Intercultural Communication Exam 3

Interpersonal Factors

Age, previous travel, language skills, resourcefulness Independence, fortitude, tolerance for ambiguity

Tourist Phase

Also called the honeymoon stage, it may last weeks or months but is temporary Characterized by intense excitement and euphoria associated with being somewhere different and unusual Stresses associated with cultural differences are tolerated and may even seem fun and humorous Newcomers' primary interactions with their new cultural environment are through major cultural institutions (museums, hotels, Western restaurants)

Quality of Information

Amount and caliber of information about new environment Channels of communication, media exposure

Four Modes of Acculturation (Berry)

An individual's level of acculturation depends in part on two independent processes: the degree to which the person approaches or avoids interaction with the host culture and the degree to which the individual maintains or relinquishes his or her native culture's attributes Assimilation Integration Separation Marginalization

Kinesics

Body movement that includes gestures, hand and arm movements, leg movements, facial expressions, eye gaze and blinking, and stance or posture The face, hands, and arms are the primary kinesic channels through which nonverbal messages are sent Five broad categories of kinesic behaviors: 1) Emblems 2) Illustrators 3) Affect Displays 4) Regulators 5) Adaptors

Intercultural Relational Maintenance

Centers on how relational partners uphold and sustain their established relationships Open communication is a maintenance behavior that includes self-disclosure, but lacks a topic of avoidance, meaning that individuals who engage in more open communication tend not to avoid topics Support involves giving advice, offering comfort, and providing reassurance, which appear to overlap with the maintenance behaviors of assurance and advice

Hybrid Touch

Combination of other types of touches Greeting/Affection: expresses affection and acknowledgment at the initiation of an encounter (hug and kiss) Departure/Affection: expresses affection and serves to close the encounter (hug or kiss)

Positive Affect Touch

Communicate unambiguous positive emotions Support: serves to nurture, reassure, or promise protection (After a friend expresses sadness, you grip or squeeze their arm and say, "It will be okay") Appreciation: expresses gratitude (A supervisor pats you on the shoulder and says, "Thanks for doing such a great job on the presentation") Inclusion: draws attention to the act of being together; suggests psychological closeness (a couple walks down the street holding hands) Affection: expresses generalized positive regard (spontaneously hugging a romantic partner) Sexual: expresses physical attraction or sexual interest (holding or caressing one another)

Knowledge Component

Consists of how much one knows about the culture of the person with whom one is interacting To the extent that people have knowledge about other cultures, they are more likely to be perceived as competent Maintain and develop a repertoire of scripts that enable them to comprehend and predict their actions and the actions of others Cognitive simplicity and rigidity refers to the degree to which individuals process information about persons from different cultures in a simplistic and rigid manner

Factors that Affect Culture Shock

Control Factors Interpersonal Factors Organismic/Biological Factors Intrapersonal Factors Spatial/Temporal Factors Geopolitical Factors Cultural Similarity Quality of Information Host Culture Attitudes/Policies

Cultural Transmutation

Create an entirely new culture (religious group, cult)

U-Curve Model

Curvilinear process Tourist Phase Culture Shock Adjustment Adaptation/Acculturation

Control Factors

Degree of control one has over initiating move to a new culture

Cultural Similarity

Degree of similarity between native and host cultures

Engagement Style

Direct, emotionally expressive Confrontational about disagreements and is forthright with his or her emotion "Pulls no punches" style Probably true for US Americans

Marginalization

Does not desire contact with the host culture, does not maintain an identity with the native culture Give up their native culture only to find that they are not accepted by the host culture Experiences alienation from both cultures and feels a sense of abandonment Dysfunctional behaviors (alcoholism, drug abuse) are common

Facework Behaviors

Dominating Avoiding Integrating

Perceptions of Intimacy Across Cultures

Eastern and Western Relationships Intercultural and Interracial Marriages Intercultural Relational Maintenance The Internet as Relational Maintenance Mate Selection Across Cultures Arranged Marriages Marital Dissolution and Divorce

Culture Shock Phase

Eventually, the fun and excitement associated with the tourist phase give way to frustration and real stress Failure events once considered minor and funny are now perceived as stressful The new environment requires a great deal of conscious energy that was not required in the old environment, which leads to cognitive overload and fatigue People also experience role shock in that the behaviors associated with their role in their native culture may be dramatically different from the behaviors for that same role in the new culture People may experience personal shock in the form of a loss of intimacy with interpersonal partners People feel helpless, isolated, and depressed. Paranoia is also a typical response People may develop irrational fears of being cheated, robbed, or even assaulted

Dominating

Facework behavior characterized by an individual's need to control the conflict situation and defend his or her self-face Aggression - Verbally assaulting the other person Defense - Replying to a threat Preferred by US Americans and other individualistic cultures

Integrating

Facework behavior that allows for the shared concern for self- and other-face and strives for closure in the conflict Apologizing - Offering an apology for the conflict Compromising - Utilizing direct discussion to resolve the conflict Considering the Other - Showing concern for the other Private Discussion - Engaging in relational talk about the conflict in a private setting Remaining Calm - Staying quiet and unruffled Expressing Emotions - Communicate feelings about the conflict

Avoiding

Facework behavior that focuses on an attempt to save the face of the other person Avoidance/Pretend - Dismissal of the conflict that does not threaten the other's face Giving in - Succumbing and/or yielding to the other Involving a Third Party - Relying on an outside party to help manage the conflict; intermediaries Preferred by Eastern cultures

Nonverbal Communication and High-Low Context

High Context - Especially sensitive to the nonverbal context - Perceived as quiet, shy, and perhaps even sneaky - Tend to pay a great deal of attention to nonverbal behavior during interaction. Thus, facial expressions, touch, distance, and eye contact serve as important cues Low Context - Focus less on the social or physical context and more on the explicit verbal code - Perceived as direct and talkative

Host Culture Attitudes/Policies

Immigration policies, racism Stereotypes of newcomers, discrimination

Adaptation/Acculturation Phase

Individuals actively engage the culture with their new problem-solving and conflict-resolution tools, and they experience some degree of success

Kim's Model of Intercultural Conflict

Intercultural conflict occurs at three interdependent or interrelated levels: Micro Level Intermediary Level Macro Level

Geopolitical Factors

International, national, regional, or local tensions

Ritualistic Touch

Involved in greetings and departures Greeting: acknowledging the other at the opening of an encounter (handshake) Departure: serves as part of the act of closing an encounter (hug or handshake)

Nonverbal Communication and Power Distance

Large Power Distance - Inequalities among people are both expected and desired - Interaction between persons of low and high power may be restricted, thus limiting the power of nonverbal interaction - People without power are expected to express only positive emotional displays (smiling more) when interacting with people of higher power - Subordinates are taught to avert eye contact, often as a sign of respect for those in superior roles Small Power Distance - Emphasize that inequalities among people should be minimized and there should be interdependence between less and more powerful people - Generally less aware of their vocalics (volume, intensity) - Perceived as noisy, exaggerated, and childlike

Spatial/Temporal Factors

Length of stay, geographic locale

Regulators

Nonverbal __________ are those behaviors and actions that govern, direct, or manage conversation. For example, in the US, direct eye contact and affirmative head nodding typically communicate agreement or that a conversant understands what is being communicated How close one stands to another during a conversation can also signal to the conversant whether to continue the communication. Communicator distance during conversation can also govern the flow of communication

