Organizational Communication ‘27 Intercultural Communication

Organizational Communication ‘27 OrCom 107 - Intercultural Communication Prof: Arwin Vibar TOPIC 1. Culture as Context for Communication Why study intercultural communication?...

Organizational Communication ‘27 OrCom 107 - Intercultural Communication Prof: Arwin Vibar TOPIC 1. Culture as Context for Communication Why study intercultural communication? Need to become a more effective communicator with people Chapter 1. Defining Culture and Communication of different cultural background in order ot live, work, and play in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent word. Need to be aware of how our language and non verbal PPT - 8/20/24 communication might be understand by people whose frame Intercultural Communication of reference is different from us Loosely, an umbrella term for interaction between people Need to understand how the historical relationships between from different cultural or subcultural backgrounds intended cultures inform how they interact today to lead to a shared understanding of messages. Refers to the communication that takes place in a setting Chapter 1 (Book) where multiple cultures coexist in a single space. ○ Its focus is the productive encounters that Origin of Identity Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio (2010) contends that our constantly happen between cultures. world is so complex and so varied that diverse social Study best practices, avoid stereotypes, establish common networks developed to regulate life so that we could survive. grounds, foster flexibility, and be self-aware (give and Geographical separation led to the development of social receive). network regulators, which have been the primary basis for EADRequires deep understanding and respect for all cultures ways of understanding the world, for beliefs, and for shared (vs ethnocentrism). individual identities. ○ Downside: oftentimes resulted in confrontations Cross-cultural Communication Frequently confused with intercultural communication primary identity and conflicts between groups Key aspect: compares two or more cultures; analyzes Why is it important to study these cultures? communication behavior in the same situation but different It explains our past, provides insights about our present, and cultures predicts the future. ○ Ex. same counting system with the indonesians For those who intend to relocate to another palace where Six Forms of Regulators/Sources of Identity usually one culture in the norm; needed to avoid culture Religion and Identity shock ○ Religion is the oldest source of identity. May bring about individual change, i.e., not two-way ○ Either provides a sense of identity or can be source ○ Intercultural - two-way of conflicts ○ Cross-cultural - “crosses” the bridge Ex. religious wars that are caused or justified by differences in religious Multi-cultural Communication beliefs exclusive of other issues Communication that takes place in a setting where people of National Identity multiple (cultural, ethnic) backgrounds coexist; people don’t ○ From 18th century on, national identity has interact in a deep manner, e.g., in an Asian restaurant one superseded religious identity as a primary identity may frequent in many parts of the world The base of prerequisite for Intercultural Communication or ○ It has become common practice today to equate Cross-cultural Communication to develop nation-state identity with cultural identity (mostly No integration or assimilation happens true). ○ You neither become like them nor join them as part Ex. In a global corporation, employees of their integral body perceive their nation-states as the frame of reference or identity while any Culture conceptualization of a global identity is “...shared characteristics (values, behaviors, beliefs, perceived as a hypothetical construction attitudes, practices, etc.) and learned tendencies or patterns Ex. Kapag pinanganak at lumaki ka sa of a group that are transferred from one generation to the Pilipinas at nagtrabaho ka sa ibang bansa, next and can adapt slowly over time.” - Dr. Milton Bennet you still identify yourself as Filipino ○ Values - pinagpapahalagahan regardless ○ Behaviors - pag-uugali ○ National identity is not descriptive when arbitrarily ○ Beliefs - paniniwala drawn political boundaries do not reflect peoples’ ○ Attitudes - response to something identities. ○ Practices - nakasanayan Ex. In Europe, there are several examples Learned tendencies/ patterns of a group that are transferred of popular support for seccesionist from one generation to the next and can adapt slowly over states (states that value autonomy and time independence) Individuals = Different Background = Different Way of Class and Identity Thinking/Feeling/Behaving/etc… ○ Marx and Engels (1850) claimed that identities Our culture influences our perceptions of the world. were created not by religions or countries, but in ○ Thus, we need to be aware of it to know the best the relationship to the means of production. way to represent ourselves & to communicate with The capitalists who own the means of other people of different cultures. production and the proletariat, or “working class,” who must sell their own Why is intercultural competence needed? labor. We are currently living in a rapidly changing world with strong forces that drive us to interact with others from other ○ Max Weber offers a different perspective; he cultures: Migration, Technology, Business, Education, and believed that Social class was determined by National Disasters. wealth, status, and power rather than by one’s relationship to the means of production 6 imperatives (Martina & Nakayama, 2011) Ex. Social status in the UK is influenced ○ Peace (Absence of Conflict) by social class, with other factors such ○ Demographics (Race, Ethnicity, Age, Sex, Income) as education also being significant. ○ Economic ○ While classes may exist in any society, how clearly ○ Technological (“Global Village” of Marshall defined they are and how much they are a source of McLuhan) identity varies. ○ Self-Awareness (Ethnocentrism vs Self-Reflexivity) British TV dramas depict class divisions ○ Ethical (Relativist vs Universalist) between servants and masters Indian Caste System that divides people  into categories based on heredity Totality of that group’s thought, experiences, and patterns of In India, there is a display of behavior and its concepts, values, and assumptions about condescension toward entire life