How Culture affects Communication

Among the things that culture teaches us is how to say "hello" and "good-bye", when
to speak or to remain silent, how to act when you're angry or upset, where to focus your eyes
when functioning as a source or receiver, how much to gesture during speech, how close to
stand to another, and how to display happiness or rage at another's actions. Culture affects our
behavior and communication.
If you've ever had difficulty communicating with someone from a different cultural
background, you've experienced the challenge Of overcoming cultural differences in
communication. It is then important that we recognize, acknowledge, and value our
differences (diversity).
Ethnocentrism, the tendency to see your own culture as superior to all others, is a key
characteristic of failed intercultural communication efforts. Persons who are ethnocentric
experience great anxiety when interacting with persons from different cultures. They are
quick to utter
statements like "They take our jobs", "They're everywhere", and "They're not just like us".
This poses a problem since the more ethnocentric you are, the greater your tendency is to
view groups Other than your own as inferior. As a result, you tend to blame others for
problems and seek to maintain
your distance from them.
In the opposite side of the spectrum is cultural relativism which is the acceptance of
other cultural groups as equal in value to one's own. This happens when instead of viewing
the group to which you belong as superior to all others, you work to try to understand the
behavior of other groups on the basis Of the context in which the behavior occurs rather than
from your own frame of reference. For example, if you're from the city and you go to the
barrios, instead of thinking of your culture as superior than their culture, you see it as simply
different from your own culture and respect the people in the barrios.
Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede and American anthropologist Edward T.
Hall have pioneered the study of cultures and cultural differences. Their work and the work of
others suggest that seven cultural differences, in particular, influence how people interact with
one another.

Seven Cultural Differences

1. Individualism and Collectivism
One way cultures differ is in how much they emphasize individuals rather than
groups. In an individualistic culture, people believe that their primary responsibility is to
themselves. For instance, children in individualistic cultures are raised hearing messages such
as "Be yourself", "You're special", and "There's no one else like you in the world". These
messages emphasize the importance of knowing yourself, being self-sufficient, and being true
to what you want in life. Examples of individualistic cultures are those in the United States,
Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Australia.
By contrast, people in a collectivistic culture are taught that their primary
responsibility is to their families, communities, and the companies they work for. Instead of
emphasizing the importance of being an individual, collectivistic cultures focus on the
importance of taking care of the needs of the group. People in these cultures place a high
value on duty and loyalty, and they see themselves not as unique or special but as a part of the
groups to which they belong. Countries with collectivistic cultures include Korea, Japan, and
many countries in Africa and Latin America.
Cultural values are often expressed through personal appearance. Among the Maori
of New Zealand (left picture), tattoos are commonly used to reflect collectivism, their shared
sense of heritage and community. When people in the US adopt similar, tribal-style tattoos,
it's often to express their individuality rather than their connection to a group or community.
How individualistic or collectivistic a culture is can affect communication behavior in
several ways. When people in individualistic cultures experience conflict with one another,
they are expected to express it and work toward resolving it. In contrast, people in
collectivistic cultures are taught to be much more indirect in the way they handle
disagreements, to preserve social harmony. Another difference involves people's comfort
level with public speaking. "Being assertive" and "standing up for yourself" are valued in
individualistic cultures, but they can cause embarrassment or shame for a collectivistic
culture.

2. High- and Low-Context Cultures

If you've traveled much, you may have noticed that people in various parts of the
world differ in how direct and explicit their language is. In a low-context culture, people are
expected to be direct, say what they mean, and not "beat around the bush". They value self-
expression, sharing one's opinions, and even trying to persuade others to see things their way.
The United States, Canada, Israel, and most northern European countries have a low-context
society.
In contrast, people in a high-context culture are taught to speak in a much less direct
way because for them, maintaining harmony and avoiding offending people are more
important than expressing your true feelings. People speak in a more ambiguous manner and
they convey much more of the meaning through subtle behaviors and contextual cues such as
facial expressions and tone of voice.
An example of how this cultural difference affects communication is the way people
handle criticism and disagreement. In a low-context culture, a supervisor might reprimand an
irresponsible employee openly, to make an example of him or her. The supervisor would
probably be very direct and explicit about what the employee was doing wrong, what the
expectations for improvement were, and what the consequences would be for failing to meet
them.
In a high-context culture, however, the supervisor probably wouldn't reprimand the
employee publicly for fear that it would put the employee to shame Or cause him to "lose
face" (mapahiya).
Criticism in high-context cultures is more likely to take place in private. He would
also likely use more ambiguous language to convey what the employee was doing wrong,
"talking around" the issue instead of confronting it directly.
When people from low- and high-context cultures communicate with each Other, the
potential for misunderstanding is high. For example, Vikki asked two of her friends to meet
her tomorrow evening to watch a movie.
One Of them, Ashley who is from a low-context culture says, "NO, I've got a lot of
studying to do, but thanks anyway." The other one, Ming, who is from a high-context culture,
nods her head and says, "That sounds like fun." But later on, Vikki is surprised that Ming
didn't show up.
This shows that people in high-context cultures are often reluctant to say no—even
when they mean no—for fear of causing offense. Another person from Ming's culture might
have understood from Ming's facial expression or tone of voice that she didn't intend to go to
the movie with Vikki. But because Vikki grew up in a low-context society, however, she
interpreted Ming's answer and her nodding her head to mean she was accepting her invitation.

