Summary Notes Chapter 2 Culture Interpersonal Communication 2018 PDF

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Culture Interpersonal Communication...

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Chapter 2: Culture and Interpersonal Communication And so…what is human relations? 

HUMAN RELATIONS ability to interact effectively with diverse others in a variety of situations.  process that begins early in life and continues to develop in formal and informal ways.

Assessing Your Current Human Relations Abilities 

Activity: Assessing your current strengths and areas of improvement in relations with others.  Looking at your filled in assessment form: 

What are your greatest strengths?

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What are your most significant areas for improvement?

Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to:  Understand and explain the role of culture in interpersonal communication.  Define enculturation, ethnic identity, and acculturation.  Explain and give examples of how cultural differences influence intercultural communication.  Apply strategies for improving intercultural communication.  Recognize and understand the stages of impact of culture shock. What is culture? CULTURE is a set of values, shared by a group of people, which shape and influence norms, attitudes, beliefs, expectations, perceptions, and behaviors of group members. Culture  The specialized lifestyle of a group of people that is passed on from one generation to the next through socialization, not genes.  Everything a group has developed o Values o Beliefs o Artifacts o Languages o Ways of Behaving o Ways of Thinking Discussion Questions 

Name at least six different examples of culture.

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What are values? Do they affect culture?

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What factors influence development of a particular culture and its values?

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To what extent can we determine a person’s culture from his or her physical appearance?

Learning Culture  Acculturation o How you learn the rules and norms of a culture different than your native culture o Being exposed to a new culture  Who teaches you culture?  Can ethnic identity cause ethnocentrism?  How has your culture been modified by contact with a different culture?  Enculturation o How culture is transmitted from one generation to the next o Ethnic identity  Through the process of enculturation you learn the values of your culture o Through the teachings of your parents o Peer groups o Schools o Religious institutions o Government agencies o And the Media  According to Hall (1976)- everything people do is modified by this cultural learning which gradually sinks below the surface of the mind to appear as innate… becomes natural and right and the only way to act.  Through enculturation you develop an ethnic identity – a commitment to the beliefs and philosophies of your culture. This can lead to ethnocentricity. Acculturation refers to the process by which a person’s culture is modified through direct contact with or exposure to another culture. Culture and Diversity 

Culture is steeped in diversity.  Diversity involves a long, enduring history.  A wide degree of diversity in acceptable behavior among different people comes from different value systems.

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Cultureà à diversityà different value systemsà norms, beliefs, situational expectations, perceptions, attitudes

How is this related to values? 

Diversity creates a sense of “right” behaviors or “naturalness” that may be very different among people.

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Can you think of an example? Think of Kohlberg’s research on moral development? One of the best known of Kohlberg’s (1958) stories concerns a man called Heinz who lived somewhere in Europe. 2

Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of cancer. Doctors said a new drug might save her. The drug, had been, discovered by a local chemist and the Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the chemist was charging ten times the money it cost to make the drug and this was much more than the Heinz could afford. Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and friends. He explained to the chemist that his wife was dying and asked if he could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the money later. The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was going to make money from it. The husband was desperate to save his wife, so later that night he broke into the chemist’s and stole the drug. Kohlberg asked a series of questions such as: 1. Should Heinz have stolen the drug? 2. Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife? 3. What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make any difference? 4. Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the woman died? • Do all people respond identical to questions related to the “rightness” or “wrongness” of stealing? Why? Why not? Think of the “table manners” you were exposed to as children? Are these the same for all people in the class?... For all people in the world? How do you know? What about ideas concerning birth control, abortion, treatment of the elderly And so… 

Culture influences basic values related to a wide range of things:  Group norms  Beliefs  Situational expectations  Perceptions  Attitudes

How are values defined? VALUES are guiding principles. •

Terminal values ─ Refer to overall life goals

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Instrumental values ─ Refer to types of behavior that we strive for or prefer

Values Are the Foundation of Culture

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Everyone has values.

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Judgments about goodness and badness often made when there is disagreement with personal beliefs and behaviors.

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Challenge in value identification involves discovery of positive outcomes each person seeks.

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Becoming familiar with global value systems provides way to draw ideas and possibilities.