groups of people–how people Hofstede classified the element of culture into four speak to their maids, drivers, categories and waiters with disrespect ○ symbols (verbal and non-verbal language) In France, people are ranked by ○ rituals (socially essential collective activities) hereditary class: ○ values (feelings not open for discussion) First Estate (highborn sons of ○ heroes (real or imaginary people who serve as families who had devoted behavior models). themselves to religion) Culture also refers to the process of social transmission of Second Estate (devoted to war) these thoughts and behaviors from birth over the course of Third Estate (richest members generations of the bourgeoisie) Cultural Identity ○ The identification with and perceived acceptance Gender and Identity into a group that has a shared system of symbols ○ According to feminists like Germaine Greer, gender and meanings as well as norms for conduct identity is more significant than religion, nation, or ○ If you assume that the individual is like everyone class because gender is the primary identity people else in that culture, you have stereotyped all the have before any other affiliations. many, various people in that culture into one mold ○ Cannadine (2013), however, contends it is difficult ○ Knowing a person’s cultural identity doesn’t to substantiate that there is a unifying identity necessarily tell us everything about that person solidarity among all women. but rather it gives us a way to understand the Gender identity may be influenced more opportunities and challenges that each individual by one’s national identity and other belonging to that culture has had to deal with factors than by one’s biology alone; there ○ We can have no direct knowledge of a culture may be other factors that may come into other than our own. Our experience with and play. knowledge of other cultures is limited by the Race, Skin Color, Ethnicity, and Identity perceptual bias of our own culture ○ When people speak about Race, they usually refer ○ Culture is not a genetic trait. All these cultural to visible physical features such as skin color. elements are learned through interaction with ○ From a biological perspective, Race refers to a others in the culture. large body of people characterized by similarity of Subculture descent ○ Large number of groups with which people identify Carolus Linnaeus said that humans are and from which are derived distinctive values and classified into four types: Africanus, rules for behavior. Americanus, Asiaticus, and Europaeus. ○ Human groups with shared cultural features that ○ A second way to define race, then, is as a distinguish the group from the wider society sociohistorical concept, which explains how racial ○ Encompasses a relatively large number of people categories have varied over time and between and represents the accumulation of generations of cultures human striving ○ The biologically based definition establishes race ○ Subcultures exist within dominant cultures and as something fixed; the sociohistorically based are often based on geographic region, ethnicity, or definition sees race as unstable and socially economic or social class. determined through constant debate (Omi & ○ Ethnicity - Ethnic groups can exhibit such Winant, 1986). distinguishing features as language or accent, ○ When people speak of Ethnicity they generally refer physical features, family names, customs, and to shared heritage, family names, geography, religion customs, and language passed on through ○ Ethnic Identity - Identification with and perceived generations (Zenner, 1996). by acceptance into a group with shared heritage Civilization and Identity and culture ○ Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee believed Co-Culture civilizations to be the most significant ○ Group whose values, beliefs or behaviors set it determinant of identity but also believed that apart from the larger culture civilizations were largely self-sufficient and sealed ○ It is used to imply that no culture is superior and off from one another. that some may coexist within a culture or a place. ○ Huntington identified the world’s civilizations as ○ A group that shares values, norms and things of Western, Latin American, sub-Saharan African, the sort, but not defined “by where someone lived, Eastern Orthodox (including the former Soviet or grew up or their nationality Union), Islamic, Confucian, Hindu, and Japanese. ○ Mutuality may not be easily established in this case How can differences lead to conflict? ○ Ex. American Indians National identity has been the basis for millions and American Indians is a label applied to millions of deaths from conflicts people by someone other than Ex. the evolution of the connotative meaning of the word themselves. barbarian. The term Native American gained ○ Initially, the word meant people whose ways of life popularity during the 1960s and 1970s differed from the Greeks. Later on, the Greeks civil rights movements for being more began to use it to mean “rude” or “brutal.” historically accurate. However, the term ○ When it was incorporated into Latin, it became has the pejorative meaning from the “uncivilized” or “uncultured” colonial era of “primitive.” ○ In the Oxford Dictionary, the word refers to “a rude, Tribal names like Cherokee, Seminole, uncivilized person,” but acknowledges the original and Navajo are preferred, though these meaning was “one whose language and customs names are derived from neighboring differ from the speaker’s.” groups or enemies. Conflict between nations often begins with the judgment that Ex. Mohawk is a Narragansett how others live their lives is in some ways less perfect than how name meaning “flesh eaters.” we live our own. In Canada, "Indian" is considered offensive, and "First Nations" is the preferred term. Culture The National Congress of American A community or population sufficiently large enough to be Indians prefers "American Indian and/or self-sustaining Alaska Native" when a specific tribal designation is not available, with 50% of  a 1995 survey's respondents favoring Honor and Respect his Father "American Indian" over "Native American." and Fulfill the Demands of the The case of American Indians supports Elders the argument that the term co-culture ○ Confucianism emphasizes the following values in does not accurately reflect reality in the both the family and society: United States. Selflessness Tribal sovereignty refers to the ability of Duty tribes to govern themselves (Pevar, 