Chapter 6
Culture and Communication
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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• Understand and articulate a meaning for culture and intercultural communication.
• Describe the most typical variations in culture and how they affect communication.
• Develop a mindful approach to intercultural communication.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
• The chapter opens with an introduction to a couple, Christine and John, who come from
different cultural backgrounds. Soon after they began dating, John wanted Christine to meet his
mother, Turan, because her opinion of his love interest was important to him. When they met,
WHAT IS CULTURE?
• The English word culture originally referred to a tendency toward natural growth, but evolved to
reference that which was elevated, precious, and uncommon in society.
In the nineteenth century, some philosophers used the word culture when contrasting
wealthy elites (high culture) with people of lower socioeconomic position (low culture).
By the twentieth century, anthropologists had embraced the term to reflect all of human
existence, collectively, by groups of people.
CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
• Diversity refers to the differences stemming from traditional categories like race, ethnicity,
gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and religion.
Compared to people who lived in prior periods, people today have more agency to make
choices about the groups they belong to—and to decide what the groups mean to them.
• Race, Ethnicity, and Heritage
Race is a commonality based on genetically shared physical characteristics of people in a
group.
Ethnicity is a cultural background that is usually associated with shared religion, national
origin, and language.
• These words can be controversial, mostly because they lack an inherent meaning
or precise definition.
• Gender and Sexual Orientation
Gender refers to both cultural and behavioral traits related to one’s biological sex.
• Sex and gender are related but not the same.
• A combination of sexuality studies, second-wave feminism, and masculinity
studies have challenged earlier ideas and started to dismantle the concept of
gender as binary (two choices—male or female).
• One example of shifting ideas about gender roles is how men and women are
navigating the workforce.
• Age
Age identity usually is defined in two ways—by chronological age and by generational
association.
Because we all get older and our chronological age increases, we must update our
identities accordingly.
By contrast, identifying with people on the basis of generation involves an identity that
never really changes. It is fixed with other people who were born at the same period in
time. Examples include baby boomers, Gen-Xers, and millennials.
Most research indicates that younger people tend to self-identify by chronological age,
but as they get older, they disassociate themselves from their age group and instead
emphasize their connection to their generation.
VARIATIONS IN CULTURE: HOW DO THEY AFFECT COMMUNICATION?
• Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance refers to a society’s willingness to tolerate ambiguity or
uncertainty.
• Individuals in certain cultures have a high uncertainty avoidance, which means
• High and Low Context
Low-context cultures focus mainly on the spoken word and believe that the words
directly communicate the message.
• Individuals in low-context cultures often experience anxiety and discomfort over
vagueness and ambiguity.
• Individualistic and Collectivist Cultures
People who live in individualistic cultures privilege anything associated with
preserving individual freedom and personal autonomy.
• Examples of individualistic cultures include Australia, Sweden, and especially the
United States.
Collectivistic cultures prefer harmony, cooperation, tradition, loyalty, and togetherness
and are conditioned to control the expression of their emotions.
• Collectivist cultures include most of the nations in Asia and all of South America.
• Masculine and Feminine Cultures
Research has found that traditionally masculine cultures embrace such values as
ambition, assertiveness, decisiveness, and independence.
• They also champion differentiated gender roles (often favoring general male
• High-Contact and Low-Contact Cultures
In moderate- to high-contact cultures, people often move or stand closer to one
another, touch more frequently, and are willing to express themselves nonverbally.
In low-contact cultures, the reverse is true: individuals generally stand farther apart,
touch with much less frequency, and are more likely to be emotionally distant and
reserved.
• High-Power-Distance and Low-PowerDistance Cultures
Power distance is the extent to which a culture recognizes and tolerates power—
specifically, the distribution of power among individuals.
• Power distance can take many forms, including political, legal, economic,
financial, and social.
In high-power-distance cultures, those in superior positions (the wealthy or politically
connected) have considerably more power than those in subordinate positions.
• They will also maintain an emotional and psychological distance from one
another.
ASSIMILATION, ACCOMMODATION, AND SEPARATION
• Assimilation
Assimilation occurs when a person takes on the characteristics of a dominant general
culture.
• In voluntary assimilations, the person often seeks acceptance from the dominant
culture. In other words, he or she wants to fit in.
CHALLENGES TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
• Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to perceive one’s own culture as important and superior
to other cultures.
• Prejudice
Prejudice is the act of showing negative and illogical bias toward what is different.
• At its root, prejudice is the product of ignorance—the state of not knowing or the
absence of facts, data, logic or experience.
CONSTRUCTIVE STEPS FOR IMPROVING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
• Mindful intercultural communication means becoming a better communicator across
cultures by embracing a willingness to learn more about other cultures and to think outside our
own cultural biases.
• It also means demonstrating respect for another culture by voluntarily adapting the
culture’s style of communicating as a way to avoid conflict.