Understanding Our Values  Were you surprised to discover your top terminal values?  Were your terminal values related to your instrumental values? PART 1: TERMINAL VALUES (values that refer to overall life goals)  _______ A Comfortable Life (a prosperous life)  _______ An Exciting Life (a stimulating, active life)  _______ A Sense of Accomplishment (making a lasting contribution)  _______ A World at Peace (free of war and conflic t)  _______ A World of Beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)  _______ Equality (equal opportunity for all)  _______ Family Security (taking care of loved ones)  _______ Freedom (independence, free choice)  _______ H appiness (contentedness)  _______ I nner H armony (freedom from inner conflic t)  _______ M ature Love (sexual and spiritual intimacy)  _______ N ational Security (protection from attack)  _______ Pleasure (an enjoyable, leisurely life)  _______ Salvation (saved, eternal life)  _______ Self-Respect (self-esteem)  _______ Social Recognition (respect, admiration)  _______ True Friendship (close companionship)  _______ Wisdom (a mature understanding of life)

PART 2: INSTRUMENTAL VALUES (values that refer to types of behavior that westrivefor or prefer)  _______ Ambitious (hard-working, aspiring)  _______ Broadminded (open-minded)  _______ Capable (competent, effective)  _______ Cheerful (light-hearted, joyful)  _______ Clean (neat, tidy)  _______ Courageous (standing up for your beliefs)  _______ Forgiving (willing to pardon others)  _______ Helpful (working for others’ welfare)  _______ Honest (sincere, truthful)  _______ Imaginative (daring, creative)  _______ Independent (self-reliant, selfsuffic ient)  _______ Intellectual (intelligent, reflec tive)  _______ Logical (consistent, rational)  _______ Loving (affectionate, tender)  _______ Obedient (dutiful, respectful)  _______ Polite (courteous, well-mannered)  _______ Responsible (dependable, reliable)  _______ Self-Controlled (restrained, selfdisciplined)

Values in Everyday Life

In the third blank tier can you purpose another value taking it through this process… 4

A Model of Cultural Development

• How a challenging environment is in relation to culture, technology, education, wealth, personal independence, and social norms • How will understanding these relationships aid in the understanding the origins of culture? What are the origins of culture? Cultural norms are transmitted between generations, causing change to evolve slowly. Basic component of cultural norms equals survival.  Cultural norms/values stem from behavior patterns needed to survive and thrive.  Survival needs frame cultural variations. Where in the world?  

How does geography influence culture?  Geographical region influence  Non-geographical influence Geographical region influence 

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Particular challenges (and their resolution) in the environment shape cultural values, norms, and behavior patterns. Challenges include such things as:  availability of resources  population density  climate

Critical Thinking Question 

Can you think of an example of a crowded region that has strict social structure and hierarchical status group? 5

Non-geographical influence  

Culture permeates the lives and choices made as people pursue individual goals. Non-geographical influences include such things as:  age  gender  education  ethnicity  race  religion  related social needs

Critical Thinking Question •

Think about your own culture and identify one important element of it (e.g., your age, gender, ethnicity, religion, or race)

• Next think about how this element of your culture-and thus your identity-has influenced your life in terms of your choices, opportunities, or goals. • What is one specific life outcome that you can link directly to your culture? That is, name one specific way that this element of your culture helped lead you to where you are now. • If you are comfortable sharing that information, compare your answer to that of one of your classmates or friends.

The Importance of Culture  Demographic changes – with demographic change comes different customs and the need to understand and adapt to new ways of looking at communications.  Economic interdependence – Today most countries are economically linked with one another. Our economic lives depend on our ability to communicate effectively across cultures. So does our political well-being  Communication Technology – Technology has made intercultural interaction easy, practical, and inevitable. Thus we have social-networks friends from different cultures and these relationships require a new way of looking at communication and culture.  Culture-specific Nature of interpersonal communication. – another reason why understanding the role of culture is so important is that interpersonal competence is culture specific The Aim of a Cultural Perspective The Aim of a Cultural Perspective  Culture influences interpersonal communication: o What you say to yourself o How you talk with others  Cultural understanding helps you communicate effectively from those who are culturally different from you  Cultural Evolution vs. Cultural Relativism 6

o Cultural relativism – Canada’s multicultural approach is the belief that no culture is either superior or inferior to any other. Example- what happened when Quebec introduced the Quebec Charter of values Cultural Differences  Cultural distinctions o Individualist or Collectivist Orientation o High Context or Low Context o Power Structure o Masculinity-Femininity o Tolerance for Ambiguity o Long-term or Short-term Orientation o Uncertainty Avoidance o Indulgence or Restraint  It is important to understand how cultures differ and how these differences influence communication. Individualist and Collectivist INDIVIDUALISM-COLLECTIVISM (IC)) is a value system based on relative importance of individual versus group or family. Dimension is characterized on continuum Individualism (higher value on the individual)...