2012). Patriotism Subgroup and Counterculture Hard Work ○ Counterculture refers to groups that actively go Respect for HIerachy against mainstream culture. ○ The 5 Effects that Confucianisms has on ○ Subgroups are groups based on occupations and Interpersonal Communication interests rather than geographic region, ethnicity, Particularism and economic or social class status, intimacy, and context create ○ Subgroups exist within a dominant culture and different communications rules; they are dependent on that culture. must be known Occupation is one important subgroup eg: In Korea, it is normal to ask category. These subgroups include for one’s age to adjust their nurses and doctors, police officers, and language to show respect to employees of large organizations such as the one who is older. Microsoft. Deviant subgroups: Deviant means differing from the cultural norm. Role of Intermediaries, Vegetarians and prostitutes, for example, Rituals should be followed to establish a are both considered deviant subgroups. relationship. ○ Membership in subgroups may either be Reciprocity temporary (e.g. organizations devoted to Ford cars Complementay obligations = basis of and trucks) or long lasting (One person may be a relationship firefighter for life and another gay). Gratitude and indebtedness (utang na ○ Reference groups refers to any group in which one loob) are important values aspires to attain membership In-Group/Out-Group Distinction This behavior is identified in Distinction between inside and outside contemporary slang as the wannabe influences every aspect of Chinese Microculture and Community culture ○ Refers to any identifiable smaller group bound In-group members engage in freer and together by a shared symbol system, behaviors, deeper talks and may find it difficult to and values do the same thing with outsiders ○ Popular media today more commonly use the term Overlap of Personal and Public Relationships community for what was defined earlier as a Business and Pleasure are mixed subculture, subgroup, or counterculture No concept of “keeping public and private lives separate” Communication Frequent contacts = common Two Critical Functions of Communication in the Perspective experiences of the Study of Cultures: ○ The means by which individuals learn appropriate Western Perspectives on Communication behaviors and the means by which those behaviors To start with this new perspective, recall the model of are regulated communication below: ○ The means by which individuals having one group identity interact with individuals with other group identities They interact with one another “formal groups” Cultural Definitions of Communication ○ Culture is a code where we learn and share, and it is through the process of communication where we can execute this (Smith, 1996). Hence, culture cannot be studied without involving ➔ David Berlo (1960) communication—they are inseparable. Below are ➔ Reflect the Western Culture two different perspectives on communication: ➔ Berlo wanted to use communication to find more effective ways of communicating new agricultural Confucian Perspectives on Communication technologies to farms and health information to ○ Definitions of communication from many Asian the people of developing countries. countries stress harmony, and this is most ➔ His conceptualization of communication can be notable in cultures with a strong Confucian labeled as machinelike/mechanistic as the counties such as China, North and South Korea, variables are interrelated and influences each Singapore, and Other East Asian countries with other. large Chinese communities. ➔ It is only one-way. However, two-way models of ○ Confucius set up an ethical-moral system intended communication also started to flourish. to govern all relationships in the (1) family; (2) community; and (3) state. He believed in five types Components of Communication of relationships: ○ One-way communication models are useful in Ruler and Subjects (The Relation of beginning a study of communication. However, you Righteousness) better understand communication when you Husband and Wife (Chaste Conduct) understand the components of the process (De Father and Son (Love) Vito, 1986). Elder Brother and Younger Brother (Order) Friend and Friend (Faithfulness) The regulating factors in the family relationships are extended to the whole community and state. Filial Piety: Chief Virtue, Combination of Loyalty and Reverence, Demands the Son to (Shannon-Weaver’s Model of Communication)  ○ English has always been the most used language 1) Source - individual with an idea that they desire to in the world. However, as the internet become more communicate worldwide, we ask the following questions: 2) Encoding - process of putting idea into symbol Will the Internet encourage the (e.g.: thoughts to words; thoughts to unspoken worldwide dominance of English? Will symbols) the Internet, then, become a major force 3) Message - the encoded thought/resulting object blending the world’s population from the process of encoding together? 4) Channel - means by which the message is Will Internet users favor native transmitted (print/electronic/waves) languages, and over time will the 5) Noise - anything that distorts the message the dominance of English diminish? Will the source encodes divisions of language groups force the External Noise - sights/sounds/other Internet to use other languages, stimuli that draw your attention away perpetuating divisions based on existing from the message language use lines? Internal Noise - thoughts/feelings that ○ English may continue to be the dominant language can interfere with the message on the Internet, but at the same time, technology is Semantic Noise - alternative meanings of supporting the use of local languages worldwide. the source’s message symbols Translation technology will make it (misinterpretation) possible for everyone to use any preferred 6) Receiver - individual who attends to the message; language and be understood by anyone. may be intentional (desired receiver) or not (any Design Elements person who unintentionally received the message) ○ Includes different icons, colors, and site structures 7) Decoding - receiver is actively involved in the ○ Websites contain unique design elements that process by assigning meaning to the symbols give “country-specific websites a look and feel received unique to the local culture 8) Receiver Response - anything that receiver does ○ E.g.: Google (Western Websites) has clean lines after