CHAPTER 8 

COMMUNICATION ACROSS CULTURES

Reasons for studying intercultural communication

(4) 

1. Increased opportunities for intercultural contact 
2. Increase self-awareness
3. Business effectiveness (greater success in both domestic and international business contexts) 
4. Improved intergroup relationships (need for better communication and understanding between countries and ethnic groups)

Through travel, through socialization, and through participation in an intercultural relationship

 Challenges in dealing with intercultural communication 

(2) 

1. Dealing with the psychological stress of being in an unfamiliar environment (culture shock)
2. Learning how to behave appropriately in the new culture. (verbal and nonverbal) 

When travelers return home, and experience a culture shock in one's own country 

Encapsulated marginal people 

(type of border dweller) 

• They feel disintegrated by having to shift cultures.
• They have difficulty making decisions and feel extreme pressure from both groups.
• They try to assimilate, but never feel comfortable or at home.

Constructive marginal people 

(type of border dweller) 

• They thrive in their "border" life and, at the same time, recognize its tremendous challenges.
• They see themselves as choice makers
• They recognize the significance of being "in between" and they continuously negotiate and explore this identity.

Common rigid stereotypes to not mix up

(3) 

1.  Think of cultural values as a bell curve.  
2. Values should be referred on the cultural level, not an individual
3. You can't predict how one person will communicate 

1. Individualism / Collectivism 
2. Preferred Personality 
3. View of human nature 
4. Human-Nature value 
5. Power distribution 
6. Long-term versus Short-term Orientation 

• A value orientation that stresses the needs of the group
• Collectivists value working toward relationship and group harmony over remaining independent and self-sufficient

1. In the first view, humans are intended to rule nature.  
2. Second, nature is seen as ruling humans.
3. Third, the two exist in harmony 

Long-term orientation

(Polytheistic)

• A value orientation in which people stress the importance of virtue
• Tends to respect the demands of virtue, reflected in Eastern Polytheistic religions

Belief in more than one god. 

Short-term orientation

(Monotheistic) 

• A value orientation in which people stress the importance of virtue
• Characterizes cultures in which people are concerned with possessing one fundamental truth, reflected in monotheistic (beleif in one god) religions 

Monotheistic: belief in one god (judaism, Christianity) 

• Recognizes that things need not be perceived as "either/or," but may be seen as "both/and"
• Helps people respond to the complexities of intercultural communication and to override any tendencies to stereotype people based on cultural patterns.

1. Cultural-Individual 
2. Personal-Contextual
3. Differences-Similarites 
4. Static-Dynamic 
5. History/Past-Present/Future 
6. Privilege-Disadvantage

• Cultural patterns can change or stay the same.
• Recognize both traditional and contemporary realities of a culture.

A significant miniority group within a dominant majority that does not share dominant group values or communication patterns. 

1. Remember that everyone is enmeshed in a culture and thus communicating through a cultural lens.  Don't conclude that your culture is the best 
2. Be aware of their humanity and avoid the temptation to view them as exotic "other" 
3. Open to other ways of viewing the world.  

1. Increase motivation 
2. Increase your knowledge of self and others 
3. Avoid stereotypes 

CHAPTER 9 

COMMUNICATING IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 

Benefits of close relationships 

1. Better moods
2. Emotional and physical support
3. Improved satisfaction with life 
4. Physical & mental health 

Explains the three primary forces that draw people together to form relationships: 

1. Proximity 
2. Interpersonal attractiveness 
3. Similarity 

Attractiveness 

& Matching hypothesis

• Attractiveness - the appeal one person has for another, based on physical appearance, personalities, and/or behavior

• Matching hypothesis - the tendency to develop relationships with people who are approximately as attractive as we are.  