Culture Shock

Often, depending on the degree of similarity between the old and the new culture, the values, beliefs, customs, and behaviors of the native culture clash with those of the new culture. This can result in disorientation, misunderstandings, conflict, stress, and anxiety A multifaceted experience that results from the numerous stressors that occur when coming into contact with a different culture The effects associated with tension and anxiety of entering into a new culture, combined with the sensations of loss, confusion, and powerlessness, resulting from the forfeiture of cultural norm and social rituals Stems from the challenges associated with new cultural surroundings in addition to the loss of a familiar cultural environment A psychological and social process that progresses in (four) stages, usually lasting as long as a year

Communication Conflict Styles

One's conflict interaction style is based on two communication dimensions. The first is the degree to which a person asserts self-face needs (seeks to satisfy his or her own interests during conflict). The second is the degree to which a person is cooperative (seeks to incorporate the interests of the other) Dominating Integrating Compromising Avoiding Obliging Emotional Expression Third Party Help Neglect I: use more dominating styles during conflict C: use more integrative, obliging, and avoiding styles during conflict

Organismic/Biological Factors

Physical condition, medical or dietary needs Ability to tolerate biorhythmic disruptions

Categories of Touch

Positive Affect Touch Playful Touch Control Touch Ritualistic Touch Hybrid Touch Task Related Touch Accidental Touch

W-Curve Model

Reentry Shock: the effects associated with the tension and anxiety of returning to one's native culture after an extended stay in a foreign culture Two U-curves - the initial culture shock experienced when the traveler enters a new culture and a reentry U-curve Students returning from study abroad often report a reentry shock phenomenon. Some fear that they will be treated differently by their "stay-at-home" peers, friends, and parents when they return Students frequently report that the nature of the long-term international travel transforms them. When they return home, they are different; they have taken on new perspectives and are able to see the world through a different lens

Face

Refers to a person's sense of favorable self-worth or self-image experienced during communicative situations (dignity, honor, pride). It is an emotional extension of the self-concept, that of which is considered universal even though the specific meanings of face vary across cultures One's face can be threatened, enhanced, undermined, and bargained over both emotionally and cognitively Face Negotiation Theory: the concept of face explains how people of different cultures manage conflict. People in all cultures try to maintain and negotiate face in virtually all communication situations The concept of face becomes particularly significant in situations when uncertainty is high

Types of Face

Self-Face Other-Face Mutual-Face

Control Touch

Serves to direct behavior; attitude of feeling of one another Compliance: attempts to direct behavior (a supervisor touches you on the arm and says, "I need this by 5 o'clock") Attention-Getting: serves to direct the recipient's perceptual focus (patting a companion on the shoulder and saying, "Look at that!") Announcing a Response: calls attention to and emphasizes a feeling in the initiator (A friend elbows you and says, "Can you believe he did that?")

Intrapersonal Factors

Social support networks Intercultural and intracultural relationships

Adjustment Phase

Some people never recuperate from the crisis stage of culture shock and return home or isolate themselves from the host culture by restricting their interaction with it, such as by fostering only intracultural relationships When the lines of communication with the host culture are severed, there is little hope of acculturation or recovery from the crisis stage Also called the reorientation phase. Here, people eventually realize that the problems associated with the host culture are due not to deliberate actions by the natives but, rather, to a real difference in values, beliefs, and behaviors People actively seek out effective problem-solving and conflict-resolution strategies. They begin to develop a positive attitude about solving their problems The host culture begins to make sense, and pessimistic reactions and responses to it are lessened as people recognize that their problems are due largely to their inability to understand, accept, and adapt Gradual and slow, and people often relapse into a mini-crisis stage

Types of Interracial Marriages

Submission - One partner virtually abandons or denies their native culture Compromising - Each partner abdicates certain features of their native culture, stressing negotiation between partners Obliteration - Partners try to wipe out any cultural differences and create a third culture - Often does not work because having a cultural tradition is a basic human need Consensus - Neither partner sacrifices any basic cultural needs - Requires a very solid sense of security

Haptics

Tactile communication that refers to the use of touch Varies widely across cultures, and the amount and kind of touch varies with the age, sex, situation, and relationship of the people involved

Kim's Model of Cross-Cultural Adaptation

Takes into account both individual and cultural factors that affect acculturation. Acculturation is an interaction between the stranger and the host culture The roles of communication, the host environment, and predisposition best explain the acculturation process At the core of the model is host communication competence, which includes how much the individual knows about the host culture (cognitive component), how motivated the individual is to initiate and develop his cultural relationships (affective component), and the actual interaction between the newcomer and the host persons (behavioral component) Predisposition (before you leave); mostly under one's own control - Preparedness: how much people know about their new culture, their ability to speak the language, the probability of employment, and their understanding of the cultural institutions - Ethnicity: inherited characteristics that newcomers have as members of distinct ethnic groups (race, language); degree of similarity between the individual and the host culture - Personality: age, traits, open-mindedness Environment (when you get there) - Host Receptivity: how do the hosts feel about Americans being there? - Host Conformity Pressure: the extent to which natives within the host culture exert pressure on newcomers to conform to their culture's values, beliefs, and practices - Ethnic Group Strength: refers to the amount of influence the newcomer's group wields in the host culture; how many people that are like you are already there? Intercultural Transformation (when you get back) - Functional Fitness: the individual is able to accomplish goals that perhaps prior to leaving they were not; one is able to live in both cultures - Psychological Health: a sense of accomplishment and confidence in having adapted to different surroundings - Intercultural Identity: one's character and personality may have grown and matured

Psychomotor Component

The actual enactment of the knowledge and affective components Elements are verbal and nonverbal performance and role enactment Verbal Performance: where one puts the scripts and plans into action Nonverbal Performance: the individual needs to pay close attention to the nuances of the kinesic, paralinguistic, haptic, olfactic, and proxemic codes of the other culture Role Enactment: refers to how well one executes the appropriate verbal and nonverbal messages according to one's relative position and role in the host culture

Situational Features Component

The actual situation in which intercultural communication occurs Some features that may affect competence include, but are not limited to, the environmental context, previous contact, status differential, and third-party interventions Some situations may have higher information loads than others, which may affect your motivation and ability to enact appropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviors One should have some knowledge of the host culture's perception of time and space The more contact you can have with these people, the more likely you will be to learn about them (knowledge) and feel comfortable (affective) interacting with them, thus enabling you to master your verbal and nonverbal skills (psychomotor) Status differences may require you to take on multiple modes of behavior Keeps a sharp eye on the changing characteristics of the situation and adapts his or her verbal and nonverbal communication accordingly Generally, as knowledge increases, one's motivation to approach increases. As motivation increases, one is more likely to engage in behaviors. If behaviors are successful, one learns more about intercultural communication, which serves to further increase motivation. And the cycle continues

Perceptual Context

The attitudes, emotions, and motivations of the persons engaged in communication and how they affect information processing Before embarking on a business venture with people form a foreign culture, it may be useful to know of the culture's perceptions of US citizens and their business practices In most Western cultures, perceptions of US citizens are positive and they are seen as honest, inventive, and hardworking, but also as greedy and violent

Strategies to Manage Culture Shock

The best piece of commonsense advice is to do your homework and be prepared. Successful management depends on an awareness of its symptoms and the degree of its severity One should accept the fact that virtually all atypical problems that occur during acculturation are caused or exacerbated by culture shock Danger signs include, but are not limited to: drinking more, avoiding people, subject to uncontrollable emotions, spending too much time texting and e-mailing people from home, constantly complaining about the host culture, adopting negative attitudes about the local people, feeling very alone, constantly thinking about things, and fearing that one is misunderstood by everyone, including one's friends and family back at home

Other-Face

The concern for another's image (assuring a student that their question is not dumb; their dignity, honor, and pride)

