Chapter 12, 13 Intercultural Comm Exam 4
What is adjustment?
Changing one's behavior and adapting psychologically in transition to another culture
What are domain models, and what are Wards two domains?
Domain models suggest that there are different aspects of adjustment; one might fare well on one and not another •Ward's two domains: •Psychological adjustment: - Emotional satisfaction, psychological well-being ("cross-cultural adjustment") •Sociocultural adjustment: -One's ability to get around and get tasks done in the new culture ("cross-cultural adaptation")
Within Ting-Toomys face theory, individualistic cultures prefer:
Focus on negative face Focus on own face Direct conflict negotiation Preference for dominating, integrating
Within Ting-Toomys face theory, collectivist cultures prefer:
Focus on positive face Focus on other's or mutual face Indirect conflict negotiation Preference for avoiding, yielding, compromising
What is enculturation?
Learning one's own culture
What is acculturation?
Learning, in part or whole, another culture to which one has traveled, and one's sense of identification with that culture
What is intermarriage?
Marriage between people of perceived out-groups regardless of the grounds—religious, cultural, racial, and so on
What is miscegenation?
Marrying individuals across racial or ethnic lines
What are mediators?
Neutral third parties who try to resolve disputes with reason and compromise instead of more aggressive measures
What are abitrator?
Neutral, objective, third-parties who can resolve a conflict based on the facts of the conflict situation presented to them. Unlike mediators, arbitrators are permitted to impose a binding decision on the parties in conflict
What is assimilation?
Giving up one's own culture to adopt another; that is, accepting both behaviors and underlying ways of thinking
What is negotiation?
"A special form of social interaction or decision-making that (a) involves more than one party; (b) who hold potentially conflicting interests, as well as common interests or interdependence to motivate each to remain within the relationship or complete the exchange; and (c) requires a reciprocal exchange of information"
What is the 3-phase intercultural conflict model?
1.Background phase: Planning the negotiation session 2.Process phase: Actual negotiation, with collaboration or competition: •Distributive or positional negotiation (pushing for own agenda) •Integrative or principled negotiation (considering other party's expectations/needs and developing mutually satisfying outcome 3.Outcome phase: Culmination of all conflict communication
What is a relationship?
A connection between individuals in which they have rights and responsibilities toward each other beyond what is expected in interaction with strangers1
What is relational maintenance?
A dialectical perspective suggests that there are tensions in a relationship, such as openness/closedness or autonomy/connectedness that relational partners (friends, family members, lovers) must balance •This is not a question of finding a balance, because partner needs might change from day to day or moment to moment •The secret is not avoiding the tensions—they cannot be avoided!—but knowing how to manage them
What is culture awareness?
A sense of "anxiety that results from losing all of our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse" (Oberg, 1960, p. 177)
What qualities does a multicultural person possess?
- Someone who can move easily between cultures or serve as a catalyst for dialogue between people of different cultures -Kim and Ruben (1988) describe intercultural transformation: a process in which people learn new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving beyond the "limits of their original culture" (p. 306)
What is the adjustment cycle within the context Kims theory?
- Stress: The individual who travels abroad confronts new stimuli, which bring lack of balance and stress -Adaptation: Most people find a way to adjust to the stress, stretching themselves in new ways—which is not always comfortable! -Growth: In the end, we learn new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that make us more competent interculturally -Two steps forward and one step back: Rather than a U-curve, Kim sees adaptation as a cyclical process of stress and growth
In the context of Kims theory, what are some factors that aid in adaption?
-Aspects of the individual, such as flexibility and personality strength -Aspects of the environment, such as acceptance of the sojourner's group (host receptivity) and pressure to conform to the new culture -Communication—both media and interpersonal, and with both members of the host culture and one's culture of origin
What is Kims theory of cultural adjustment?
-cultural adjustment as a positive thing —we become more complete and flexible, learning new thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, by continued contact with other cultures -Suggests that on-going comm. with groups & media from one's own culture an also make adjustment easier, as long as comm. helps the traveler to build a bridge into the new culture.
What is John Berry's theory of cultural adjustment?
-suggests that individuals can be bicultural, mono-cultural (in culture of origin/ethnic culture or host/dominant culture) or competent in neither
What is a sojourner?
Someone who travels to another culture for a longer term, but with intent to return home
What is a refugee?
Someone who travels to another culture or location by force, such as through fleeing violence or oppression in one's own land
What is an immigrant?
Someone who travels to another culture, with intent to stay permanently
What is communication competence?
Spitzberg and Cupach redefined communication competenceas the combination of: •Effectiveness: one's ability to accomplish tasks—that is, the "achievement of interaction goals" (p. 102); and •Appropriateness: following rules or prescriptions of the situation, such as preserving relationships, maintaining face or decorum, and abiding by contextual rules
What is Ting-Toomey's face theory of conflict negotiation?