Theory that proposes relationships develop through increases in self-disclosure

1. Breadth: describes the number of different topics dyads willingly discuss. 
2. Depth: how deep of personal communication exchanges are
3. Frequency: how often self-disclosure occurs

• Theory that relationships are built on the tension between contradictory, but related needs;
• 3 primary dialectical tensions are Autonomy/Connection, Expressiveness/Privacy, and Change/Predictability

Model of relationship development that views relationships as occurring in "stages" and that focuses on how people communicate as relationships develop and decline

1. Initiating 
2. Experimenting
3. Intensifying
4. Integrating
5. Bonding

Stage of romantic relational development in which both people seek to learn about each other

Stage of romantic relational development in which both people portray themselves as a couple

Stage of romantic relational development characterized by public commitment

1. Differentiating
2. Circumscribing  
3. Stagnating  
4. Avoiding  
5. Terminating

Stage of romantic relational dissolution in which couples discuss safe topics

Stage of romantic relational dissolution in which couples try to prevent change

Stage of romantic relational dissolution in which couples try not to interact with each other

A model of relationship development in which couples move both toward and away from commitment over the course of their relationship

Interpersonal violence 

(2 types) 

• Physical violence against a partner or child 
• Battering: describes relationships in which one individual uses violence as a way to control and dominate his or her partner 
• Situational couple violence: less intense forms of violence and tends to be more mutual in its performance, although women usally suffer more serious injuries than do men.  

Factors that affect relationships and how we develop and communicate

(3) 

1. Societal norms  
2. Social norms
3. Norms for communication

1. Topic avoidance
2. Meaning denial (hurtful comments) 
3. Disqualification (allow others to speak regardless of their own position or experience)

CHAPTER 10 

SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION 

Why study small groups? 

(4) 

1. Fact of life 
2. Enhance college performance 
3. Enhance your career success 
4. Enhance your personal life

Social facilitation 

(Advantage of group work) 

Disadvantages of group work

(4) 

1. Group work can be time consuming 
2. Groups can fall into the trap of too much closeness and agreement and get distracted
3. Groups can silence divergent opinions 
4. Can be less satisfying when some group members dominant or withdraw 

Communication among a small number of people who share a common purpose or goal, who feel connected to each other, and who coordinate their behavior

(must have at least 3people; 5-7 is optimum ) 

Directly related to the accomplishment of the group's goals; these communication roles often involve seeking, processing, and evaluating information

Role that helps establish a group's social atmosphere (encourage others to talk or mediate disagreements) 

Trait theory 

(First theory of effective leaders) 

Suggests that leaders are born 

(physical traits such as; tall, male, and good looking) 

Functional (situational) theory 

(Second theory of effective leaders) 

Shared leadership (collaborative or distributed leadership) 

(Functional theory)

Team relationships become more of a partnership in an organization.  Requires a balance of power where: 

• All members are equal partners 
• All share a common goal 
• All share responsibility for work 
• All work together 

Style theory 

(Third theory of effective leaders) 

• Asserts that a leader's manner or style of leading a group determines her or his success.
• Describes three common styles of leadership; authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire 

Authoritarian leader 

(Style theory) 

Democratic leader 

(Style theory) 

Leader whose style is characterized by considerable input from group members; tends to lead to higher member satisfaction

Laissez-faire

(Style theory)  

Leadership style characterized by complete freedom for the group in decision making; leader has minimal participation

Transformational leadership 

(Fourth theory of effective leaders) 

Charismatic leadership

(Often confused with transformational leadership) 

Servant leadership

(Fifth theory of effective leaders)

Leadership style that seeks to ensure that other people's highest priority needs are being served in order to increase teamwork and personal involvement

1. Equal participation
2. A consensus decision-making style
3. A cooperative conflict style
4. A respectful communication style

1. Define and delineate the problem
2. Analyze the problem 
3. Identify alternative solutions 
4. Evaluate proposed solutions 
5. Choose the best solution

Potential pitfall in small group interaction; occurs when excessive analysis prevents a group from moving toward a solution

Orientation 

or primary tension

(First phase of decision-making)

Phase of decision making, group members usually orient themselves to the problem and to each other.