Affective Component

The degree to which one approaches or avoids intercultural communication - that is, one's level of motivation to interact with others from different cultures Intercultural Willingness to Communicate: predisposition to initiate intercultural interaction with persons from different cultures, even when completely free to choose whether or not to communicate One's ability to cope with stress also affects one's approach-avoidance tendencies One needs to tolerate ambiguity to a certain degree Interdependent with the knowledge component in that the more knowledge one has, the more likely one is to approach situations involving intercultural communication. The increases in knowledge generally leads to an increase in motivation

Intercultural Communication Competence

The degree to which you effectively adapt your verbal and nonverbal messages to the appropriate cultural context Requires that you have some knowledge about the person with whom you are communicating, that you are motivated to communicate with him or her, and that you have the appropriate verbal and nonverbal skills to encode and decode messages Knowledge Affective Psychomotor Situational Features

Neglect Style

The use of a passive-aggressive approach, whereby a person might ignore the conflict but attempt to elicit a response from the other via aggressive acts

Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory (Burgoon)

The basic premise is that people hold expectancies about the appropriateness of the nonverbal behaviors of others, and these expectations are learned and culturally driven When someone violates an expectation, it produces arousal, which can be physiological or cognitive, positive or negative. Once arousal is triggered, the recipient evaluates the violation and the violator. Violations initiated by highly attractive sources may be evaluated positively, whereas those initiated by unattractive sources may be evaluated negatively The evaluation of the violation depends on the evaluation of the communicator, implicit messages associated with the violation, and evaluations of the act itself

Mutual-Face

The concern for both parties' images or the images of the relationship (our dignity, honor, and pride)

Self-Face

The concern for one's own image

Acculturative Stress

The degree of physical and psychological stress persons experience when they enter a culture different from their own as a result of the adaptation required to function in a new and different cultural context People adapting to new cultures face changes in their diet, climate, housing, communication, role prescriptions, and media consumption, as well as myriad rules, norms, and values. They also have to worry about language barriers, unemployment, and discrimination Hispanics/Latinos - Related to decreased self-efficacy expectations, decreased career aspirations, and suicidal ideation - Associated with fatalistic thinking and has a lifelong effect on one's psychological well-being, decision-making abilities, occupational effectiveness, and physical health Amerasians - Related to spoken English, employment, and limited formal education Degree of stress varies according to the similarities and dissimilarities between the host culture and the immigrants' native culture. More similarity equals less stress

Empathy and Similarity in Relationship Development

Two factors that have a significant influence on communication and relational development are empathy and similarity Because persons from other cultures are different than us, it may be difficult for us to empathize with them, their ideas, and their style of communication Empathy: the degree to which we can accurately infer another's thoughts or feelings We can approach empathy with others by developing empathetic listening skills that involve paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, reflecting meanings, and summarizing The more we perceive another as similar to ourselves, the more we are able to reduce uncertainty about the person and form accurate categories from him or her. We are attracted to those whom we perceive as similar, and we are more likely to approach them. We can be similar to someone physically, racially, sexually, demographically, attitudinally, morally, ethically, and so on Although we may have dissimilarities with others, the people with whom we develop and maintain interpersonal relationships are typically very much like ourselves

Accidental Touch

Unintentional touch Always followed up with an apology in the US

Obliging Style

Low assertiveness, high cooperativeness Might try to accommodate the opponent or try to satisfy the needs of the other before satisfying his or her own needs

Avoiding Style

Low assertiveness, low cooperativeness Might keep the conflict to himself or herself and not discuss it

Dominating Style

High assertiveness, low cooperativeness Might use his or her authority, expertise, or rank to try to win the conflict

Cross Cultural Examples of Emblems and Illustrators

- Bowing is the customary greeting in Korea and other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam - When Koreans greet someone with higher status (professors, elders, persons of power), they bow lower and longer and divert eye contact - In most parts of developed Kenya, the handshake is a common gesture during a greeting. However, if someone greets someone else of higher status, the person of lower status should use their left hand to grasp their own right arm during the handshake. Close female friends may hug and kiss once on each cheek. Men should wait for women to extend their hand first - In Saudi Arabia, when men greet other male friends, they will kiss each other on both cheeks. Cross-gender greetings do not take place - In Sri Lanka, greetings include the folding of hands, bowing, and saying "Namaste" - "The finger" is a widely recognized obscene gesture in the US, Mexico, and much of Europe - Forming a "V" with the palm facing in is vulgar in Australia and England - In Guatemala, la mano caliente is equivalent to "the finger". A similar gesture is used in Hmong culture and Jamaica - In Peru, making a pistol gesture is considered obscene and may provoke a fight

Axiom of Uncertainty Reduction Theory

1) As the amount of verbal communication between strangers increases, the level of uncertainty for each interactant in the relationship with decrease. As uncertainty is further reduced, the amount of verbal communication will increase 2) As nonverbal affiliative expressiveness (nonverbal behaviors that reduce the physiological and psychological distance between interactants; direct eye contact, smiling, forward leaning, handshake) increases, uncertainty levels will decrease in an initial interaction situation. Additionally, decreases in uncertainty level will cause increases in nonverbal affiliative expressiveness 3) As uncertainty levels decline, information seeking behavior (low context, asking questions; high context, looking to age, sex, and profession) decreases 4) High (low) levels of uncertainty in a relationship cause decreases (increases) in the intimacy level (interaction based on issues related to the interactants' attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and dispositions) of communication content. 5) High (low) levels of uncertainty produce high (low) rates of reciprocity (self-disclosures) 6) Similarities (dissimilarities) between persons reduces (increases) uncertainty 7) Increases (decreases) in uncertainty levels produce decreases (increases) in liking other people 8) Shared (lack of shared) communication networks reduce (increase) uncertainty 9) During initial interaction, as uncertainty decreases, communication satisfaction increases

Assumptions of the Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory

1) Humans have two competing needs, a need for affiliation and a need for personal space 2) Affiliation with others is triggered by rewards within the communicative context. The rewards may be biological (food, sex, safety) or social (belonging, esteem, status; learned and vary across cultures; belonging is felt more strongly in collectivistic cultures whereas esteem is felt more strongly in individualistic cultures) 3) Humans are attracted to rewarding situations and repelled by punishing situations 4) Humans have the perceptual ability to discern differences in spatial relationships 5) The establishment of normative (usual or typical) nonverbal behaviors (lecture style of a professor, saying "goodbye" to terminate a conversation) 6) Even though most of us follow similar normative rules and regulations for our verbal and nonverbal behavior, we also develop our own personal style of interaction that is unique in some way 7) Norms operate as a function of the interactants, the interaction, and the environment. Characteristics of the interactants might include their sex, age, personality, and race, characteristics of the interaction itself might include status differences or the degree of intimacy, and characteristics of the environment might include the physical features of the setting (furniture, lighting, temperature) 8) During interaction, interactants develop expectancies and preferences about the behaviors of others. These expectancies are anticipations of others' behavior that are perceived to be appropriate for the situation 9) Deviations from expectancies have arousal value, and violations tend to arouse either adaptive or defensive reactions 10) People make value judgments about others 11) Evaluations are influenced by the degree to which the other is perceived as rewarding, such that a positively valued message is only rewarding if the source is highly regarded and a negatively valued message is only punishing if the source is not highly regarded

Assimilation

Desires contact with the host culture, does not maintain an identity with the native culture The individual loses his or her original cultural identity as he or she acquires a new one in the host culture Takes on the behaviors and language habits, as well as practices the basic rules and norms of the host culture There is an ongoing effort to approach the dominant culture while discontinuing the values, beliefs, and behaviors associated with the native culture

