), phrases, terms, cartoons, and entire campaigns used to humiliate people based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, and social class to name just a few

And then there is cancel culture

• Cancel Culture: actions people take to hold others accountable, a form of censorship: a restriction on free speech or as history being erased. Some respondents say these actions can be misplaced, ineffective, or overtly cruel.
• Coined by Niles Rodgers in the form of a song

Key Terms

1. Culture - the distinctive ideas, customs, social behavior, products, or way of life of a particular nation, society, people, or period
2. Co-cultures - smaller specific cultures that intersect in our lives
3. Low-context cultures - meaning is derived mostly from the language used in an interaction, and less emphasis is placed on the nonverbal communication, environment, and situation
4. High-context cultures - a great deal of meaning is derived from the nonverbal expressions, environment, and situation in which the communication is taking place, and less emphasis is placed on the words
5. Race - a set of physical characteristics shared by a group of people such as skin color, body type, facial structure, and hair color
6. Ethnicity - a group of people who identify with each other based on a common experience, which might include geographic or national origin, ancestry, history, cultural and social norms, religion, race, language, ideology, food, dress, or other factors
7. Sex - one’s biological classification based on reproductive function
8. Gender - a social construction that includes all of the beliefs, attitudes, actions, and roles associated with being masculine, feminine, androgynous, etc.
9. Gender identity - a person’s sense of self as being along a range of possibilities that include identifying as a woman, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, or a man
   10. Gender roles - societal expectations for individuals who identify with a particular gender
   11. Gender expression - ways people communicate their gender identity
   12. Sexual orientation - the sex and gender to whom a person is romantically and sexually attracted
   13. Multiple intelligence theory - although individuals can access and learn about the world through each of the nine intelligences, people differ in the strength of their aptitude or preference for those various intelligences
   14. Ideology - set of ideas, beliefs, and ideals that form one’s worldview and provide a basis for action