Unit 3: Dimensions of Culture

Unit 3: Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:• define 'culture' and 'intercultural communication' in your

own words;• explain the general features of culture and sub-cultures;• discuss the differences between individualist and

collectivist cultures, and identify three other dimensions of cultural variation;

• explain briefly the major theories of culture within the context of intercultural speech communication; and

• suggest implications of principles of intercultural communication for speech strategy use.

Defining ‘culture’

'Culture' is complex and has far-reaching implications for speech communication practice

• Simple definition - "the way of life of a particular group of people".

• Extended definition: "the relatively specialised life-style of a group of people - consisting of their values, beliefs, artefacts, ways of behaving, and ways of communicating. Also included in a culture are all that the members of a social group have produced and developed - their language, modes of thinking, art, laws, and religion" (DeVito, J. 1997: 85).

• Culture tends to underlie all aspects and forms of speech communication.

Defining culture (cont’d…)

• Distinction between 'primary culture' and 'secondary culture(s)‘

• Primary culture refers to ‘native’ culture i.e the culture one is born into

• secondary culture refers to the sub-cultures we belong to in relation to the social roles that we play in our daily lives. – membership in special interest communities – involve different ways of thinking, values, beliefs,

ways of behaving, and ways of communicating– language (both spoken and written) plays a dominant

role in all forms of cultural activity.

Defining culture (cont’d…)

• Some Features of Culture• Culture is passed from one generation to the next

through communication, not through genetic inheritance. Ethnicity is NOT culture, but religion can be part of culture.

• Culture is not the same as race or ethnic origin, but members of a particular race often share the same culture by being taught through communication. It is not uncommon to find sub-cultures within a large population of people who are of the same ethnic group.

• Enculturation is the process of learning one's own native culture. Agents include parents, peer groups, schools, religious institutions, and government agencies.

Culture (cont’d…)

• Acculturation is the process of learning a non-native culture. Factors that promote acculturation include cultural similarity, extroversion and risk-taking.

• Ethnocentrism is one of the major problems that negatively colour cultural awareness and sensitivity towards people from other cultures. DeVito (1999, p. 24) defines this problem and provides some very useful information. Read this section and Table 1.3 about 'the ethnocentrism continuum'.

How do Cultures Differ?Useful to look at differences between

cultures in three ways:

• Orientation (general tendencies of members),

• Context (how much information is shared), and

• Power distance (differences in social rank and status).

Culture Orientation

Collectivism versus Individualism in a continuum:• Individualism – the tendency of people in a given

culture to value “individual identity over group identity, individual rights over group rights, and individual achievements over group concerns” (Ting-Toomey & Choong, 1996: 239, cited in Tubbs and Moss, 2000: 284).

• Collectivism – the tendency of people in a given culture to value “group identity over individual identity, group obligations over individual rights, and in-group oriented concerns over individual wants and desires” (ibid.)

Culture Orientation (cont’d…)

Individualistic orientation:• personal goals• independence• being direct in communication• being less influenced by friends, family, school, religion,

etc. Collectivist orientation:• group needs• interdependence• avoiding direct conflicts• generally working towards group solidarity

Culture Orientation (cont’d…)

Important points about culture orientation:• not mutually exclusive• people have dominant tendencies towards one

orientation or the other• team player (collectivist) vs. individual player

(individualistic)• Opposing orientations may lead to conflict – mostly

affect speech practice in small groups and organisational contexts: individualistic members tend to favour clarity and directness while collectivists adopt ‘face saving’ to avoid being negative in their evaluation

Culture context

High-context vs. Low-context Cultures• Context – ways in which information is

coded, shared and transacted• High-context cultures:

– More skilled in decoding non-verbal behaviour– Assume that other people will also be able to

do the same

• Low-context cultures tend to depend more on explicit, verbal behaviour

Culture context (cont’d…)

• High/Low contexts at opposite ends of a continuum

• Culture scholars compare high-context cultures to collectivist cultures and low-context cultures to individualistic orientations

• Japanese and Arab cultures are said to lie at the high end of the continuum vs. German, British, and Scandinavian cultures

Culture context summary

High-Context

Information implicit

More shared info.

More spoken transactions

People listen more

Low-Context

Information explicit

Less shared info.

More written contracts and rules

More oral agreements and understandings

Power Distance

• Power distance – the distribution of power among the members of a given culture.

• PD refers to the degree to which people accept authority, leadership, and multi-tiered government as a natural part of their culture E.g. some people have higher status and are therefore more powerful.

• The term ‘power’ may be roughly defined as the ability that people have in making decisions that involve and influence other people’s lives.

• People who have more power have more freedom of choice

Power distance (cont’d…)

High power distance• power tends to be concentrated in a few people,

and there are great differences in the power held by these people (e.g. political leaders) and by the ordinary citizens, e.g., in countries like Brazil, the Philippines, India, China and Mexico

• Communication between those in power and the ordinary people tends to be authoritarian in style.

Power distance (cont’d…)

Low power distance• Power is more or less evenly distributed among

groups and individuals such as in countries like Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia

• Greater sense of equality among the masses• Power that some people do have is only due to

some specific role that they are playing in society, e.g., teachers, doctors, and government officials.