Cross Cultural Examples of Olfactics

Although preferences for certain smells seem to vary across cultures, there appears to be a universal preference for some kinds of scents that may have biological or evolutionary roots. These preferences are probably mediated by culture to some extent, however Smell is used as a sex attractant and is used politically for marking social class distinctions ("stinkers," "smell a rat," "it doesn't smell right," "smells fishy," "reek of hypocrisy") A person's scent is not only an individual emission and a moral statement but also a perceived social attribute that is especially significant for members of subordinate groups, who are often labeled "smelly" The US Puritan tradition of "cleanliness is next to godliness" may explain the US obsession with deodorants, perfumes, soaps, and shampoos More than any other group, women are stereotyped and classified by their scent In the US, people say and believe that smell and scent greatly influenced the quality of their lives, relieve stress, help retrieve memories, made them feel better about themselves, enhanced their sense of well-being, and made them more romantically attracted to others Much of the Ongee culture revolves around smell. Their calendar is based on the smell of flowers that bloom at different times of the year. To refer to himself or herself, an Ongee touches the tip of his or her nose, which is a gesture meaning both "me" and "my nose" Among the Bororo peoples of Brazil, personal body smell indicates the life force of the individual, whereas one's breath odor indicates the state of one's soul The Serer Ndut of Senegal believe that individuals possess a physical smell, defined by one's body and breath odor, and a spiritual smell Among the Amazonian Desana, members of a particular tribal group are thought to share a similar odor. Marriage is allowed only between people of different odors (tribal groups) Among the Batek Negrito, people of similar odor groups are prohibited from engaging in sexual intercourse and even sitting too close to one another The Dassanetch (Ethiopia) believe that the smell of cows is the most pleasing of all smells. Men routinely wash their hands in cattle urine and smear their bodies with cattle manure because such smells are associated with status and fertility The Dogon (Mali) find the scent of onions attractive, especially for young men and women, who rub fried onions all over their bodies

Integration

Desires contact with the host culture, maintains an identity with the native culture The individual develops a kind of bicultural orientation that successfully blends and synthesizes cultural dimensions form both groups while maintaining an identity in each group Take part in activities that allow individuals from different groups to interact without obstacle of social hierarchies

Discussion Style

Direct, emotionally restrained Emphasizes precise language and straightforward communication about the disagreement while withholding his or her emotions Comfortable addressing conflict and is calm and collected emotionally

Intercultural Conflict Styles

Discussion Engagement Accommodation Dynamic

Cross Cultural Examples of Paralanguage

Although there are as many as 900 consonants and 200 vowels in all the world's languages, many of them tend to use only five vowel sounds. In fact, one in five languages use the same vowel sounds as are used in Spanish and English - a, e, i, o, and u All babies, the world over, make the same sounds during infancy. Linguists believe that these sounds are the building blocks by which infants construct mature sounds. Moreover, they practice the sounds of all human languages and regularly produce a small subset of universal syllable types that occur in all the world's languages. This is strong evidence that human language was not invented by humans but, rather, evolved In South Africa's Zulu and Xhosa languages, clicking sounds can be heard Nasal sounds are heard in Inuit languages Tonal languages rely on vocalized tones to communicate meaning. In these languages, a rising or falling tone changes the meaning of the word Thai is a pentagonal language (five tones) Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language (all words are only one syllable long) Mandarin Chinese is based on four or five tones, and every syllable has its definite tone English and other languages have inflections - that is, a change in pitch on certain words and sentences. English speakers can communicate anger or sadness by changing the pitch of their voice South Koreans are taught to avoid talking or laughing loudly in any situation because it is seen as rude and unbecoming since it tends to draw attention While speakers often do not recognize it in themselves, everyone speaks with an accent. An accent represents a manner or style of pronunciation and is distinct from a speaker's dialect. The manner and style in which one speaks, including one's accent, plays a central role in creating and maintaining one's social makeup while communicating to others meaningful social data Nonnative accents are associated with a wide range of negative stereotypes, including perceptions that the people who speak them are less intelligent, less loyal, less competent, and lower in social status In the US, silence is defined as a pause, break, empty space, or lack of verbal communication, and when meeting strangers, silence can be awkward. In Japan, silence has important meaning, as it can be used to avoid directness

Cultural Context

An accumulated pattern of values, beliefs, and behavior held by an identifiable group of people with a common verbal and nonverbal symbol system C: emphasize group harmony and teamwork, making the organization more like a community than an entity I: emphasize personal goals and within-organization promotion, making the organization more like an entity than a community in which employees often compete for organizational resources and promotions LPD: status conscious (emphasis on person's position, degree), employ top-down communication, and are mindful of employee welfare. Formality between employer and employee will be the rule, and employees will not be expected to participate in management decision-making SPD: employees are routinely asked for their opinion on work-related issues. Participatory management - the thought that if workers are allowed to participate in decision-making, they will be more committed to the decision

Socio-Relational Context

An organization's emphasis on group membership is clearly something that US managers should know about their foreign counterparts The family is one primary group to which all people belong. The family corporation culture is simultaneously personal, with close face-to-face relationships, and hierarchical, in the sense that everyone knows his or her place in rank order At the top are the parents (chief executives), who are regarded as caring and as knowing better than the children (the subordinates). The power at the top is perceived as intimate and benign and the philosophy of the employees is to do more than is required contractually to please the older brother or father (the person of higher rank) Knowledge and use of the language that is spoken by foreign counterparts demonstrates your willingness to meet them halfway and is much appreciated

Organizational Culture

An organized pattern of values, beliefs, behaviors, and communication channels held by member of an organization that is affected by the cultural, environmental, perceptual, and socio-relational contexts

Task Related Touch

Associated with the performance of a task Reference to Appearance: a touch which points out or inspects a body part or artifact (with a verbal comment) (A friend touches your bracelet and says, "That is so pretty) Instrumental Ancillary: a touch which occurs as an unnecessary part of the accomplishment of a task (Hand-to-hand contact when handing something to someone else) Instrumental Intrinsic: a touch which accomplishes a task in and of itself (doctor performing a physical exam; a haircut or a massage)

Compromising Style

Balance between assertiveness and cooperativeness Might use a "give-and-take" approach and might propose some middle ground for resolving the conflict, understanding that each party may have to give up something to gain something

Management Practices in Japan

Based on the principle of wa, which literally translates to harmony Days begin with an activity called taiso in which members exercise together and engage in coordinated activity. After the day is finished, businesses encourage employees to eat and drink together to maintain harmonious group relationships Salaryman - Roughly 3 to 4 hours of sleep, roughly 13 hours of work. In a six day week, that is roughly 35 hours of sleep compared to 78 hours of work - Considered to be the core of Japan's economy and are expected to put the company first, even before family - Japan is witnessing a record number of deaths due to overworking (karoshi). It manifests as sudden death due to heart attack, stroke, stress, and a starvation diet Office Arrangement - Small desks, closely spaced, put together to form "islands" - Everyone faces someone in the desk across from them - Share office supplies and equipment - Continuous communication because you talk to or overhear everyone's business - Desk sequence is by rank (supervisor at head, youngest, newest, and temporary workers at the foot) - Workspaces are for work only Organizations are social, of which two key features are lifetime employment (based on a psychological contract between the employees and the company about the employees' lifetime dedication to the company in exchange for lifetime job security) and seniority grading (employees are promoted and compensated based on the number of years they have served; it rewards older and longer-serving employees) Employees maintain high morale and loyalty to the company, which enables the company to invest more resources in employee career development Managers do not appeal to a specific person in the organizational hierarchy but, rather, to the entire organization itself, independent of the superiors Managers convince their employees to comply with a request to enhance their careers within the organization (effective because many employees remain with a single company for their entire lives) Managers ask to spend time with their employees after hours because it allows for informal interaction between managers and subordinates that is impossible in the context of the formal work environment Managers use influence tactics that are subtle and indirect, and strategies that rely on the influence of the organization and group harmony