3. Low- and High-Power Distance

Power distance measures the extent to which individuals are willing to accept power
differences. People from high-power distance cultures such as Saudi Arabia, India, Malaysia,
Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, and the Philippines view power as a fact of life since certain
groups such as royalty or the ruling political party have great power and the average citizen
has much less. People in these societies are taught that certain people or groups deserve to
have more power than others and that respecting power is more important than respecting
equality. Superiors and subordinates in these countries are likely to view each other
differently and subordinates are quick to defer to superiors. Employees in high-power
distance societies are used to having little or no say about how to do their jobs. Instead, they
expect their employers to make the decisions and are more likely to follow those decisions
without question. Meanwhile, people from low-power distance cultures such as Israel,
Sweden, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, and Austria believe power
should be used only when it is legitimate; thus they are apt to ernploy expert or legitimate
power. They believe in the value of equality—that all men and women are created equal and
that no one person or group should have excessive power. They are raised to believe that even
though some individuals are born with more advantages (e.g. wealth or fame), no one is
inherently better than anyone else. This doesn't necessarily mean that people in these societies
are treated equally, only that they value the idea that they should be. Superiors and
subordinates from low power distance countries emphasize their interdependence by
displaying a preference for consultation. Subordinates will even contradict their bosses when
necessary. They value autonomy (the ability to make choices about the way they do their jobs
and the ability to have input into decisions that affect them).

Power distance affects many aspects Of communication. For example, people in low-
power distance cultures usually expect friendships and romantic relationships to be based on
love rather than social status. In contrast, people in high-power distance cultures are expected
to choose friends Or mates from within their social class. Another difference involves the way
people think about authority. High-power distance societies place great emphasis on
obedience and respect for those in power. People are taught to obey their parents and teachers
without question. In contrast, people in low-power distance societies are more often taught
that it's their right—even their responsibility—to question authority. In these cultures it's not
unexpected for people to ask "Why?" when their parents or teachers tell them to do
something.

4. Masculine and Feminine Cultures

Hofstede suggests that we can also apply the terms, "masculine" and "feminine" in
referring to cultures. In a highly masculine culture, members value male aggressiveness,
strength, ambition, achievement, and material symbols of success. They also value sex-
specific roles for women and men. Preferring that men hold the wage-earning and decision-
making positions (such as corporate executive) while women occupy the nurturing positions
(such homemaker). Examples of countries with masuline cultures are Austria, Japan, Mexico,
Italy, Germany, and Great Britain.
While in highly feminine cultures, members value relationships, nurturance,
tenderness in members of both sexes, service to others, and a high quality of life. They tend
not to believe that men's and women's roles should be strongly differentiated.
Compared with masculine cultures, therefore, it would not be as unusual for a man to
care for children or a woman to be her family's primary wage earner. Countries with feminine
cultures are Sweden, Chile, The Netherlands, Norway, and Thailand.
People from masculine cultures tend to be dominant and competitive, confront
conflicts head-on, and are likely to use a win-lose conflict strategy. In contrast, people from
feminine cultures are more apt to compromise and negotiate to resolve conflicts, seeking win-
win solutions.

5. Monochronic and Polychronic Cultures

Cultures vary with respect to their norms and expectations concerning the use of time.
Societies that have a monochronic concept of time, such as Swiss, Germans, and most US
Americans, view time as a commodity. They save time, spend time, fill time, invest time,
and waste time, as though time were tangible. Americans often say "Time is money" and talk
about making time and losing time.
This monochronic time influences social behaviors. Because people in monochronic
cultures think of time as valuable, they hate to waste it. Therefore, they expect meetings and
classes to start on time (within a minute or so), and when that doesn't happen, they are
willingto wait only so long before leaving. They also expect others to show up when they say
they will. Meanwhile, societies with a polychronic orientation include Latin America, the
Arab part of the Middle East, and much of sub-Saharan Africa. They conceive time as more
holistic and fluid and less structured. Instead of treating time as a finite commodity that must
be managed properly, they perceive it more like a never-ending river, flowing infinitely into
the future. Their schedules are more fluid and flexible than they are in monochronic
cultures. For example in Pakistan, if you're invited to a wedding that begins at 4:30 and you
arrive at 4:30, you will most likely find yourself the first one there. A bank or a restaurant
may not open at a specified time—as it would be expected in a monochronic society—but
whenever the owner or manager decides. Students would not expect their professors to begin
class at an appointed time. Instead, students would arrive over a period of time, and the class
would begin whenever the professor was ready. People in a polychronic culture don't
prioritize efficiency and punctuality. Instead, they attach greater value to the quality of their
lives and their relationships with others.