• Perceived abuse of power tends to be openly questioned

Theories of Culture, Language and Communication

• Can there be thought without language? Is thinking simply 'inner speech', that is, intrapersonal communication?

• Does language shape our ideas as well as our cultural practices, or is it a mere tool that serves to express what we already have in our culture?

Language Relativity Hypothesis (LRH)

• From the field of linguistic anthropology (the study of language and culture)

• attempts to trace the origins of language in the practice of culture, and how language influences thought and behaviour in particular cultures (E. Sapir 1929; B. L. Whorf [1956; J. B. Carroll 1956; J. Fishman 1960)

(LRH cont’d…)

• Originally known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis• our thought is shaped by the language(s) we speak• Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956): the world is perceived

differently by members of different communities, and that this perception is transmitted and sustained by language

• Language as the primary way by which culture is expressed and passed on from generation to generation

• Language influences our experience of the world: language is our 'window on the world‘

• Whorf studied the semantic and syntactic differences between native American Indian languages e.g. ‘verbs’ and ‘nouns’ and their meaning

(LRH cont’d…)

• Research by Stolz (1997) and Losoncy (1997) seems to provides further evidence in support of the Whorfian hypothesis.

• Stolz: brain research suggests that the language we use influences our perception of success and failure, and even our actual successes and failures.

• Losoncy: 'relabelling skills' can help us think about and deal with our failures and misfortunes in more useful, constructive ways. E.g. we can relabel the setbacks we experience as "annoyances", catastrophes as "hindrances", failures as "growth experiences", and rejections as "inconveniences“

• Possible link with positive/negative self-talk?

(LRH cont’d…)

• DeVito (1997: 91): subsequent research and theories have not supported the strong view of the original hypothesis

• A more moderate view is now accepted: that the language you speak helps to highlight the things you see and feel, and how you talk about them

(LRH cont’d…)

• linguistic differences between languages do not by themselves contribute to differences in perception, thought, or behaviour, and by extension, to conflicts and problems in intercultural communication

• Difficulties in understanding between people from contrasting cultures are more due to ineffective communication practices rather than language differences

Theory of Uncertainty Reduction (TUR)

TUR (Berger and Calabrese, 1975):

• based on the general observation that elements of uncertainty and ambiguity in many communication situations are due to the large cultural differences

• claims that much uncertainty can actually be reduced through effective communication in the following ways:

TUR (cont’d…)

1.the more people communicate, the more they like each other;

2.the more people communicate, the more intimate their communications will be; and

3.the more non-verbally expressive people are, the more they like each other.

TUR (cont’d…)

TUR - Practical strategies:• (a) Listen actively and check your

perception constantly. • (b) Be specific by referring to concrete and

specific events and concepts rather than to abstract and general ones

• (c) Seek feedback to set right misconceptions sooner rather than later.

• (d) Resist making quick judgements and/or evaluations about people and events especially in cross-cultural situations

Theory of Maximising Outcomes (TMO)

• TMO argument that human beings generally strive to gain the greatest rewards while paying the least costs (Sunnafrank, 1989)

• people tend to interact more with other people who promise positive results and provide support and satisfaction

TMO (cont’d…)

• positive communication outcomes are generally less likely cross-cultural settings

• some people avoid communicating in cross-cultural settings

• tend to predict negative outcomes/results even before they try to communicate

• Need to learn first about the Other's system of communication signals

Culture Shock Theory (CST)

• term 'culture shock' was first coined by the anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in 1960

• CS refers to the psychological reaction that is experienced at being in a culture different from one's own

• CS accompanies feelings of alienation and loneliness, and conspicuousness (being constantly conscious about being different from others)

• CS can produce a vicious circle: • inability to communicate effectively >> serious mistakes

>> more inability to communicate

CST (cont’d…)

CS situations sometimes involve the following speech acts:• (a) how to pay a compliment• (b) extending/accepting a dinner invitation• (c) how early or late to arrive for an appointment• (d) how to distinguish between seriousness and

playfulness• (e) how to distinguish between politeness and

indifference• (f) how to dress for formal, informal, or business

functions• (g) How to order a meal at a restaurant or to summon

the waiter

CST (cont’d…)

CS stages (Oberg 1960):• Stage 1: The Honeymoon - involves fascination and

enchantment with the new culture• Stage 2: The Crisis- the differences between your

culture and the new culture create problems, and the actual ‘culture shock’ occurs during this stage

• Stage 3: The Recovery - you gain the skills and strategies necessary to function effectively in the new culture

• Stage 4: The Adjustment - you make the necessary adjustments and start to enjoy the new culture

Intercultural Communication

• cross-cultural situation vs intercultural communication

• some people use the terms ‘cross-cultural’ and ‘intercultural’ interchangeably

• IC involves communication between persons who have different cultural beliefs, values, and ways of behaving because of cultural distances that are variable between people

IC (cont’d…)

Strategies of Intercultural Communication

• Prepare yourself

• Recognise your fears and face them.

• Recognise differences between your culture and the target culture.

• Recognise differences in meaning

• Follow cultural rules and customs.

Dimensions of Culture:Summary

• Refer to the transactional model of speech communication for role of culture

• Speech communication is about cultural contact (refer to theories)