Chapter 2 Intercultural Comm.

Critical Approach

A metatheoretical approach that includes many assumptions of the interpretive approach but that focuses more on macrocontexts, such as the political and social structures that influence communication.

Rhetorical Approach

A research method dating back to Ancient Greece in which scholars try to interpret the meanings or persuasion used in texts or oral discourses in the contexts in which they occur.

Social Science Approach "Functionalist Approach"

A study based on the assumptions that 1) there is a describable external reality 2) human behaviors are predictable 3) culture is a variable that can be measured. This approach aims to identify and explain cultural variations in communication and to predict future communication.

Paradigm

A framework that serves as the worldview of researchers. Different paradigms assume different interpretations of reality, human behavior, culture, and communication.

Interpretive Approach

An approach to Intercultural communication that aims to understand and describe human behavior within specific cultural groups based on the assumptions that 1) human experience is subjective 2) human experience is creative rather than determined or easily predicted, and 3) culture is created as maintained through communication.

Dialectical Approach

An approach to Intercultural communication that integrates three approaches: 1) social science 2) interpretive 3) critical- in understanding culture and communication. It recognizes and accepts that the three approaches are interconnected and sometimes contradictory.

Macrocontexts

The political, social, and historical situations, backgrounds, and environments that influence communication.

Perception

The process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret external and internal stimuli to create their view of the world.

Individualistic

The tendency to emphasize individual identities, beliefs, needs, goals, and views rather than those of the group.

Collectivistic

The tendency to focus on the goals, needs, and views of the ingroup rather than the individuals' own goals, needs, and views.