Chapter 6: Intercultural Communication
Chapter Objectives and Integrator Guide
After reading and thinking about this chapter, students should be able to:
Objective
Resources
1. Define and explain the
differences among culture,
race, ethnicity, and co-
culture.
Key Terms: Intercultural
communication, culture, race,
ethnic group, dominant culture,
and co-cultural groups.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 101–105
Figure 6.1: Reproduction of the Questions on Hispanic Origin
and Race Form from the 2010 Census
Table 6.1: Women as a Co-Culture in the United States
Challenge Yourself: How do I effectively confront and speak out
against prejudice or hate speech? (p. 105)
Study Question 1 (p. 118)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 1: Understanding Perspectives of the
Nondominant
Activity 6.1: Cultural Stereotypes
2. Explain why the study of
intercultural communication
is important.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 105–107
Figure 6.2: Hispanics and Non-Hispanics as a Percentage of
the U.S. Population 2000-2050
Study Question 2 (p. 118)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 2: Transnational Business
Activity 6.2: Village of 100 People
3. Explain the three most
common reasons for
intercultural communication
problems.
Key Terms: Ethnocentrism,
cultural relativism, stereotype, and
prejudice.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 107-110
Skill Builder: Reflect on Your Own Cultural Identity (p. 108)
Study Question 3 (p. 118)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 3: Responding to Stereotypes
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4. Identify four broad
characteristics that
distinguish cultures from
each other.
Key Terms: Individualistic
cultures, collectivistic cultures,
uncertainty-accepting cultures,
uncertainty-rejecting cultures,
implicit-rule cultures, explicit-rule
cultures, M-time, and P-time.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 110-115
Connecting Globally: The Right to be Forgotten Varies By
Culture (p. 113)
Table 6.2: Cultural Characteristics
Study Question 4 (p. 118)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 4: M and P Time Orientations
Activity 6.3: Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Communication
5. Name strategies for
improving communication
with people from other
cultures.
Key Terms: Code sensitivity and
reflexivity.
In the Text:
Page Reference: pages 116-117
Study Question 5 (p. 118)
IM Resources:
Discussion Starter 5: Intercultural Communication Competence
Activity 6.4: Cultural Diversity Assumption Quiz
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Chapter Outline
I. Defining Intercultural Communication
A. Intercultural communication refers to interactions between people from
different cultural backgrounds.
C. Race refers to categories of people distinguished by inherited features,
such as skin color, facial features, or quality of hair.
D. Ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics that make people different from
one another.
i. An ethnic group consists of people who share common cultural
elements – for example language or relational – as well as a
common history.
E. The dominant culture is the group that has the most power, influence, and
rights.
F. A co-cultural group is the non-dominant groups in a culture that typically
does not have as much power, influence, and rights.
II. Why Study Intercultural Communication?
A. The developments in technology have made intercultural and co-cultural
communication more possible and likely than ever before.
B. Communication with people from other cultures is becoming increasingly
common.
i. Transnational business
ii. International conflicts
iii. Military and humanitarian service
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III. Biases that Affect Intercultural Communication
A. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own group or culture is superior to all
other groups or cultures.
B. Stereotyping is the tendency to generalize to all individuals in a group
based on the characteristics of a few. Stereotypes are often negative. The
result of stereotyping is that all members of a group are viewed in a limited
way.
C. Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group of people just because
they belong to that group.
IV. Characteristics that Distinguish One Culture from Another
A. Individualistic Versus Collectivist Cultures
i. Individualistic cultures value individual freedom, choice,
uniqueness, and independence.
2. Value competition over cooperation
4. Individual achievement over group accomplishments.
5. Individual opinions over what anyone else might think.
ii. Collectivist cultures value the group over the individual.
1. These cultures place the “we” before “I.”
3. Usually loyal to their spouse, employer, community, and
country
5. Group-defined social network and duties over personal
opinions.
B. Uncertainty-Accepting Versus Uncertainty-Rejecting Cultures
i. Uncertainty-accepting cultures tend to be tolerant of ambiguity and
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3. They are more likely to reject outsiders, such as immigrants,
refugees, and migrants, especially if they look and act
different than the majority population.
C. Implicit-Rule Versus Explicit-Rule Cultures
i. Implicit-rule culture is one in which cultural rules are embedded in
tradition and followed faithfully.
ii. Explicit-rule culture is one in which policies, procedures, and
expectations are more likely to be discussed or negotiated.
D. M-Time Versus P-Time Cultures
V. Strategies for Improving Intercultural and Co-Cultural Communication
A. Conduct a self-assessment to better understand your attitudes toward
other cultures and co-cultures.
B. Practice supportive communication behaviors, such as empathizing with
the situation of the other person, to encourage success in intercultural and
co-cultural exchanges.
C. Develop sensitivity toward diversity and recognize that you can learn
something from people from other countries and cultures.