Primary Tension: the uncertainty commonly felt in the beginning phase of decision making

Conflict 

(Phase Two)

• Conflict or tension found in the second or conflict phase of the decision-making process 
• Members may begin to interrupt each other or talk more loudly. 

Emergence

(Phase Three)

Reinforcement phase 

(Phase 4)

Final phase of the decision-making process when group members reach consensus, and members feel a sense of accomplishment

Negative, and potentially disastrous, group process characterized by "excessive concurrence thinking" 

1. Innovation 
2. Performance (Efficancy) 
3. Group Process 
4. Group Enjoyment

Two types of diversity 

1. demographic diversity (age, gender, ethnicity) 
2. deeper cultural difference in attitudes and values 

CHAPTER 11 

COMMUNICATING IN ORGANIZATIONS 

The goals and effects of communication (production, maintenance, innovation)

1. Assimilation 
2. Supervisor-Subordinate communication 
3. Coworker communication 

Employees are hesitant to communicate negative news and present info in a more positive light than is warranted

1. Openness
2. Supportiveness
3. Motivation
4. Empowerment

1. Ingratiation: behavior and communication designed to increase liking.  
2. Assertiveness: expressing one's opinions forcefully without offending others 
3. Rationality: the ability to communicate through reasoning, bargaining, coalition building, and assertiveness

Emotion labor - when an organization expects or requires workers to display particular feelings

Stress and Burnout - arises due to personality traits (how well you handle stress) and organizational stressors (aspects of the job that create strain) 

Work-life Conflict - difficulties individuals and families face as they try to balance job and home responsibilites 

1. New social contract - loyalty is not expected by worker's job security doesn't exist.  
2. Contingent workforces - work in temporary positions, part-time, or subcontractors 
3. Urgent organizations - companies that try to shorten the time it takes to develop new products and respond to customer demands
4. Blurred boundaries between work and life.  

Requests for sexual favors as a condition of getting or keeping a job or benefit; one of the two types of sexual harassment recognized by federal law

1. Decide what your goal is
2. Decide if the issue is worth confronting 
3. Try to understand the other party's goals
4. Think about when and where the conversation should take place.  

CHAPTER 12 

RHETORICAL COMMUNICATION 

Communication that is used to influence the attitudes or behaviors of others; the art of persuasion

1. Essential to a vital democracy
2. Helps people seek justice
3. Helps people clarify their own beliefs and actions

Identity one creates through one's public communication efforts

• "logic" 
• Refers to reasoning or argumentation more generally.  Refers to how rhetors construct arguments or present evidence so that audiences reach a particular conclusion.  

• Refers to more than the prestige of one's family.
• Comes from the way society is structured.  
• (Related to the concept of ethos)
• ** allows for certain rhetors to be more powerful than others.** 

Are those people who could take the appropiate action. 

(Only registered voters are a part of this audience)  

Refers to any event that generates a significant amount of public discourse

(Unusual weather or natural disasters / holidays / sport events/ weddings/ funerals/ retirement parties) 

The type of rhetoric used to argue what a society should do in the future (deeply embedded in the democratic process) 

(EX: argue about raising taxes to pay for new roads) 

This form addresses events that happened in the past with the goal of setting things right after an injustice has occurred

A mass movement of people motivated to create social change. 

(Use rhetoric to mobilize a large number of people) 

Three general purposes for public speaking: 

1. To inform
2. To persuade
3. To entertain

1. Informative speech 
2. Persuasive speech 
3. Evocative speech 

1. Explains, instructs, defines, clarifies, demonstrates, or teaches. 
2. Influences, convinces, motivates, sells, preach, or stimulates action. 
3. Entertain, inspire, celebrate, commemorate, or build community. 

Special-occasion speeches

(evocative speeches) 

Focuses on what you would like to inform or persuade your audience about, or what type of feelings you want to evoke.  