Relationship between Uncertainty Reduction, Intercultural Communication Apprehension (ICA), and Socio-communicative Style

Because intercultural communication is loaded with novelty and dissimilarity, people may experience inordinate amounts of anxiety, which inhibit the ability to reduce uncertainty If intercultural communication causes us to feel anxious, we may avoid initiating interaction with people from different cultures. However, unless we interact, we cannot reduce much uncertainty, and, therefore, our anxiety levels remain high During initial intercultural communication, people who experienced high ICA also experienced high uncertainty. Because people with high ICA may avoid or withdraw from communication with persons from different cultures, they are less likely to engage in communication tactics that reduce uncertainty The socio-communicative style has two types of communication that affect how one communicates in different situations: assertiveness (one's ability to make requests, actively disagree, express positive or negative personal rights and feelings, initiate, sustain, and terminate conversations, and defend oneself without attacking others) and responsiveness (one's ability to be sensitive to the communication of others, be a good listener, engage in comforting communication, and recognize the needs and wants of relevant others) Persons high (low) in ICA are not likely (likely) to engage in assertive or responsive communication behaviors

Physical Appearance and Dress

Communication with another is often preceded by visual observations of the other's ____________________. In most cultures, people consciously manipulate their _____________________ to communicate their identity. Most cultures have strict rules for how their members should present themselves and violating a culture's prescriptions for ____________ may result in negative sanctions

Cross Cultural Examples of Haptics

Contact cultures (South and Central America, southern Europe) are those that tend to encourage touching and engage in touching more frequently than do either moderate-contact (US) or non contact cultures (Asia), in which touching occurs less frequently and is generally discouraged In many Asian cultures, engaging in touch with the opposite sex is considered uncivil In northern Italy, people have few inhibitions about personal space and touch. Heterosexual men are often seen kissing each other on both cheeks and walking together arm in arm, as are women East Indians are very expressive with touch. To touch the feet of an elder is a sign of respect. Indians demonstrate their trust for each other by holding hands briefly during a conversation or religious activity Saudi Arabians value touching as businessmen will often hold hands as a sign of trust. Saudi women, however, are never to be touched in public In Thailand, Sri Lanka, and some other cultures, the head is considered sacred and should never be touched, while in the US, the patting of a child on the head is a sign of affection or endearment In many African and Middle Eastern cultures, the use of the left hand is forbidden in certain social situations. In Kenya, Indonesia, and Pakistan, the left hand should not be used in eating or serving food In Iraq and Iran, the left hand is used for cleaning oneself following the performance of certain bodily functions and, thus, should never be used to give or receive gifts or other objects

Playful Touch

Designed to lighten interaction Playful Affection: serves to lighten the seriousness of the interaction (tickling a friend or intimate other) Playful Aggression: serves to lighten interaction (noogies, Charlie horses)

Separation

Does not desire contact with the host culture, maintains an identity with the native culture The individual resists acculturation with the dominant culture and chooses not to identify with the host cultural group while retaining his or her native cultural identity May harbor animosity toward the host culture as a result of social or hierarchical factors Focus on the perceived incompatibility between their native culture and the host culture Communicate almost exclusively with their own group while actively avoiding participation in situations with members of the host culture

Management Practices in Germany

Drawn to innovative products that display high quality and contemporary styling. They are especially interested in high-tech products, particularly those that assist them in entering the age of the Internet Have a state-regulated apprentice system through which young German adults learn a specialized skill, for which they receive a state diploma. About 70% of Germans have been through this workforce Managers are known to be specialists for which a technical background is more typical than a formal education. Hence, quality of skill and amount of experience are the most important promotional considerations Many organizations implement a shadow worker program, whereby managers choose and train their own replacements. They believe that this kind of program reduces the politics of promotional ploys and insecurity around who will succeed whom West Germans - Compartmentalization is the most prominent structural feature (tendency to isolate and divide many aspects of their lives into discrete, independent units) - Compartmentalize daily schedules, educational system, office buildings, corporations, homes, and even lines of communication - On the job, they won't share information with someone that does not work in their department. Such a restricted flow of information may be the biggest obstacle in doing business with them Doors - Provide a protective shield between the individual and outsiders - An "intruder" should always knock - Closed doors uphold the honor of the space, afford a boundary between people, and eliminate the possibility of eavesdropping, interruptions, and accidental intrusions. It also indicates that a manager respects the privacy of subordinates and is not looking over their shoulders Concentrate on specialization, doing one thing and doing it right. Corporations with large shares of specialized markets can focus on design, quality, and service rather than on competitive pricing. They manufacture a smaller and narrower class of products, sell to fewer consumers, and contract with fewer suppliers Be prepared, engage in only minimal small talk, be informed about and use appropriate titles, avoid emotional appeals, emphasize facts and figures, observe hierarchical seating and order of speaking, organize your presentation in compartments, be punctual, avoid humor, be frank and direct, show honesty

Eastern and Western Relationships

Eastern Cultures - Practice particularism - that is, the belief that particular or unique rules and guidelines apply to each individual relationship - Believe in strict, well-defined social hierarchies in which people are perceived as higher or lower than others - Relational partners engage in long-term and asymmetrical reciprocity - Dependence on others is an inevitable and accepted part of relationships - People will always be indebted to others who help or assist them in some way - Who is and is not a member of the in-group or the out-group is defined clearly - Associate and identify with relatively few, yet very cohesive, groups - Affiliation with in-groups is long-lived, perhaps even lifelong - Intermediaries are essential and are used even in informal situations (introductions, dates, marital arrangements) - Prefer to do business with trusted associates with whom they have established a strong interpersonal bond Western Cultures - Practice a universalistic orientation - Try to treat others as equally as possible, regardless of status or intimacy level of the partners - Relational partners engage in short-term and symmetrical reciprocity - Group associations are optional and voluntary - Groups are designed to somehow facilitate one's individual development, and one's association with such a group lasts only as long as one benefits from membership - Prefer direct, face-to-face contact in interpersonal relationships - The use of intermediaries is typically reserved for formal or legal situations and is usually contractual - Maintain "strictly business" relationships

Emblems and Illustrators

Emblems - Primarily (though not exclusively) hand gestures that have a direct literal verbal translation - Hand gesture representing "peace" is a widely recognized emblem - Learned informally through a child's socialization in his or her culture Illustrators - Typically hand and arm movements that accompany speech or function to accent or complement what is being said - Pounding your fist on the podium during a speech - Serve a metacommunicative function - that is, they are messages about messages - Nonverbal messages that tell us how to interpret verbal messages (shaking your fist at someone while expressing anger) - Learned informally through a child's socialization in his or her culture Both - Children continue to gesture to reinforce and expand their verbal messages and even to replace them - Offer insight into children's unspoken thoughts - Across cultures, there is a shift at 1 year of age in the types of gestures used by children toward gestural sharing of objects and information - At least 2500 years old - Most cultures use them during greetings and departures, to insult or to communicate obscenities to others, to indicate fight or flight, and to designate friendly or romantic relationships - An individual's length of stay in the culture is directly linked to gesture recognition accuracy and perceptions of intercultural communication accuracy - Knowing the greetings of different cultures when interacting outside your own culture is a first step toward developing intercultural communication competence. Even more so, gestures themselves are a critical feature of interpersonal communication and the navigation of intercultural situations - Greeting rituals often differ according to one's social status. In high-context and collectivistic cultures, men and women have different rules for how to greet someone

Anxiety Uncertainty Management Theory (Gudykunst)

