Com 123 Chapter 3 Notes PDF

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Chapter 3 notes taken from lecture. Teacher cimmi alvarez...

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Chapter 3: Intercultural Communication 

Culture: the system of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and orientations learned through communication that guides what is considered to be appropriate thought and behavior in a particular segment of the population.

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What are values of our culture here in the US? o Fourth of July, patriotism, individualism, success, American dream, Christianity (holidays)

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Dominant culture: the learned system of values, beliefs, attitudes, and orientations held by the majority of the society (white, heterosexual males)

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Co-cultures: cultures that exist side by side with the dominant culture and comprise smaller numbers of people who hold common values, attitudes, beliefs, and orientations that differ from those of the dominant culture. o Code switching: to alter linguistic and nonverbal patterns to conform to the dominant or co-culture depending on the topics or the participants in a conversation o Gender o Race o Ethnicity: a classification of people based on shared national characteristics such as country of birth, geographic origin, language, religion, ancestral, customs, and traditions (national origin) o Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity o Religion: a system of beliefs, rituals, and ethics based on a common perception of the sacred or holy o Social Class: a level in the power hierarchy of a society whose membership is based on income, education, occupation, and social habits o Generation o Cultural Identity: that part of your self-image that is based on the cultural group or groups with which you most closely associate and align yourself

How Cultures Differ

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Chronemics: the study of how perception of time differs between individuals and cultures o Monochronic: a time orientation that views time as being small, even units that occur sequentially o Polychronic: a time orientation that views time as a continuous flow (more fluid)

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Context for sharing meaning o Low-context culture: a culture in which message meanings are usually encoded in the verbal part of the message o High-context culture: a culture in which much of the meaning of a message is indirect and can only be accurately decoded by referring to unwritten cultural rules and subtle nonverbal behavior

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Individual vs. the group o Individualistic culture: a culture that values personal rights and responsibilities, privacy, voicing one’s opinion, freedom, innovation, and selfexpression o Collectivist culture: a culture that values community, collaboration, shared interests, harmony, the public good, and avoiding embarrassment

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Predictability vs. Uncertainty o Low uncertainty-avoidance culture: a culture that tolerates uncertainty and is less driven to control unpredictable people, relationships, or events o High uncertainty-avoidance culture: a culture characterized as having a low tolerance for and a high need to control unpredictable people, relationships, or events

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Social Power Distribution o High power-distance culture: a culture in which both high and low power holders accept the unequal distribution of power o Low power-distance culture: a culture in which members prefer power to be more equally distributes (US)

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Masculine vs. Feminine

o Masculine culture: a culture in which men and women are expected to adhere to traditional sex rolls o Feminine culture: a culture in which people regardless of sex can assume a variety of roles depending on the circumstances and their own choices 

Emotions o Display rules: rules about when, why, and how different emotions are to be expressed (or not)

Barriers to Effective Intercultural Communication 

Anxiety

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Assumptions

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Ethnocentrism: being focused on one’s own culture and viewing it as more important than the cultures of others

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Stereotyping

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Incompatible Codes (pop vs soda)

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Incompatible Norms and Values

Pyramid Mode of Intercultural Competence

Ways to learn about other cultures: 1. Observation 2. Language study 3. Formal cultural study 4. Cultural immersion...