having attended to and decoded the and uncluttered “negative space.” Chinese web message; ranges from not doing anything to taking users are accustomed to pop-ups and floating action banner ads. Moreover, Chinese webpages are 9) Feedback - portion of the receiver response of “packed with information and multimedia which the source has knowledge and to which the graphics, requir[ing] many scroll-downs to see the source attends and assigns meaning; make whole page. communication a two-way process Social Media 10) Context - environment where communication ○ A variety of Internet-based platforms, applications, takes place and helps define the communication; and technologies, such as Facebook, Tumblr, helpful to predict how the communication will go Instagram, and Twitter, that enable people to Culture is also a context. socially interact with one another online The Media of Intercultural Communication Human Couriers and Intermediaries Chapter 2. Intercultural Communication Competence ○ One early form of intercultural communication ○ Another person can be used as a medium ○ Messages are being “entrusted” to a courier to Intercultural communication effectiveness deliver to farawary village Degree of the source’s success in accomplishing the goals Telephone set out for the interaction ○ Using the telephone in intercultural interactions has the barriers of the lack of contextual cues; Intercultural communication competence since communication doesnt occur face-to-face The ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with language misunderstandings may develop people of other cultures Requires understanding others’ perceptions and values. Includes 3 perspectives: ○ Affective or intercultural sensitivity — to acknowledge and respect cultural differences ○ Cognitive or intercultural awareness — self-awareness of one’s own personal cultural identity and understanding how cultures vary ○ Behavioral or intercultural adroitness — message skills, knowledge of appropriate self-disclosure, behavioral flexibility, interaction management, and social skills Personality Strength ○ Self-concept - refers to the way in which a person views the self. ○ Self-disclosure - refers to the willingness of Landline and Mobile Phones in Use individuals to openly and appropriately reveal Internet information about themselves to their ○ Internet users continue to increase in number. counterparts. ○ Self-monitoring - refers to using social comparison information to control and modify one’s self-presentation and expressive behavior. ○ Social relaxation - the ability to reveal little anxiety in communication. Communication Skills ○ Message skills - encompass the ability to understand and use language and feedback. ○ Behavioral flexibility - the ability to select an appropriate behavior in diverse contexts. ○ Interaction management - means handling the procedural aspects of conversation, such as the ability to initiate a conversation. Number of Internet Users from the World ○ Social skills - empathy and identity maintenance. Language Use  Empathy - the ability to think the same Self-disclosure: meeting your spouse’s thoughts and feel the same emotions as needs for verbalizing emotions the other person. Face support: adapted to Asian spouse’s Identity maintenance - the ability to need for certain customs maintain a counterpart’s identity by communicating back an accurate Multiculturalism understanding of that person’s identity. ○ The multicultural person is one who respects cultures and has tolerance for differences Psychological Adjustment ○ Concerns “the general place of minorities, ○ Competent intercultural communicators must be programs designed to foster equality, institutional able to acclimate to new environments. They must structures created to provide better social services, be able to handle the feelings of culture shock, and resources extended to ethnic minority such as frustration, stress, and alienation in organizations” ambiguous situations caused by new environments. Postethnic Culture ○ concerns “the general place of minorities, Cultural Awareness programs designed to foster equality, institutional ○ Individuals must understand the social customs structures created to provide better social services, and social system of the host culture. and resources extended to ethnic minority ○ Rhetorical sensitivity - refers to a communicator’s organizations” attitudes about how to encode messages for the ○ recognizes that groups based on affiliations are as best receiver understanding and effect. substantive and authentic as groups based on Noble selves - view themselves as the blood and history. primary basis for communication choices; egotism and individualism Barriers to Intercultural Communication/Noise communicating messages with little Anxiety regard to the effect on the receiver ○ A diffuse state of being uneasy or worried about Rhetorical reflectors - view the desires what may happen and needs of the others as the primary ○ Ex. When encountering strangers, one experiences basis for communication choices; uncertainty and anxiety and is unsure how to display behavior believed to be desirable behave. by the receiver Uncertainty means not knowing what the Rhetorical sensitives - combine concern reactions of strangers will be and not for self with concern for others to knowing how to explain the reactions of encourage engagement in making strangers. decisions as to how to communicate When anxiety is high, we tend to avoid interactions, and when it is too low, we Intercultural communication ethics tend not to care what happens in the Four ethical principles to guide intercultural interactions: interaction. ○ Ethical communicators address people of other Assuming Similarity Instead of Difference cultures with the same respect that they would like ○ When you have no information about a new culture, to receive themselves. it might make sense to assume no differences Intercultural communicators should not exist, to behave as you would in your home culture. demean or belittle the cultural identity of ○ The inverse can be a barrier as well. Assuming others through verbal or nonverbal difference instead of similarity can lead to one not communication. recognizing important things that cultures share ○ Ethical communicators seek to describe the world in common. as they perceive it as accurately as possible. What ○ It’s better to assume nothing. It’s better to ask, “What is perceived to be the truth may vary from one are the customs?” than to assume