Тема 1.

Lecture 1. Overview to Intercultural Communication

Defining Intercultural communication

When cultural variables play a primary part of the communication process, the result is intercultural communication. Not only must we trace culture's socialzing patterns on each person, but recognize and respect how culture's imprint ac­counts for differences in communication style, world view, and personality. All too often, experts find messages and relationships halted, because one or both people in the relationship are not sure how to respond to a person who is per­ceived as dissimilar. Gudykunst and Kim apply the metaphor of stranger to these encounters with people perceived is "different from me." Inside our information processing functions is a need to explain the nagging uncertainty that accompanies interaction with someone from a contrasting group. The term perceived cultural difference reminds people that in the presence of diversity, such as language, values, thought, customs, and style, we often strive to resolve internal inconsistencies posed by the diversity. Effective intercultural communication occurs when the strive becomes a drive to reduce the uncertainty and anxiety of perceived differences. Adjusting, appealing to commonality, and cultural sensitivity are but a few functional, intercultural coping skills. Reinforcing bigotry, negative stereotyping, denial, and withdrawal illustrate dysfunctional pathways to intercultural communication.

A Model of Intercultural Communication

Messages, perception, and information processing have always been a part of the study of communication, but communication scholars now recognize how culture, and its underlying dimensions, explain communication. When culture plays a critical role between individuals and groups, taking these into account becomes the realm of intercultural communication. The model for this text pre­sented in figure 1 portrays this process.

As the model indicates, we recognize the influence of culture (including group identities), personality (involving communication style), and the perception of an interpersonal relationship on communication outcomes. Intercultural commu­nication emphasizes culture.

Perceived group or cultural differences can create barriers because of our "blind spots," which trap us with biases, misunderstanding, personal arrogance, and negative stereotypes and labels. In the presence of difference the human sys­tem motivates communicators into some form of reconciliation. We can speak of this motivation to understand, act, think, and speak appropriately as a drive.

"Perceived difference" means we assess others internally, as if to measure according to a scale of similarity or dissimilarity. This process leads to social categorizing whereby individuals supply names, labels, and motives to another person. When social categorization turns negative, it becomes a source of racism, bigotry, intolerance, ethnocentrism, and prejudice. In any case, when faced with difference, there is a "drive" or motivation connected with the en­counter. One response is uncertainty which is cognitive, leading us to need in­formation to fill in the gaps. A second response possibility is anxiety, which is an affective or emotionally based fear.

In other words, the questions and emotions we experience in the presence of "difference" ignite a pivotal beginning in the intercultural communication process, a drive to know another person and do something. In turn, we draw from our cultural and personal identities to estimate something about this new person. If perceived difference results from the "scanning," it calls for reconcili­ation, without which relationships remain indifferent, warped, or hostile.

A crucial point of the model is the adaptive culture, culture C, created as a result of the driving forces at work after differences between A and B are perceived. The entire range of adaptive characteristics are referred to as an adaptive culture. The idea of a third culture is not new; researchers for some time have viewed some form of merging, commonality, or coalescing as an im­portant strategy. In this model, however, a new culture created between two individuals or groups results from a drive for communication comfort, is artificially created, and becomes a temporary arena in which interactants adjust to each other within a context striv­ing for balance and equilibrium. Almost everyone develops an adaptive style or set of procedures when faced with uncertainty or anxiety. Unfortunately, some adaptive behaviors coming out of this artificially created "culture" C are dys­functional. Other adaptive cultural behaviors are functional and lead to positive experiences and effective outcomes.

The climate resulting from the development of culture C can turn out posi­tively or negatively depending on changes in three areas. First, there must be a positive feeling toward the other person or group (referred to often as the affec­tive level), such as trust, comfort, safety, affirmation, or lowered anxiety. With­out this feeling—that one is regarded as worthy and can experience mistakes without being ridiculed or ignored—a person is less likely to communicate well with another who is different. Moreover, adjustment and effectiveness, in a new culture may be lessened or prolonged or may never occur at all.

The second area needed to make a successful third cultural climate involves recognizing the beliefs we bring to intercultural encounters (frequently called the cognitive level). These include expectations, uncertainties (because of things we do not yet know about a person or a lack of accurate observation), misunder­standing of rules or procedures, a sense of strategy for communication compe­tency, and activation of cues that trigger negative or positive social cognitions (such as stereotypes and attributions). Without accurate understanding a person is less likely to communicate well with another who is different.

A final area needed to build the third culture climate is intercultural communi­cation competence. That means developing actions and accompanying skills (called the behavioral level), such as verbal and nonverbal communication performance, survival skills, and interfacing with systems and institutions in a new culture.

In sum, a pattern for climate building is needed. By clearing our feelings positively, by developing good knowledge about the culture and the communi­cation process, and by engaging in communication strategy designed to act com­petently, we become more successful.

From the adaptive culture C positive and effective intercultural outcomes occur when people feel competent and can communicate. If the adaptive cul­ture is dysfunctional or unhealthy, then effectiveness is likely to be illusive or only accidental. If the adaptive culture is functional or healthy, through com­petent intercultural communication by which we refine adaptation to another culture (that is adapting communication to cultural factors) effectiveness is more likely.

