Culture and Interpersonal Communication Ch 2.
2.1
Culture
specialized lifestyle of a group of people
Passed to generations through communication and not genes
Learning Culture
Enculturation
Ethnic Identiy
Process by which culture is transmitted from one generation to another
Sex
Refers to the biological distinction between male and female
sex is determined by genes
Gender
Refers to the cultural roles of masculine and feminine
what you learn from their culture
attitudes, values and the way of communicating and relating
Commitment to the beliefs and philosophy of your culture
Race
classification of humans of the basis of there physical and biological characteristics
Acculturation
the process by which one culture is modified of changed through contact with or exposure to another culture
Importance of culture
Demographic changes
New population of people means the need to understand and adapt to new ways of looking at communication
Sensitivity to Cultural differences
use to be that you had to leave your culture to the new culture where you live but now you retain your native cultural ways
Economic Interdependence
Our economic lives depend on our ability to communicate effectively across cultures
communication technology
technology has made intercultural interaction was practical and inevitable
Culture specific nature of interpersonal communication
interpersonal competence is culture specific
2.2
Individualist culture
You're responsible for yourself and perhaps you immediate family
Collectivist culture
you're responsible for the entire group
Face saving
relative importance of maintaining a positive self-image
High contact cultures
emphasis on the information that is in the context or in the person
Low context cultures
emphasis on the information that is explicitly stated in verbal messages or formal transactions in written form
Masculine Culture
men are valued for their assertiveness, material success and strength
women are valued for their modesty and focus not their quality of life and tenderness
High power distance cultures
power is concentrated in the hands of a few and theres a great difference between the power held by these people and the power of the ordinary citizen
Low power distance cultures
power is more evenly distributed throughout the citizenry
2.3
High ambiguity tolerant cultures
don't feel threatened by unknown situations, uncertainty is a normal part of life, and people accept it as it comes
low ambiguity tolerant cultures
do much to avoid uncertainty and have a great deal of anxiety about nor knowing what will happen next
the see uncertainty as threatening and as something that must be counteracted
Longterm orientation
promotes the importance of future rewards
short term orientation
look more to the past and the present
Instead of saving for the future members of this culture spend their resources for the present and want quick results from their efforts
indulgence
those that emphasize the gratification of desires
they focus on having fun and enjoying life
restraint
those that foster the curbing of such gratification and its regulation by social norms
Improving Intercultural Communication
Communication between persons who have different cultural beliefs values or ways of behaving
cultural sensitivity
attitude and way of behaving in which you're aware of and knowledge cultural differences
ethnocentrism
intercultural communication
tendency to see others and their behaviors through your own cultural filters and often as distortions of your own behaviors
stereotypes
fixed impression of a group of people
mindfulness
state of mental awareness , in a mindful state, you're conscious of your reasons for thinking or communicating in a particular way
Mindlessness
lack of conscious awareness of your thinking or communicating
Culture shock
the psychological reaction you experience when you encounter a culture very different from your own