• Show Awareness of and Respect for Cultural Variations.
• Express a Willingness to Learn about and Participate in Other Cultures.
• Limit Ethnocentrism and Condemn Hate.
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LIST OF KEY TERMS
intercultural communication
culture
enculturation
co-cultures
acculturation
low-context cultures
high-context cultures
individualistic cultures
collectivist cultures
masculine cultures
feminine cultures
high-contact cultures
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How does the process of enculturation occur?
• Enculturation is the process by which we learn about the culture we are born into—
including its values, mores, and traditions.
• First, have students define the culture in which they belong, and then have them identify
some traits that help define that culture. How were the traits learned? Who or what were the
sources of their exposure? Students will likely have similar responses. Let their responses
lead the discussion.
2. What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
• Many people confuse the terms or use them interchangeably. Students should realize you can
have different ethnic groups within the same race.
3. Explain how identifying with one’s age is different than identifying with one’s generation. What
generation do you identify with?
• Age identity usually is defined by a person’s chronological age and by generational
association. As we get older, we update our identities accordingly. By contrast, identifying
with people on the basis of generation involves an identity that never really changes—
4. What are some examples of hate speech? Who can be the target? What can we do as responsible
citizens to help combat it?
• Have students come up with a list of about five examples. Some examples could include
ethnic slurs, politically incorrect jokes about those with disabilities, sexist statements, antigay
remarks, racist cartoons, and the display of anti-Semitic symbols.
• Anyone can be the target of hate speech, and technology and social media have made it
increasingly easy for some people to inflict it on others. Most popular social media sites
5. What are the steps to improving intercultural communication, and why are they important?
• Students should provide responses similar to the following:
Embrace a willingness to learn more about other cultures and to think outside our
own cultural biases.
Demonstrate respect for another culture by adopting the culture’s style of
communicating.
APPLY YOUR SKILLS
APPLY YOUR SKILLS FROM CHAPTER 6
1. Look at the “Apply Your Skills” activity on page 189 in the text. After students complete the
activity, have them answer the following questions, either in a small group, in a class discussion, or
in writing:
MORE “APPLY YOUR SKILLS” IDEAS
1. Review the illustration “Uncertainty Avoidance” on page 170 in the text. Which person is
exhibiting high uncertainty avoidance? Which person is exhibiting low uncertainty avoidance?
2. Review the illustration “High Power Distance” on page 175 in the text. To which worker can you
relate when speaking to your boss? Do you prefer to work in a low-power-distance or high-power-
distance climate and why? What are the advantages and disadvantages in working in each type of
climate?
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PERSONAL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. Have students think of a time when they’ve been around someone from another culture. What are
some reasons that people sometimes shy away from building relationships with people from other
cultures, and what are the consequences of doing so? Conversely, what are some advantages in
building those relationships?
2. In this exercise, students will explore a culture outside of their own. Have students choose a
public setting—such as a restaurant (Thai, Indian, Greek, Japanese), a worship service outside of
3. Do your students agree that people play into gender roles? Have students write a reflection
describing factors that influence the genders with which they identify. What types of behaviors do
they exhibit that might be seen as “masculine” (if any), and what behaviors do they display that
might be seen as “feminine”? Do students feel that they sometimes hide certain behaviors that go
against a stereotypical gender role? If so, why?
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Study abroad activity: Give students 30 minutes to complete this activity. Provide them with the
hypothetical opportunity to study abroad. Have them research the website for your school’s study
abroad office to choose a country where they would like to study. Have them determine whether the
culture is a monochronic one or a polychronic one. Is the country a high-context or low-context
culture, and how does that compare to American culture? Have students develop a list of 10 local
2. Have students form groups of four or five. Provide them the scenario that they have been asked
to serve as a focus group to provide the campus administration feedback about the need for better
intercultural communicators across campus. Give the groups 15 minutes to record their responses to
3. Have students visit the Airbnb website at , and give them 15 minutes to
research how the program works. Then have them take out a piece of paper and write down three to
4. Have students ask their parents or grandparents about the origin of their family. If students do
not have access to someone who can tell them about their heritage, they can select one of interest
5. Have students form groups of four or five, and assign each group a type of social media (such as
Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, Tumblr, or YikYak) to investigate how they monitor “hate
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ADDITIONAL MEDIA RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES
1. Search for and watch Emma Watson’s speech to the United Nations to launch the HeForShe
campaign (2014), a movement for gender equality. What are three key takeaways your students can
learn from this speech regarding gender equality?
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HANDOUTS AND READY–TO–PRINT ACTIVITIES
Age Identity: Generational Characteristics
Research the generational characteristics of the generations listed below, and
write the characteristics that you find in the boxes provided. Do the people you know
exhibit the characteristics that are found in their generational age? Why or why not?
Do you exhibit the generational characteristics that are used to describe your
generation? Why or why not?