Stella Ting-Toomey suggests we can predict conflict orientations and means of resolving conflict based on: •Hofstede's dimensions, especially individualism/collectivism and power distance •Notions of face theory, especially: •Positive face: Need for inclusion and competence •Negative face: Need for autonomy
What are the stage models of cross cultural adjustment?
The typical stages: •Honeymoon stage: happiness, excitement •Crisis stage: flight, fight, loneliness, homesickness, sense of powerlessness •Adjustment stage: flex, growing understanding, ability to live in new culture •Integration: making the new culture a part of one's self
What is deculturation?
Unlearning one's own cultural ways when traveling to another culture
What causes relationships to grow?
What causes relationships to grow? •Closer distance (or, today, also increased Internet contact): propinquity •Perceived similarity: similarity-attraction hypothesis •Self-disclosure: social penetration theory •Ability to predict and explain the other person: uncertainty reduction theory •Ability to manage uncertainty and anxiety: AUM
What is the U-Curve stage model of adjustment?
suggests that sojourners travel through stages over a period of time (with difficulties strongest between six months and a year)
What is selective adaptation?
the acceptance of some elements of the dominant culture but not others
What are some factors leading to return cultural adjustment difficulties?
•A change in ourselves and others—especially in terms of values •A change in relationships •Unrealistic expectations and disillusionment with home culture •Lack of appreciation: People are not really interested in the culture abroad
What are some possible approaches to return culture adjustment?
•Alienated approach - Missing the former host culture •Resocialized approach - Shedding former host culture quickly and re-adjusting to home culture •Proactive approach - Seeing the good and bad in both home and former host culture.
What are conflict negotiation orientations?
•Avoiding/withdrawing•Accommodating/yielding (giving up your own goals, to satisfy the other party's goals) •Competing/dominating (pushing through your own goals at the expense of the other party) •Collaborating/integrating (working together to come to a solution that satisfies both parties' goals) •Compromising/conceding (coming together somewhere in the middle, to a solution that for both parties is acceptable, but does not satisfy one party's goals over the other)
What are some unique cultural patterns within relationships?
•Confucian relationships, which focus on reciprocity, propriety (correct behavior in role relationships), and selflessness •Chinese notion of kuan-hsi(building of social networks/networking to get you through life)
Give two examples of post-colonial identities.
•Diaspora: When a group from a region is spread out across a wide geographic area. Often such groups maintain some or many elements of their culture of origin •Hybridity: A blend of cultural elements experienced (differently) by the host and the immigrant group. Both borrow from each other.
What are the stages of conflict?
•Latent conflict - competing for resources / wanting to control the other's behavior •Perceived conflict - disagreeing parties become aware of tension toward each other and start to experience frustration •Felt conflict - evaluating their and other person's motives •Manifest conflict - Conflict shows through open physical aggression/verbal expression/sabotage/mistreatment/riots/etc. •Conflict aftermath - evaluation of the outcome after each stage
What are some power considerations within intercultural relationships?
•Negative attributions and stereotypes, often leading to the Romeo-Juliet effect, in which couples feel that they must be stronger because society is against them •Refencing, in which someone develops a relationship with someone from another group but still maintains their dislike of the group •Opposition to relationships based on their stigma in society
What are two coming-home adjustment theories?
•Return culture shock/cultural adjustment: The process of adjusting to one's culture psychologically and behaviorally when returning home•W-curve of adjustment: A model that suggests that, just as sojourners went through a "U-curve" of adjustment upon traveling to the new culture, they will go through a second, similar set of stages upon return to the host culture
What is the social penetration theory?
•Self-disclosure: Revealing things about oneself to someone else, specifically things the other would not normally be known by the other and about which there is at least some risk of sharing •Self-disclosure can vary in: •Depth: intimacy of detail of self-disclosure •Breadth: number of topics over which communicators self-disclosure •Cultures vary in what content and depth of self-disclosure is acceptable at different stages of the relationship
How can one negotiate cultural differences in intercultural relationships?
•Tseng's patterns of resolving cultural difference: Ways to deal with cultural difference, such as choosing one culture, alternating between cultures, blending cultures, or creating new cultural territory •Third-culture perspective:Some treat the intercultural relationship as a third culture, where partners, starting from their cultures of origin, create a new way of being together •Power relationships: Partners must negotiate who has power to determine which culture the partners will follow
What is pluralism and assimilation?
•pluralism- when dominant culture allows sojourners both identities (dominant & new)or •assimilation- when dominant culture requires sojourners to lose their own cultural identity (melting pot).