Personality and Communicator Style Influencing Intercultural Communication

An individual's personal communicator style can be seen as a part of culture and a contributor to intercultural communication outcomes. Consider, for in­stance, the quiet, nonverbal behavior exhibited by a Japanese person who prefers to go unnoticed in a crowd. Contrast this with a North American who values assertiveness and who believes that self-created recognition may to some extent relate to success. Acceptable personality behaviors in one culture may be offen­sive in another culture. Cultural types and cultural heroes provide a rich reser­voir for learning the ideal types for a culture; often heroes stand as a model for individual personality development.

Interpersonal Perception Factors Influencing Intercultural Communication

All of us have "yardsticks" by which we evaluate an interactant in communica­tion. This perception of another person falls into several domains, raising ques­tions. Is this relationship of potential worth? Does this person present risk for me? Power over me? Is there believability? Similarity? Attraction?

In other words, what social or personal attributions do I make about this person? For most people, the attributions color our motivation to interact. For example, you can be an assertive person, but if the other person or group seems to hold little importance or attraction for you, it is unlikely you will feel a moti­vation to approach, bridge the cultural gap, accommodate, and engage in the process of communicating. Common relationship orientation revolves around in­terpersonal attraction, group attraction, social network potential, similarity, cred­ibility, and opinion leading relationships.

Cultural Differences Perceived in Communication

Culture is the "summation and interrelationship of an identifiable group's beliefs, norms, activities, institutions, and communica­tion patterns." Every culture has themes, expectations, values, modalities, ten­dencies, procedures, and rules. Culture is like a kaleidoscope with similar shapes but different colors, or at other times, with different shapes but similar colors. One reason to study culture is to be able to recognize its impact on our commu­nication rules, which we bring to intercultural encounters.

Macrocultural systems. Obviously, there are large global regions and na­tional cultures that are structurally and organically bound together into a social system where people have developed a cultural network.

Microcultures and cocultures. The term microculture, used interchange­ably with coculture and diversity culture, is a collectivity with con­scious identity and grouping coexisting within a larger culture. Microcultures, or cocultures, often experience common themes regarding image, bonding, and association.

Microcultures of social identification. Most people belong to a number of groups, some voluntary, some by birth, adoption, or selection into those groups. Salient groups—the ones we consciously value—provide a source of identity. Structurally, these are microcultures or cocultures within a macroculture. Each group exhibits some similarities to the large culture, but also some differences. Within most macrocultures, smaller group cultures are cocultures marked by social class, education, age, and associations.

Microcultures of social identity rely on members' mutual self-perception, but they also are defined by religion, geography, wealth, national origin, age, gender, work, and family. The significance of social identity groups lies in their saliency for any one individual. For instance, your friend might not find much use for a civic club that you enjoy.

Microcultures of heritage. Heritage cultures involve common origins, race, or family ties. Ethnic groups are identifiable bodies of people noted for their common heritage and cultural tradition, which are often national. Interethnic com­munication is communication between two or more persons from different ethnic backgrounds.

Race is genetically transmitted involving traits of physical appearance. There­fore, interracial communication is communication between two or more persons of differing racial backgrounds. The important concern is that racial differences can trigger negative attributions that cut off potential communication.

Countercultures. Countercultural communication involves persons of cocultures who in some form oppose a dominant host culture. Prosser defines it as “that interaction between members of a subcultural or cultural group whose members largely are alienated from the dominant culture. Members of the group not only reject the values of the dominant culture or society, but may actively work against these values. Conflict is often the result.”

Demographic group membership communication. In many instances, so­cial participation and group membership are units marked by their homogene­ity on ideological characteristics. Many intergroup differences, fueled by group loyalties, explode into serious concerns for subcultural communication. Also, gender, residence, occupation, income, and age exemplify demo­graphic group differences.

Communication between social classes. Some of the differences between people are based on status inferred from income, occupation, and education. Communication between these classes is appropriately labeled social class com­munication. There is a large gap in many parts of the world between the elite and the masses as well as between the rich and the poor. Often accompanying this gap are significant differences in outlook, customs, and other features. Al­though these social classes share some aspects of a common culture, their differ­ences become a cultural concern.

Rural-urban communication. Rural and urban life-styles are noted for dif­ferences in pace of life, fatalistic tendencies, philosophy, and interpersonal rela­tionship formation among other qualities. These differences represent communi­cation styles and functional differences in communication when rural and urban individuals interact.

Regional communication. People from one region of the country often have serious communication problems with people from another region. Regional cultural styles differ.

Gender communication. Evidence confirms how communication patterns markedly differ between men and women. From examples in management to cases in the family, data remind us that there are male and female cocultures. The different communication styles of males and females can be a source of enormous interpersonal misunderstanding. An understanding of the cultural dif­ferences involved can improve intercultural skills.

Organizational cultural communication. Another kind of cultural commu­nication climate in which most of us interact is organizational culture—that is, the culture of an organization that includes its accompanying norms, procedures, and communication patterns. Every organization has its own customs and rules, which along with the mind-set of corporate members, profoundly influences the way organizational members interact among themselves and how they interact with people from other organizational cultures.

Family cultures. Social research is moving in the direction of how family systems are major agents of social change.