D. Avoid stereotypes by not making assumptions about another’s culture.
E. Develop code sensitivity, which is the ability to adapt to the verbal and
nonverbal language of the individual with whom you are communicating,
regardless of cultural or co-cultural differences.
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Discussion Starters
1. Understanding Perspectives of the Nondominant: Consider a time that someone
different from you interacted with you in a way that caused you to understand the
world differently because of their perspectives. What was it about their experiences
that caused you to re-evaluate your own knowledge about something? For example,
2. Transnational Business: Discuss how you think studying intercultural
3. Responding to Stereotypes: Have you ever been stereotyped in either a positive
4. M and P Time Orientations: How many of you know someone who would be
completely lost without their day planner? Conversely, how many of you know
someone who couldn’t show up on time to save their life? What is your own
5. Intercultural Communication Competence: The chapter presents 11 tips for
improving intercultural communication competence with others. Which tips
presented in the chapter bring to mind someone who embodies the recommendation
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Activities
ACTIVITY 6.1 CULTURAL STEREOTYPES
Purpose: Students should be able to recognize cultural stereotypes; speculate about
the origins of such stereotypes; and consider some strategies for overcoming
stereotypes.
Procedure: Have the students define stereotype. Next, have them think of cultural
groups in their everyday experiences who seem to be treated stereotypically. Select one
culture to place on the board. Explore the ways in which the co-cultural group is treated
This activity works best if the instructor moves briskly through the negative aspects of
stereotypes and includes some positive stereotypes as well (for example, doctors know
Debriefing: This exercise should lead to a lively discussion of how stereotypes affect
communication. Are you likely to initiate a conversation with someone who belongs to a
group that you stereotype negatively? Will you assume that the individual naturally
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ACTIVITY 6.2 VILLAGE OF 100 PEOPLE
Purpose: Students sometimes come to believe that diversity doesn’t affect them. This
exercise can help students see how rapidly a community increases its diversity as well
as think about diversity in terms of the global village.
Procedure: Visit the census.gov website and pull together statistics for your city about
the diversity of your own community. This can be used to lead a discussion about
diversity within your own city. Use the questions and information below to consider what
diversity would look like on a global scale.
Ask: How many people out of the hundred would be white? Non-white?
How many people would be Christian? Non-Christian?
How many would be Female? Male?
How many heterosexual? How many would identify as LGBTQ+?
How many would have a college education?
A Village of 100 People…
If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of 100 people, with all the existing
human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 for the Western Hemisphere, both
north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female.
11 would identify as LGBTQ+.
6 people would possess 59% of the
entire world’s wealth. All 6 would be
from the United States.
80 would live in sub-standard housing.
70 would be unable to read.
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for
acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.
—Philip M. Harter, MD FACEP, Stanford University School of Medicine
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Debriefing: After discussing what diversity looks like globally and locally, students are
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ACTIVITY 6.3 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Purpose: Students should be able to identify culturally significant nonverbal patterns
and recognize how the differences function in communication.
Procedure: Start by seeing if anyone in class knows how people communicate
nonverbally in another nation. Then move to co-cultural differences between groups in
this country by selecting an ethnic group, an immigrant group, an athletic group, or any
Debriefing: The students should become more aware of their own culturally significant,
nonverbal communication patterns as well as those of various cultures. The exercise
underlines the importance of nonverbal communication. A review of nonverbal
communication is good preparation for the exercise.
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ACTIVITY 6.4 CULTURAL DIVERSITY ASSUMPTIONS QUIZ
Purpose: One way to help students develop greater sensitivity toward diversity is to
Procedure: Provide students a copy of the cultural diversity assumptions quiz on the
next page. Ask them to pair up with someone that they do not know yet and haven’t
talked with much in the class. Then, tell them to not talk to each other, but to mark an
answer for the person for each of the 30 questions.
After they have completed the quiz, have each pair of students tell the other person
what they marked and discuss what the person would have marked about himself if they
were taking the quiz. Talk with the class after all pairs have finished the activity, and see
if they learned something new about the person. Have them talk about any assumptions
Debriefing: From this activity, students learn more about some of the inaccurate ways
that their assumptions impact the way they think about others. The students can even
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CULTURAL DIVERSITY ASSUMPTION QUIZ
definitely definitely
yes no
1. Is a fraternity / sorority member ________ ________
3. Smokes cigarettes ________ ________
5. Likes to watch TV ________ ________
7. Drives a sports car ________ ________
9. Is active politically ________ ________
11. Likes classical music ________ ________
13. Has plants in his / her dorm room / appt. ________ ________
15. Is involved in intellectual activities (clubs, ________ ________
groups, etc.)
17. Is religious ________ ________
19. Has money (wealthy) ________ ________
21. Is a hard worker in school ________ ________
23. Likes to go camping / outdoorsy ________ ________
25. Likes to travel ________ ________
27. Likes country music ________ ________
29. Has a 3.0 GPA or above ________ ________
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30. Likes to go to dinner / movie for fun ________ ________