Explains the interrelationships among uncertainty, anxiety, mindfulness, and communication effectiveness Shifts the focus from uncertainty and anxiety reduction to uncertainty and anxiety management, and incorporates the concepts of mindfulness and communication effectiveness Anxiety is the affective equivalent of uncertainty. It affects the way people feel about interacting with someone else and includes a sense of uneasiness, apprehensiveness, worry, and so on Stipulates that people have minimum and maximum thresholds for uncertainty and anxiety. The maximum threshold is the highest amount of uncertainty or anxiety individuals can experience and still believe that they can predict a stranger's attitudes, beliefs, values, and so on, and remain comfortable communicating The minimum threshold is the lowest amount of uncertainty and anxiety a person can experience before becoming unmotivated or overconfident about predicting the stranger's behavior when interacting Communicating effectively requires that uncertainty and anxiety fall between the minimum and maximum thresholds because too little uncertainty and too much predictability can lead to dull, monotonous, and uninteresting communication while too much uncertainty and too little predictability can lead to high anxiety

Marital Dissolution and Divorce

Factors such as communication problems, income, sexual satisfaction, childlessness, women's equality issues, religion, and the ease with which one can obtain a divorce are reasons for divorce Countries with the highest divorce rates are individualistic. Because individualism champions the pursuit of one's self-interest, people in those cultures are often unwilling to sacrifice their personal fulfillment for an unsatisfactory marriage, even when divorce leads to financial and emotional costs In collectivistic cultures, there is a devotion to tradition and social conventions, and they place greater emphasis on family unity and self-sacrifice India - Women should not even think about divorce, lest they face the loss of status, removal of custody of their children, and threat of poverty China - Reasons for divorce include less communication and increasing extramarital affairs Australia - Reasons for divorce include communication problems, incompatibility, and extramarital affairs

Management Practices in China

Go to great lengths to establish trust and a social bond in their international business relationships. A counterpart may invite you to informal gatherings and to discuss topics unrelated to the business at hand Managers are expected to make decisions on behalf of the entire group, which is expected and desired among both the managers and the workers The idea of open communication between managers and workers is unheard of and peculiar, reflective of the collectivistic thinking that workers are a part of one group and managers a part of another Communication between managers and workers is restricted Workers are on a need-to-know basis, and they will probably not initiate communication with a manager, even if they have concerns about the way a job is being handled because they do not want to stand out or be thought of as confrontational Business culture prohibits giving gifts, and it is considered bribery and technically illegal. Giving a gift to the entire company rather than to an individual can be an acceptable alternative. But it must be presented to the appropriate team leader

High and Low Context Approaches to Conflict

High - The conflict issue and the persons involved are typically connected - Prefer implicit communication - Prefer non-confrontational styles - Mexicans prefer to deny that conflict exists or to avoid instigating conflict - Avoid or withdraw from the issue, use silence, gloss over differences, conceal ill feelings Low - More likely to separate the conflict issue from the persons involved - Tend to be more direct and explicit in their dealings with conflict - Prefer solution-oriented conflict resolution styles - US Americans are more direct in their dealings with conflict - Collaborate behaviors that aim to find a solution for both parties - Give in, compromise, accommodate the other, confront the issue

Integrating Style

High assertiveness, high cooperativeness Might try to collaborate with the opponent or try to find an agreeable solution that fully satisfies both parties

Cross Cultural Examples of Proxemics

In a comparison of territoriality in Turkish and US cultures, men tended to demonstrate more non sharing behavior and less personalization of their space than did women. US students experienced their rooms as more personal and expressive of their self than did Turkish students In cultures with a high population density, personal space and territoriality are highly valued, and privacy is accomplished psychologically rather than physiologically In Calcutta, touching and bumping into others while walking through the streets is quite common and to be expected In Morocco, personal space during a conversation is typically less than an arm's length In Kenya, where harmony and sharing is valued, people tend to be less aware of personal territory than are people in the US

Cross Cultural Examples of Regulators

In some Middle Eastern cultures, people stand close together during interaction to smell each other's breath. To smell each other is considered desirable. In fact, to deny someone your breath communicates shame In many Arab cultures, men hold hands as they converse to demonstrate their trust in each other. A raising of the eyebrows or a clicking of the tongue signifies a negative response and a disruption in the flow of communication

Cross Cultural Examples of Physical Appearance and Dress

In virtually every culture, men and women dress differently, and in many cultures, the differences begin at birth. For example, in the US, male infants wear blue while female infants wear pink In India, businessmen wear a dhoti, a single piece of white cloth that wraps around their lower body. Most Indian women wear a sari and blouse, and it is not acceptable for them to show skin above the knees or a large portion of the back In Japan, the kimono is the traditional clothing for both men and women; it is traditionally worn with a broad sash, or obi, as an outer garment. The specific design of the kimono varies according to one's sex, age, and marital status, the time of year, and the occasion. Men typically wear kimonos of blue, black, brown, gray, or white, while women wear kimonos that are elaborate and vary in style and design (fabric, cut, color, sleeve length, details). In the summer, women wear yukatas, or lightweight cotton kimonos

Macro Level

Includes factors that are probably out of the interactants' control (history of subjugation, ideological/structural inequality, and minority group strength) History of Subjugation: one group has a history of dominating another (African Americans by Whites) Ideological (different cities or areas) or Structural (legalities like voting) Inequality: refers to the societal differences regarding power, prestige, and economic reward (Whites have held most power positions and gained most of the economic reward) Minority Group Strength: refers to the amount of power (legal, political, economic, educational, linguistic) a particular group possesses. It varies as a function of the status of the group's language within the society, the sheer number of members in the group, and forms of societal support.

Dynamic Style

Indirect, emotionally expressive May use exaggeration and repetition of his or her messages while also employing a nonverbal emotionally confrontational form of expression Probably true of East Indians

Accommodation Style

Indirect, emotionally restrained Only hints at the nature of the disagreement and may prefer an intermediary to address the conflict See emotional outbursts as potentially dangerous Probably true for the Japanese

Nonverbal Communication and Individualism-Collectivism

Individualistic Cultures - Tend to be distant proximally - Tend to smile more - More nonverbally affiliative (enlisting nonverbal behaviors that bring people closer together physically and psychologically) Collectivistic Cultures - Tend to work, play, live, and sleep in close proximity - More synchronized body movements - More likely to suppress their emotional displays because maintaining group harmony is primary

Individualistic-Collectivistic Approaches to Conflict

Individualists - Follow an outcome-oriented approach to conflict which emphasizes the importance of asserting their self-identity in the conflict and the accomplishment of perceived intangible outcomes or goals - Become frustrated when their counterparts are unwilling to address the conflict openly and honestly - See conflict as satisfying when their counterparts are willing to confront the conflict openly and assert their feelings honestly - See conflict as unproductive when no tangible outcomes are negotiated and no plan of action is executed, and productive when tangible resolutions are reached - Successful management is defined as when individual goals and the differences between the parties are addressed openly and honestly Collectivists - Follow a process-oriented approach to conflict which focuses on mutual- or group-face interests - See conflict as threatening when the parties move forward on issues before facing proper facework management, and satisfying when the parties engage in mutual-face saving and face-giving behavior and attend to verbal and nonverbal communication - See conflict as unproductive when face issues and relational/group feelings are not addressed properly, and productive when both parties can declare win-win results on facework in addition to substantive agreement - Successful management means that the faces of both conflict parties are saved or upgraded and each person has dealt with the conflict strategically in conjunction with substantive gains or losses

Adaptors

Kinesic actions that satisfy physiological (scratching an itch) or psychological (tapping the tip of a pen on the desk while waiting for the professor to deliver a final exam) needs For the most part, they are not learned and probably do not vary much across cultures

