Transcript Low-Context - Napa Valley College

CHAPTER 5
CULTURAL PATTERNS &
COMMUNICATION:TAXONOMIES
Chapter Summary
 Communication and Context
Low Context
 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
 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
2.
Power Differences
 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
 B. Masculine vs Feminine
 C. Individual vs.

Collective Orientation
1.
Individualistic =
puts the individual
first, over the
group
2. Collectivist = promotes group
values as most important
Uncertainty Reduction = the more
we reduce uncertainty, the greater
comfort we feel
D. Culture Shock = the
psychological reaction
you
experience when
you’re
in a culture very
different from
your own.
III. Theories of Culture &
Communication
 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?

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?
 High Culture and Low Culture
1.
High culture includes the cultural
activities of the elite or well-to-do.
2.
Low culture – reconceptualized as
popular culture—refers to cultural
activities of the nonelite.
What is Culture?
 Social Science Approaches
1.
Anthropology: shared and learned
patterns of beliefs and perception
2.
Psychology: the collective
programming of the mind
What is Culture?
 Interpretive Approaches
1.
Ethnography of communication symbolic significance of verbal and
nonverbal activities
2.
Hymes' eight-part “SPEAKING”
framework for studying naturally
occurring speech in depth and context.
What is Culture?
 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?
 A symbolic process whereby reality is
produced, maintained, repaired and
transformed.
 A dynamic process: when we negotiate
meaning, we are creating, maintaining,
and transforming reality.
The Relationship between Culture
and Communication
 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.

Cultural studies researchers try to discover
how individuals use their own space to resist
dominant society.

The Relationship Between
Communication and Context
 Context is defined as the physical and/or
social aspects of a communication situation.
 People
communicate differently
depending on the social, political, and
historical contexts of their interaction.
 Context
is not static or objective, and it
can be multilayered.
Communication and Power
 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.