Transcript Low-Context - Napa Valley College

CHAPTER 5
CULTURAL PATTERNS &
COMMUNICATION:TAXONOMIE
S
Low Context
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German, Swedish, European American,
English
Explicit codes
Every statement must be precise
Overt messages
Time highly organized
Low-Context = most
information is
stated explicitly in the verbal message
High Context
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Japanese, African American, Mexican, Latino
Implied messages
Apart of values, norms, beliefs, social practices
Covert messages
Ingroups
Time less structured
High-Context = most information is the context or
person rather than the verbal message
II. Hofstede’s Cultural
Taxonomy
•Power
•Masculine/Feminine
•Individual/Collective
•High/Low Context
Individualistic = puts the individual first, over
the group
Power Differences
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1. High Power Distance = power is in the
hands of a few
Brazil
India
Low Power Distance
power is evenly distributed
throughout the citizenry
Denmark
New Zealand
Masculine vs. Feminine
Collectivism
promotes group values as most
important
Uncertainty Reduction
the more we reduce uncertainty,
the greater comfort we feel
Culture Shock
the psychological reaction you
experience when you’re in a culture
very different from your own.
III. Theories of Culture &
Communication
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A. Language Relativity = theory that the
language we speak influences our behaviors
and our perceptions of the world
C. Maximizing Outcomes =
trying to gain the
greatest rewards while
paying the least costs
What is Culture?
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Three approaches:
1.
Social science - how culture influences
communication.
2.
Interpretive - cultural patterns within specific
contexts.
3.
Critical - communication as instrumental in
resisting power and oppression.
What is Culture?
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High Culture and Low Culture
1.
2.
High culture includes the cultural
activities of the elite or well-to-do.
Low culture – reconceptualized as
popular culture—refers to cultural
activities of the nonelite.
What is Culture?
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Social Science Approaches
1.
Anthropology: shared and learned
patterns of beliefs and perception
2.
Psychology: the collective programming
of the mind
What is Culture?
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Interpretive Approaches
1.
2.
Ethnography of communication symbolic significance of verbal and
nonverbal activities
Hymes' eight-part “SPEAKING”
framework for studying naturally
occurring speech in depth and context.
What is Culture?
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Cultural Studies:
1.
Views culture as a site of struggle for
contested meanings.
2.
Argues for the significance of popular
culture
3.
Draws attention to the struggles of
marginalized groups in society
What is Communication?
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A symbolic process whereby reality is
produced, maintained, repaired and
transformed.
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A dynamic process: when we negotiate
meaning, we are creating, maintaining,
and transforming reality.
The Relationship between Culture
and Communication
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Culture influences communication.
Communication is shaped by deeply held cultural values
and beliefs (Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961)
Human
The
nature
relationship between humans and nature
Relationships
Preferred
between humans
forms of activity
Orientation
to time
The Relationship between Culture
and Communication
 Communication
influences culture.
Culture is enacted through communication.
Cultural communication scholars study how
cultures are performed and expressed through
communication rituals.
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Cultural studies researchers try to discover how
individuals use their own space to resist dominant
society.
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The Relationship Between
Communication and Context
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Context is defined as the physical and/or
social aspects of a communication
situation.
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People communicate differently depending
on the social, political, and historical
contexts of their interaction.
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Context is not static or objective, and it
can be multilayered.
Communication and Power
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Power is always a part of
communication interactions.
A. Individuals rarely have equal power in
communication interactions.
B. People in power consciously or unconsciously
create and maintain power systems that support
their own ways of thinking and communicating.
Communication and Power
C. There are two levels of group-related power:
1. Primary dimensions, which are more permanent
in nature
2. Secondary dimensions, which are more
changeable
D. Dominant cultural groups perpetuate positions
of privilege in many ways, but disempowered
people may find creative ways to negotiate
power.