Cross Cultural Examples of Chronemics

M-time orientations (US, Germany, Scandinavia, Canada, France, most of northern Europe) emphasize schedules and the compartmentalization and segmentation of measurable units of time P-time orientations (southern Europe, Latin America, many African and Middle Eastern countries) see time as much less tangible and stress multiple activities with little emphasis on scheduling. They stress involvement of people and the completion of tasks as opposed to a strict adherence to schedules

Mate Selection Across Cultures

Mate preferences have evolved in response to recurring and different adaptive problems that each sex has had to solve when judging the desirability of someone else In the International Mate Selection Project (Buss), some of the least preferred characteristics of mate selection were chastity, similar religious background, similar political background, and favorable social status. The lowest ranked characteristics were college graduate, good earning capacity, and religion Across the globe, men valued physical attractiveness in marriage partners more than women. On the other hand, women valued emotional stability and maturity, favorable social status, education and intelligence, and college graduate

The Internet as Relational Maintenance

One of the primary tools for initiating and maintaining relationships is social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter Facebook - Use is motivated by the need to belong and the need for self-presentation Japan - Many use Line, an application for instant communication on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers - Twitter is the second most used social media platform, mainly because of its anonymity (privacy is important in Japan) India - Majority of users live in urban areas - Many youth use the Internet to start social action movements and protest for their rights, which is especially significant for women - Facebook gives women a voice to air their grievances and expose the sexual violence inflicted against them in a social system where such violence is often ignored Africa - Users discuss life, love, politics, and philosophy - Users are anxious to show the positive dimensions of the country - Lack of social media usage is a result of the culture because many emphasize storytelling and oral communication Mexico - Use Facebook to initiate and maintain connections, especially professional ones that are essentially impossible to make without social media outlets - Teachers in small towns use Facebook classroom projects and to establish collaborative projects with other schools

Cross Cultural Examples of Affect Displays

Own-race identifications tend to be more accurate, by as much as 10% to 15%, than cross-race identifications Experts believe that cross-race identifications are less reliable than same-race identifications because of the belief in the existence of an own-race bias - that is, that people recognize others of their own race better than they do those of another race Children living in mixed-race environments show less of an own-race recognition bias than do children living in a segregated environment Evidence indicates that persons who view other-race faces tend to focus on the constituent features of the face, such as the eyes or lips, whereas observers of same-race faces focus on the face as a whole Researchers at Temple University argue the idea that when viewing cross-race faces, people focus more on the other's race than on individual identity. They point out that race is one of the most salient features people use to categorize others. In fact, they note that racial differences are detected faster than other demographics, such as sex and age Perception of cross-race faces due to the categorization process may underlie own-race bias

Emotional Expression Style

Refers to how one might use his or her emotions to guide conflict Demonstrated by the type of person who listens to his or her base feelings and proceeds accordingly

Intermediary Level

Refers to the actual location and context of the conflict Segregation/Contact: refer to the extent to which the individuals' cultural groups interact on a daily basis (contact between diverse cultures or ethnicities on a day-to-day basis) Intergroup Salience: refers to the observable physical and social differences between conflicting individuals (distinct physical and behavioral differences, such as race, language, and speech patterns) Status Discrepancy: refers to the degree to which conflicting parties differ in status along cultural lines (US power structure is asymmetrical in that managers and supervisors have more power than workers. Discrepancy is heightened if managers are of one race and the workers are of another)

Facework

Refers to the communicative strategies employed to manage one's own face or to support or challenge another's face. It can be employed to initiate, manage, or terminate conflict

Chronemics

Refers to the nonverbal channel of time

Proxemics

Refers to the perception and use of space, including territoriality (physical geographical space) and personal space (perceptual or psychological space)

Micro Level

Refers to the unique attitudes, dispositions, and beliefs that each individual brings to the conflict Cognitive Simplicity/Rigidity: the degree of inflexibility in the way individuals think about people from different cultures (gross categorization, stereotyping, discrimination) In-Group Bias: degree to which the individual is ethnocentric Insecurity/Frustration: refers to the degree to which the individual has a high level of uncertainty about, and fear of, out-group members Divergent Behaviors: refers to the behavioral patterns of the individual that clearly differentiate and distance him or her form out-group members

Paralanguage

Refers to vocal qualities that usually, though not necessarily, accompany speech Divided into two broad categories: voice qualities and vocalizations Voice qualities include pitch, rhythm, tempo, articulation, and resonance of the voice while vocalizations include laughing, crying, sighing, bleaching, swallowing, clearing the throat, snoring, and so forth. Others include intensity and nonfluencies, such as "um," "ah," and "uh" Often, qualities, vocalizations, and nonfluenices reveal a speaker's emotional state or veracity. For example, audiences can discern when speakers are nervous or confident by listening to their tone of voice, rhythm, pace, and the number of nonfluencies that they utter We can tell whether speakers are being genuine, cynical, or sarcastic, and a person's geographical origin can be determined by listening closely

Relational Empathy and Third Culture

Relational Empathy: shared meaning and harmonization that is the result of the interaction of two people Based on the idea that whenever two people develop a relationship, they create a third culture of shared meaning and relational empathy The ability to create new perceptions and emotions by the two people interacting Third Culture: that which is created when a dyad consisting of persons from different cultures come together and establishes relational empathy Produces unique beliefs, values, norms, symbols, phrases, gestures (verbal and nonverbal) Emerges when the interactants are open and willing to communicate with others and expose themselves to new meanings. Since people cannot possess direct, firsthand knowledge of the emotional states or cognitive processes of another person, they possess objective (one's interpretation of one's own personal experiences) and subjective (one's interpretation of the other person's experiences in relation to one's own) meanings The emergence of a third culture creates a medium in which the interactants can relate and similarity becomes moot. Because it evolved through the verbal and nonverbal messages of the interactants, each is an active participant in its creation. Hence, neither person has to re-create anything because each is an integral part of the third culture's existence

Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (Hammer)

The dynamics of conflict revolve around two fundamental features of all conflict: disagreement and emotional reaction Disagreement (cognitive): mismatched expectations between individuals from different cultures who perceive an incompatibility between their values, norms, goals, scarce resources, or outcomes Emotional Reaction (affective): conflicting parties experience an antagonistic emotional reaction toward each other based on the disagreement and the perception of threat associated with it Conflict Style: behavioral component that follows from the cognitive and affective dimensions of conflict People, regardless of culture, deal with disagreement in two ways: directly (explicitly stated) or indirectly (ambiguous language), and by openly expressing (through intense facial expressions, frequent gesturing, body posture, and overall active involvement) or restraining (through minimizing gestures, masking their emotions both verbally and nonverbally, holding back their sentiments, and controlling their feelings) their emotional reactions to the conflict When conflicting parties recognize their own style and that of their counterparts, conflict is better managed People who believe that their conflict style is discussion see the engagement style as callous, the accommodation style as lacking sincerity, and the dynamic style as unstable and disorganized

Third Party Help Style

The extent to which a person is willing to engage an outsider to act as a go-between in the conflict