(nutshell of what you want the audience to know) 

Thesis Statement

&

Supporting Materials  

A statement of the topic of a speech and the speaker's position on it

Supporting materials: information that supports the speaker's idea

Five organizational patterns

• Chronological (one that follows a timeline) 
• Spatial pattern (one that arranges points by location and can be used to describe something small)
• Topical pattern (one that has no innate organization, except that imposed by the speaker)
• Problem-Solution (one in which the speaker describes various aspects of a problem and then proposes solutions)
• Cause-effect (one used to create understandings and agreement, and sometimes to argue for a specific action)  

1. Understand the communication event 
2. Research and organize your presentation 
3.  Rehearse and deliver your presentation 

Three important aspects delivery 

Referes to the presentation of the speech you have researched, organized, and practiced 

1. Being aware of the time 
2. Developing a speaking persona 
3. Putting your speech into action 

CHAPTER 13 

MASS MEDIA AND COMMMUNICATION 

The plural form of medium, a channel of communication

Mass-market paperbacks

& 

E-books 

Popular books addressed to a large audience and widely distributed

** E-books: electronic book read on a computer screen instead of a printed page ** 

Emphasizes the effect of media messages on the individual 

(media message --> recievers) 

Factors that influence media choices

(3) 

1. Age 
2. Friends
3. Regional identity 

1. confirming social identities 
2. helping people understand the world 
3. helping individuals undserstand important public events

Approach to understanding media that focuses on a specific aspect of the content of a text or group of texts

Power of media coverage to influence individuals' view of the world

Effects media violence has on children 

(4) 

• Increased aggressiveness and antisocial behavior
• Increased fear of becoming victims 
• Less sensitivity to violence an victims of violence
• Increased appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life

MPAA 

Motion Picture Association of America

devised rating codes 

** G, PG< PG-13, R ** 

Media activism concentrated on the ethics of what four areas? 

1. Children's programming
2. Representations of cultural groups 
3. News reportings 
4. Alternative programming 

How to become more effective in your media consumption

(3)  

1. Be an active agent in your media choices 
2. Broaden your media horizons  
3. Talk back

CHAPTER 14

COMMUNICATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES 

Collection of mediated communication technologies that are digital and converging and tend to be interactive

Computer-mediated communication

(CMC) 

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) 

& 

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) 

• SNSs - web-based service where people construct their profiles, identify others with whom they share a connection, and interact with others within the system
• MMOGs - text-based "virtual reality" games in which participants interact with enrichments, objects, and other participants

Theoretical perspective that views mediated communication as complementing or augmenting face-to-face communication

Potential benefits of media augmentation approach

(2) 

Asynchronous - allows time to think 

Absence of nonverbal cues - can also have a positive effect

Filtering

(Media deficit approach)

Synchronous

& 

Asynchronous

(Media deficit approach)

Synchronous - communication in which messages are sent and received at the same time  

&

Asynchronous - communication in which messages are sent and received at different times  

1. Informative aspect of the identity
2. Capacity to liberate speech 
3. The combination has generated a new set of group norm 

Phishing 

& 

Cyberbullying 

The practice of trying fraudulently to get consumer banking and credit card information

&

The deliberatr and repeating misuse of communication technology by an individual or group to threaten or harm others

Pseudoanonymity 

& 

Avatars 

Projecting a false identity 

 & 

Digital alter-egos or versions of oneself, used in MMOG's

Field of availables 

(Positives and negatives) 

Describes the fact that the universe of potential partners and friends accessible through new media is much larger than in traditional relationships.  

Positive: Potential to extend relationships  Negative:  Online relationships can be fragile

1. The ease of finding similar others 
2. Getting past the gates 
3. Achieving intimate exchanges 

Three issues media cause in the workplace? 

1. Status and boundary issues 
2. Surveillance issues 
3. Confidentiality issues 

Theory that suggests that in order for people to accept a new technology like the computer, they have to see it as useful and compatible with their values and lifestyle

• Access to computer hardware 
• Access to four levels of technocapital: mental, material, skills, usage