they are the same—or culture to another; truth is socially constructed. different— everywhere. This principle means that ethical Ethnocentrism communicators do not deliberately ○ Negatively judging aspects of another culture by mislead or deceive. the standards of one’s own culture ○ Ethical communicators encourage people of other “To believe in the superiority of one’s own cultures to express themselves in their culture” uniqueness. ○ A less extreme form of ethnocentrism is Cultural This principle respects the right of nearsightedness expression regardless of how popular or Taking one’s own culture for granted and unpopular a person’s ideas may be. neglecting other cultures ○ Ethical communicators strive for identification Often results in making assumptions with people of other cultures. Intercultural that simple things are the same communicators should emphasize the everywhere. commonalities of cultural beliefs and values rather ○ Opposite of Ethnocentrism is Cultural Relativism than their differences. Refers to the view that an individual’s beliefs and behaviors should be Multiple cultural identities understood only in terms of that person’s Third culture - refers to a new culture that two or more own culture. individuals from different cultures can share that is not It does not necessarily mean everything merely the fusion of the separate cultures but a new is equal; it entails that we must try to coherent whole. understand other people’s behavior in ○ Ex. international marriage (also referred to as the context of their culture. transnational marriage). ○ intercultural communication competencies in international marriages: Stereotypes and Prejudice Self-awareness and other-awareness: the ○ Stereotype - negative or positive judgments made ability to delineate cultural differences about individuals based on any observable or and similarities between themselves and believed group membership. their spouses Profiling refers to a law enforcement Open-mindedness: being open to change practice of scrutinizing certain in order to reconcile cultural differences individuals based on characteristics Mindfulness: being aware of and thought to indicate a likelihood of sensitive to cultural differences rather criminal behavior. than making assumptions about similarities  ○ Prejudice - the irrational suspicion or hatred of a Sender>Message>Channel>Receiver particular group, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Psychologists have identified the highly prejudiced individual as having an Authoritarian personality Such persons tend to overgeneralize and think in bipolar terms; they are highly conventional, moralistic, and uncritical of higher authority ○ The terms are related in that they both refer to making judgments about individuals based on group membership. Message comes from the sender. This message is what it ○ Stereotypes are harmful because they impede is that is being communicatied. That message has to go communication: through a channel before it can get to a receiver. They cause us to assume that a widely Feedback loop held belief is true when it may not be. ○ Since this model suggests that everything is a Continued use of the stereotype one way model, scholars recognized that reinforces the belief something is missing. Thus, they added a Cause us to assume that a widely held band-aid part of it. belief is true of any one individual ○ Through a feedback loop, the receiver can send back the information to the sender. How stereotyping impedes communication? Makes us assume the absolute of (false) widely held beliefs > Simple definition of communication Racism The process of sending and receiving messages (through ○ Racism is the belief and practice of racial privilege verbal or nonverbal means) or social advantages based on race. ○ Speech (Oral communication) ○ The term came into common usage in the 1930s to ○ Writing (Written communication) refer describe Nazi persecution of the Jews. ○ Signs Nazi belief was that humanity comprises ○ Simbles biologically distinct subspecies and that ○ Behavior some are inherently superior and others inherently inferior Hate Speech Youtube Video 3: Communication: Types of Models, Principles & ○ Includes threats or verbal slurs directed against Misconceptions specific groups or physical acts such as burning Communication Models (Model progression) crosses or spray-painting swastikas on public or Communication private property ○ A continuous, transactional process involving ○ Microaggression refers to everyday slights and participants operating within specific contexts snubs, sometimes unintentional, which where they create a relationship by nevertheless inflict harm. simultaneously sending and receiving messages via channels, many of which are Youtube Video 1: Culture and Communication distorted by noise. Linear = 1-way communication Culture ○ Communication as Action/Message transfer It distinguishes us from each other. It helps us know ○ Source encodes a message to send through a which culture a person is. channel where it is decoded by a receiver A culture is learned and not something we are borned (affected by noise) with. ○ NO FEEDBACK! Culture is shared meaning you have it in common with ○ E.g berlo SMCR model another person. A big clue that a person does not belong Interactive= 2-way communication to the culture ○ Message Exchange ○ A big clue that a person does not belong to the ○ Included feedback, changed “encode” to culture is you do not share it with them, behave, added noise, multiple channels, ○ You have shared Symbols. E.g- the American flag consideration of context. Americans who share the same culture, the flag Transactional= Simultaneous communication means pride. ○ Message Creation ○ People have the same Language. E.g- Americans ○ Viewed as most realistic. can speak spanish and english therefore they ○ There is an interaction. share one culture. ○ You are both a sender and a receiver at the same ○ Specific Food which is unique to one culture. time. ○ Beliefs can be seen within religious groups such as Christians, Catholics, Islam, etc. these beliefs Principles of Communication separate us from different cultures. Communication can be intentional or unintentional. ○ Values and Norms these are practices that seem It is impossible not to communicate (you cannot not normal in different groups. communicate) Communication is irreversible. Once it's out there you cannot take it back. Youtube Video 2: Communication Models: Basic SMCR Model Communication is unrepeatable. (it is not the same always the event is unique) Communication Models Communication is contextual. How a message travels from a source to receiver Misconceptions of Communication Communication Models Meanings are in words Howard Lasswell’s Model (1948) ○ Meanings are in people Who More communication is better Says What ○ Less is better so the listeners could Using Which Channel comprehend the whole message easily. To Whom Communication will solve all problems With What Effect ○ We do not have to communicate most of the time, we just have to understand each other. David Berlo’s Model (1960) Communication is simple.  (Effective) Communication is a natural ability Chapter 3. How Culture Affects Perception ○ We can improve our communication skills in the long run it is not something that we are Context effect good at after being born. Used to describe the influence of environmental factors, such as surrounding objects and events, have on the perception of a stimulus. High Context and Low Context Cultures (Edward T. Hall) Youtube Video 4: A Failure to Communicate China: high-context culture USA: low-context culture Components of Communication The video portrayed how miscommunication happens Perception through various contributors and we can break it down The process whereby we sense, select, organize, and interpret to easily understand it better through the components our world. of communication. 1. Receive sensory data (sensing); ○ Source - Maya— she is looking for someone to 2. Select to attend to some of these sensations teach her the directions in the subway 3. Organize sensations in some meaningful way; ○ Encoding - Thoughts to words— Maya 4. Attach meanings to the perception. approached the receiver, Isabelle Begins with the reception of sensory data followed by ○ Message - “Hello” selecting to attend to some of those sensations, organizing ○ Channel - In person, electronic transmitter those sensations in some meaningful way, and then device attaching meaning to them ○ Noise - anything that distorts the message the source encodes Sensing External Noise - Train passing by, train ○ Our minds are integrated with the external world operator announcement (Wexler, 2008): “The relationship between the Semantic Noise - Maya is an Islam, individual and the environment is so extensive therefore she is wearing a hijab. Since that it almost overstates the distinction between Isabelle is deaf, she has to read the the two to speak of a relationship at all”. lips of whom she's talking to to ○ Sensory input is a physical interaction understand what he/she is saying. Ex: cells in our mouths and noses have Since Maya’s lips were covered, they receptor molecules that combine with could not understand each other. molecules from the environment to Receiver - Isabelle (deaf) initiate electrical impulses. Decoding - Isabelle realized that Maya is getting ○ Our perception and thought processes are not the wrong message— Maya thinks she is just independent of the cultural environment. being rude, not knowing that her hearing is ○ Wexler: humans shape their environment, hence, impaired. the human brain shapes itself to a human-made Receiver Response - Isabelle used her environment. electronic transmitter to tell Maya that her Our brain is both shaped by the external hearing is impaired world and shapes our perception of the Feedback - Isabelle and Maya try to converse external world. but the transmitter gets low battery. ○ Sensation is the neurological process by which Context - The conversation took place at a train we become aware of our environment. station Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, Maya is Islam— she’s wearing a hijab including pain, temperature, and pressure Youtube Video 5: Low Context vs. High Context Societies Much neural processing takes place between the receipt of a stimulus and Low Context Society your awareness of a sensation. Low level of shared contexts James (1890) explained that sensory data ○ Do not have the same reference points comes to us not “ready-made” but in an Communication is explicit, simple, clear, and direct. “unpackaged” state that we assemble ○ People focus in making sure that the message into something coherent and meaningful is passed simply, and clearly. from rules of perception we learn in our ○ Message is conveyed through words, not culture. through contextual or non-verbal cues. ○ Focuses on clarification Effect of Culture on Sensing Promotes individualism and personal achievement. ○ Individuals raised in different cultures can actually Ex. At the end of the lecture, there is a verbal and written sense the world differently recap. Ex: Marshall H. Segall and his associates found that people who live in forests or in High Context Society rural careas can sense crooked and Larger body of shared contexts slanted lines more accurately than ○ Same reference points, body of knowledge, people who live in urban areas. information ○ Field Dependence refers to the degree to which Communication is implicit, layered, nuanced. perception of an object is influenced by the ○ Individuals convey their message through background or environment in which it appears. context, shared knowledge or non verbal cues When adults in Japan and the United ○ They know without having clarification States were shown an animated Promotes group harmony underwater scene in which one large fish Ex. An individual listening to a presentation with all of his swims among small fish and other senses— possibly thinking that maybe, there is an marine life, Japanese participants underlying meaning. Comparing this to a low context focused more on the relationships society, they would think, what if there was actually no among objects in an animated meaning behind the presentation? underwater scene, while Americans IN SHORT - Low context society direct, clear, kung anong focused primarily on the large fish. sinabi yun na yon, while high context society, leaning Consequently, Americans were more towards contextual meanings, shared knowledge, mga likely to recognize the big fish in a overthinker eme. second scene, emphasizing individual objects over context. TOPIC 2. Communication Variables Perceiving: Human perception is usually thought of as a three-step process of selection, organization, and interpretation, which are all affected by culture.  ○ Selection: Within your physiological limitations, ○ To the customs inspector, the weather vane in the you are exposed to more stimuli than you could poster looked like a Christian cross and would possibly manage. therefore be prohibited from being displayed. Ex: you may feel that you are aware of all With the perception step of categorization comes a culture’s stimuli on your retinas, but most of the values, and it is those differing categorizations that can so data from the retinas are handled on a often impede communication, particularly when one group subconscious level by a variety of believes its perceptions are right and any other’s wrong. specialized systems. ○ Organization: Along with selecting stimuli from Case Study: Airport Security the environment, you must organize them in some People from nations and cultures around the globe pass meaningful way. through U.S. airports. In this case study, identify each of the How is perception categorized? steps of selection, organization, and interpretation. Perception can be categorized ○ Selection: The TSA's behavior detection officers in such a way that you scan passengers in line and engage them in brief somehow grasp some set of verbal exchanges. During this stage, they select attributes that things have in specific behaviors or clusters of behaviors to focus common. on from a broad range of passenger actions. Ludwig Wittgenstein, however, ○ Organization: Officers organize the seected concluded that there need be behaviors into clusters that they believe indicate no such set of shared stress, fear, or deception. They also apply a point characteristics. Our language system to quantify these behaviors, with certain provides the symbol to group behaviors like "too much yawning" or "rigid perceptions of any kind posture" being assigned specific point values. together.. ○ Interpretation: If a passenger's behaviors exceed a ○ Interpretation: This refers to attaching meaning certain point threshold, they are flagged for to sense data and is synonymous with decoding. additional screening. Officers interpret the Ex: As you encounter people of your own accumulated points as a sign that the passenger culture, you constantly make judgments may pose a security threat. as to age, social status, educational ○ Flawed Assumptions: background, and the like. If a passenger's behaviors exceed a certain point threshold, they are flagged Case Study: Dogs as Pets or as Food for additional screening. Officers The meanings you attach to your perceptions are greatly interpret the accumulated points as a determined by your cultural background. sign that the passenger may pose a Now think of how you typically categorize domesticated security threat. animal life—probably into animals used for food, animals used for sport and recreation, and pets. High versus Low Context Dogs are pets in some cultures and food in others. Context: the environment in which the communication ○ In the Arab world, dogs are acceptable as process takes place and that helps define the watchdogs and as hunting dogs but are not kept in communication. It affects how we communicate and how we the home as pets because they are seen as unclean think about ourselves and others. and a low form of life. Low context ○ People in some countries think the custom in the ○ Cultures in which little of the meaning is United States of eating corn on the cob is determined by the context because the message is disgusting because that food is fit only for pigs. encoded in the explicit code. ○ Some Ukrainians like to eat salo, raw pig fat with ○ Verbal messages are elaborate and highly black bread and vodka, which might cause nausea specific, and they tend to be highly detailed and in some, as would knowing that horsemeat from redundant as well California is served in restaurants in Belgium, ○ Logic and reasoning are expressed in verbal France, and Japan. messages ○ Dogs were eaten to celebrate Liu Bang becoming ○ One speaks of a person as having attributes emperor (202 BCE–195 BCE) in his hometown in Pei independent of circumstances or of personal County in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu. relations. ○ Dogmeat is also popular in Guangxi Zhuang ○ They have to say everything about their culture and Autonomous Region, in the south; Yanbian Korean elaborate because there is no shared experience Autonomous Prefecture, in northeastern China; and between the listener and speaker. neighboring North Korea High context ○ Urban Chinese today are more likely to have dogs ○ Cultures in which less has to be said or written as pampered companions. because more of the meaning is in the physical ○ In 1989, California made it a misdemeanor for any environment or already shared by people. person to sell, buy, or accept any animal ○ Most of the information is either in the physical traditionally kept as a pet with the intent of killing context or internalized in the person. the animal for food ○ Decrease the perception of self as separate from the group. Case Study: Weather Vane as Christian Cross ○ More sensitive to nonverbal messages; hence, they Johnston Pump Company, a U.S.-based firm, successfully are more likely to provide a context and setting and expanded its business to Saudi Arabia by respecting the let the point evolve country's cultural and religious customs. ○ People are brought closer by the importance of Despite its success, an advertising campaign in 1986 their shared context. unintentionally risked offending local sensibilities. The ○ The person is connected, fluid, and conditional campaign, titled "Making the deserts bloom for 50 years," ○ Ex: Japanese tea ceremony as all the meanings are included ads in both English and Arabic, which were in the context of the shared experience, the e well-received and widely distributed. teahouse, the flower arrangement, the calligraphy However, this example highlights how English-speaking scroll, and the ceramics. Nothing is spoken. companies can inadvertently offend other cultures if they do ○ When people say a joke and the other people laugh not fully consider the local context and customs in their because there is a shared (High) context with the communications. other person. Saudi customs inspector did not allow the Johnston Pump poster in the country ○ Saudi Arabia allows no public worship of any religion other than Islam. No churches, temples, or symbols of other religions are permitted.  ○ Concern for privacy and autonomy, tend to use direct-face negotiation and express more self-face maintenance Case Study of Communication Between High- and Low-Context Countries—China and the United States The Chinese public views U.S. power and influence as the top international threat facing their country European-Americans and Japanese were shown scenes, each People in the United States were most concerned about the with a background scene and foreground objects (Miyamoto, amount of U.S. debt held by China, the loss of jobs to China, Nisbett, & Masuda, 2006) cyberattacks, and human rights. ○ European-Americans were significantly better at False ideological trends, positions, and activities presented detecting changes in the foreground. in Communiqué on the Current State of the Ideological Europeans (low context) focus attention Sphere “A Notice from the Central Committee of the on objects independent of context (i.e., Communist Party of China’s General Office”: perceive analytically), ○ Promoting Western Constitutional Democracy: An ○ Japanese were significantly better at detecting attempt to undermine the current leadership and changes in the background. the socialism with Chinese characteristics system East Asians (high context) focus on the of governance. context (i.e., perceive holistically) ○ Promoting “universal values” in an attempt to weaken the theoretical foundations of the Party’s The Concept of Face leadership. Important in high-context cultures where great emphasis is ○ Promoting the West’s idea of journalism, placed on relationships. challenging China’s principle that the media and In Chinese culture, face is conceptualized in two ways (Hsien publishing system should be subject to Party Hu, 1944): discipline. ○ Lien (face) - represents the confidence of society Communication Challenges Between High-Context China and in the integrity of ego’s moral character, the loss of Low-Context United States which makes it impossible to function properly Communication challenges (Li, 2011): with the community ○ China employs implicit nonverbal messages such ○ Mien or mien-tzd (image) - stands for the kind of as facial expressions, body language, and symbolic prestige that is emphasized in this country [United objects to interpret verbal messages States], a reputation achieved through getting on ○ Collectivism and individualism: In high-context in life, through success and ostentation cultures, people tend to view themselves as part of Facework (Masumoto et al., 2000) a larger community and learn to value harmony. In ○ The communicative strategies one uses to enact low-context cultures, individual goals and self-face and to uphold, support, or challenge autonomy are stressed. another person’s face ○ In high-context cultures communication can be Ways one can lose face (Cohen , 1997): more indirect compared to that in low-context ○ A rebuffed overture (Reject) cultures, which can be more straightforward and assertive. You are already rejected even before ○ Particularly in high-context China with more introducing yourself. authoritarian government, people are more ○ Exposure to personal insult predisposed to maintain and accept the status quo ○ Exposure to a derogatory remark or disregard for and may appear obedient to the low context United one’s status States. ○ Being forced to give up a cherished value ○ Particularly in high-context China, expediency and Impeachment from a position. special circumstances may take precedent over ○ Making what may later be seen as an unnecessary low-context explicit written laws and contracts. concession Historical Context ○ Failure to achieve goals ○ China-U.S. contact began in the early 20th century. ○ Revelation of personal inadequacy ○ Figures: ○ Damage to a valued relationship Dr. Sun Yat-sen led a nationalist High-context societies tend to be more hierarchical and movement with the help of Chinese traditional societies in which the concepts of shame and communities in Hawai‘i, Japan, the honor are much more important than they are in low-context United States, and Europe. Due to a lack societies. of support, he turned to Russian ○ Concern for interdependence and inclusion, tend to Communists for support. use indirect-face negotiation and express more Chiang Kai-shek attempted to reunify mutual-face or other-face maintenance. the country. He reversed Dr. Sun’s policy ○ High-context cultures thus avoid direct of working with the Communists. confrontation or use communication strategies to Mao Zedong had been developing maintain harmony and reduce the possibility of peasant revolts against landlords, conflict. establishing peasant-based soviets. E.g. Chinese communicators use forms of ○ The U.S.-backed Nationalists (Chiang) were no smiles and other nonverbal behaviors to match for the Communists (Mao). avoid or to soften uncomfortable ○ The nationalist government of Taiwan (the Republic situations that will threaten a of China) considered itself the legal government of participant’s face all China, whereas the mainland Chinese ○ A high-context communicator expects that the government claimed Taiwan as part of its territory. listener already knows critical information, and ○ Later on, the United States normalized relations therefore does not have to be specific. with the People’s Republic of China and severed ○ Communication through intermediaries is diplomatic relations with Taiwan, together with especially functional because using intermediaries terminating the defense agreement protecting the eliminates face-to-face confrontation and reduces island. the risk of losing face. ○ Beginning with Marco Polo’s sojourn in China in Mediator - usually a friend of the two the late 13th century, there have been two parties in conflict or an elderly person “Chinas”— China as imaged by Westerners and the respected by both. real China. Impartiality and face maintenance are Economy considered the two key factors in ○ According to Deng, to get rich is glorious. successful mediation ○ Exporting was promoted as the way to economic In low-context societies, individuals are guided more by growth. personal responsibility than by shaming one’s group.  ○ China moved from a low-income, state-planned In 1990, China promised Hong Kong economy to a capitalistic, market-oriented residents in the Sino-British document economy with improved living standards for known as the Basic Law “one country, two hundreds of millions of its people but at the cost of systems.” extreme environmental damage. Some believe Hong Kong’s leaders will be ○ China is the world’s second-largest economy. unable to maintain political distance ○ Downside: major environmental impact from Beijing, as laws were changed in Several years ago, when the U.S. Embassy 2001 so that now the chief