Affect Displays

The face has the highest nonverbal sending capacity. Through facial expressions, we can communicate our personality, open and close channels of communication, complement or qualify other nonverbal behavior, and communicate emotional states We should expect that some forms of our nonverbal communication are invariant across cultures / are universal Nonverbal presentations of emotion, primarily communicated through facial expressions Paul Ekman alleges that humans can make more than 10,000 facial expressions and that 2,000-3,000 have to do with emotion While people from divergent cultures may express emotions similarly, what stimulates the emotion and the intensity with which it is expressed is probably culturally specific. In other words, what elicits an emotion in one culture may be different from what elicits that same emotion in another culture Perhaps people judge a foreigner's expressions to be less intense than expressions shown by members of their own culture or that attributions of less intense emotions to foreigners might be due more to uncertainty about the emotional state of a person from an unfamiliar culture People from individualistic cultures express emotions affirming independent self-conceptions, such as self-actualized, capable, self-satisfied, and proud of oneself. Persons in collectivistic cultures were less comfortable expressing negative emotions (indignant, annoyed, distrustful) than were persons from individualistic cultures While some facial expressions of emotion seem to be universal, it is reasonable to expect that there will be some "local" variations across cultures

Environmental Context

The geographical and psychological location of communication within some cultural context Includes such issues as information load, privacy, and the company's overall orientation to nature In Korea, privacy is a luxury few possess or can afford. Thus, many of them build imaginary or psychological walls around themselves to secure some level of privacy. Moreover, they will retreat behind a psychological curtain and do what they have to do, unseen by those who are in plain view. To violate the screen of privacy once it has been created is rude and discourteous

Intercultural Conflict

The implicit or explicit emotional struggle between persons of different cultures over perceived or actual incompatibility of cultural ideologies and values, situational norms, goals, face orientations, scarce resources, styles/processes, and/or outcomes in a face-to-face context Group membership becomes a factor in how conflict is perceived, managed, and resolved

Olfactics

The least understood, yet most fascinating, of all human sensations, it is one's sense of smell Humans can detect as many as 10,000 different compounds by smell. Our lack of understanding may be because we lack a vocabulary for smell and are discouraged from talking about smell In the US, people have become obsessed with making certain smells, especially those of the human body, because in Western cultures, body odor is regarded as unpleasant and distasteful, and we go to great efforts to mask or remove it

Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Berger)

The major premise is that when strangers first meet, their primary goal is to reduce uncertainty and increase predictability in their own and the other person's behavior Can be a proactive, interactive, and reactive process. That is, we can reduce uncertainty before (weighing alternative behavioral options prior to interacting), during (asking questions), and after (attempting to explain someone's behavior after it has been enacted) interacting with someone

Intercultural and Interracial Marriages

The most common type of marriage practice in the US and most Western nations is monogamy - that is, marriage between one man and one woman Most cultures prefer not to limit the number of spouses available to a person however - Polygamy: the practice of having multiple spouses - Polygyny: the practice of having multiple wives - Polyandry: the practice of having multiple husbands In these cultures, one wife may be shared by brothers. In others, a father and son may have a common wife. Still in others, a man may have many wives, perhaps up to 11 as in the Arsi region (Ethiopia) Some racial groups are more likely to intermarry than others Interracial marriages are more likely to end in divorce (two-thirds) Interracial couples may more obstacles than intraracial couples, those of which include being stared at in public, negative stereotypes, social network opposition, discrimination by staff, agents, managers, and clerks, and obscene phone calls, hate mail, and vandalized property Typically, one member is not speaking his or her native tongue. Thus, relational messages may have a higher likelihood of being distorted. One member may have an accent, misuse words, or not understand all the words used because language can affect the balance of power. Hence, the more fluent a member is, the more influence they may have. Superior linguistic speed, facility, and vocabulary not only direct conversation, but can be used to manipulate conversation to serve personal needs. People may feel a sense of lost personality when using a second language. Translating humor is often difficult Partners in interracial relationships reported significantly higher relational satisfaction that those in intraracial relationships

Acculturation

The process whereby you adapt to a new culture by adopting its values, attitudes, and practices Some groups experience ________ because they have moved into a new culture (immigrants, refugees). Others experience it because they have had a new culture thrust on them (Native Americans). Some enter it voluntarily (Mexican immigrants moving to the US) and others enter involuntarily (slaves). Some groups experience permanent ______ (Blacks and Mexicans), while others experience temporary ______ (exchange students) Culturally, we're born as blank slates. We socialize (learn regularities and patterns that are the "right ones") and enculturate (adopt the culture in which we live).

Arranged Marriages

There are over 26 million arranged marriages annually worldwide, and the global divorce rate for them is only at 6% Practiced in the US among the Amish and Hmong, and many young people in the US find the prospect of an arranged marriage to frightening and unnerving Although it happens infrequently, a woman can reject the arranged match. However, certain situations in which the match cannot be refused do exist (the groom's family has high status, is unusually wealthy, or is related to the bride's family in some way) Hmong - Negotiated by parents India - 90% of marriages are arranged - Parents will place matrimonial ads in magazines, websites, and newspapers, describing their children and soliciting potential mates for them - Potential brides and grooms are only given a number of days, or just a few hours, to decide - 1 in 100 marriages end in divorce - High levels of satisfaction in the long term - Advantages: parents very carefully screen the available options, making the decision making process less complicated; the speed with which one must decide encourages going with one's base-level feelings about the partner, which actually leads to more satisfying marriages and eliminates the long and elaborate dating process; expectations are low and the newlyweds can place more emphasis on compatibility and financial security over romantic love China - Bride trafficking Africa - 40% of women 18 or younger are forced into arranged marriages

Relationship between Verbal and Nonverbal Codes

Verbal language evolved from its nonlinguistic predecessor Learned vs. inherited Symbols (arbitrarily selected) vs. signals (learned) Nonverbal signal system is much more restrictive in sending capacity than the verbal code. For example, it is virtually impossible to communicate about the past or future through the nonverbal communication. Additionally, communication of negation is practically impossible with the nonverbal code system Although rules govern the use of nonverbal communication, a formal grammar or syntax does not exist. The rules for nonverbal communication are learned informally through socialization and vary considerably, even interculturally Sounds (phonemics) vs. Categories (kinesics, proxemics, haptic, olfactics) Syntax (grammar and rules) vs. Rule Governed Semantics (denotative meaning) vs. Connotative (implied, affective meaning) Pragmatics (consequences) vs. Consequences The verbal code is a formal, symbol based system. The nonverbal code is (mostly) an informal, signal based system (act of shivering, sweating)

Broome's Model of Building a Culture of Peace Through Dialogue

Via dialogue, conflicting parties can reason with each other using communication as the vehicle toward understanding and eventual conflict resolution. They also become aware of how they each interpret and prescribe meaning to the immediate context Dialogue makes possible sustained contact. Broome maintains that conflict is often ongoing because conflicting parties are segregated or have little contact with each other. So to engage in dialogue, conflicting parties must come together and interact. Such contact can help them reduce uncertainty and become aware of each other's perspectives, which helps reduce hostility As they engage in interaction and begin to reduce hostility, conflicting parties can begin to develop respect for each other by listening to each other and understanding each other's viewpoints. This, then, can lead to a culture of peace Building a culture of peace is lengthy and difficult, and each party must be a willing participant All in all, dialogue makes possible sustained contact, which contributes to reduced hostility, which contributes to respect for the other, which contributes to a narrative of peace, which contributes to cooperation, which promotes and supports a culture of peace

Management Practices in Mexico

Workers do not wish to call attention to themselves for outperforming coworkers because they may be ashamed or embarrassed if recognized above others Individual effort and self-starting are met with suspicion For the worker to leave his workstation and talk to the supervisor about mundane, work-related issues is disquieting to others unless the employee has previously explained his or her need to communicate with the supervisor Workers' attitudes toward the boss are virtually never confrontational because they value harmony above all else. Therefore, a manager expressing favoritism will upset that harmony and shatter the team spirit Find the relaxed and easy communication between people of different hierarchical levels off-putting Innovative or risk-taking behavior is considered inappropriate Workers prefer close supervision, to know exactly what they are supposed to do, and to be rewarded for doing it