The History of the Study of Intercultural Communication, Fpt Education Presentation

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Identify four early foci in the development of
   intercultural communication.
2. Describe three approaches to the study of intercultural
   communication.
3. Identify the methods used within each of the three
   approaches.
4. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of each
   approach.
5. Identify three characteristics of the dialectical
   approach.
6. Explain the strengths of a dialectical approach.
7. Identify six intercultural communication dialectics.

CONTENTS

1. THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISCIPLINE
   Nonverbal Communication
   Application of Theory
   An Emphasis on International Settings
   An Interdisciplinary Focus
2. PERCEPTION AND WORLDVIEW OF THE RESEARCHER
3. THREE APPROACHES TO STUDYING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
   The Social Science Approach
   The Interpretive Approach
   The Critical Approach
4. A DIALECTICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND
   COMMUNICATION
   Combining the Three Traditional Paradigms:
   The Dialectical Approach
   Six Dialectics of Intercultural Communication
   Keeping a Dialectical Perspective

Why should you study how the field of intercultural
communication got started?=> To understand the contemporary approaches to
this discipline, it's important to examine its historical
and philosophical foundations

THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISCIPLINE

The roots of the study of intercultural communication
can be traced to the post-World War II era, when the
United States increasingly came to dominate the
world stage.

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Nonverbal communication varies from culture to
culture
The importance of nonverbal communication and
applied linguistic frameworks to investigate nonverbal
aspects of communication.

EXAMPLE OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Proxemics: how people use personal space to
communicate
Distance zones: intimate, personal, social, and
public

APPLICATION OF THEORY

Cross-cultural training: Guide people about variations
in cultural behavior.
Diversity training: among members of various gender,
ethnic, and racial group.

AN EMPHASIS ON INTERNATIONAL SETTINGS

Originally the culture was defined in terms of
"nationality."
scholars mistakenly compared middle-class U.S.
citizens with all residents of other nations
focus on helping middle-class professionals
become successful overseas.

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FOCUS

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: The assumption that
language shapes our ideas and guides our view of
social reality.
Intercultural competence: The ability to behave
effectively and appropriately in interacting across
cultures. intercultural competence The ability to
behave effectively and appropriately in

PERCEPTION AND WORLDVIEW OF THE RESEARCHER

Paradigm: A framework that serves as the
worldview of researchers. Different paradigms
assume different interpretations of reality, human
behavior, culture, and communication.
Perception: The process by which individuals select,
organize, and interpret external and internal stimuli
to create their view of the world.

THREE APPROACHES TO STUDYING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

(1) the social science (or functionalist) approach,
(2) the interpretive approach,
(3) the critical approach

TABLE 2-1 THREE APPROACHES TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Social Science
(or Functionalist)
Interpretive
Critical
Discipline on
which approach
is founded
Psychology
Anthropology,
sociolinguistics
Various
Research goal
Describe and
predict behavior
Describe
behavior
Change
behavior
Assumption of
reality
External and
describable
Predictable
Subjective
Subjective and
material
Assumptions of
human behavior
Method of
study
Survey,
observation
Participant
observation,
field study
Culture created
and maintained
through
communication
Culture a site
of power
struggles
Contribution
of the
approach
Identifies cultural
variations; recog-
nizes cultural
differences in
many aspects of
communication
but often does
not consider
context
Creative and
voluntary
Changeable
Textual analysis
of media
Relationship of
culture and
communication
Communication
influenced by
culture
Emphasizes that
communication
and culture and
cultural differences
should be studied
in context
Recognizes the
economic and
political forces
in culture and
communication;
asserts that all
intercultural
interactions are
characterized by
power

TABLE 2-2 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH APPROACHES

Social scientific
This research style emphasizes statistical measures.
Understanding quantitative approaches is critical to analyzing
data and statistics. These are skills important in any walk of life.
Interpretive
Interpretive approaches emphasize using language to describe
human behavior. Understanding interpretive approaches
is important to understanding how news is reported, how
information is transferred, and how most people make
decisions.
Critical
Critical methodologies analyze the large power structures that
guide everyday life. Understanding this approach helps students
to grasp the invisible forces that alter our lives.

THE SOCIAL SCIENCE APPROACH

= Functionalist approach
Based on the assumptions that:
(1) there is a describable, external reality,
(2) human behaviors are predictable
(3) culture is a variable that can be measured.
The approach aims: To identify and explain
cultural variations in communication and to
predict future communication.
Quantitative methods: Research methods that use
numerical indicators to capture and ascertain the
relationships among variables. These methods use
survey and observation.
Variable: A concept that varies by existing in
different types or different amounts and that can
be operationalized and measured. variable A
concept that varies by existing in different types or
different amounts and that can be
operationalized and measured.

Some Social Science Approaches

Individualistic The tendency to emphasize
individual identities, beliefs, needs, goals,
and views rather than those of the group.
Collectivistic: The tendency to focus on the
goals, needs, and views of the in group
rather than individuals' own goals, needs,
and views.
Anxiety uncertainty management theory:
The view that the reduction of anxiety and
uncertainty plays an important role in
successful intercultural communication,
particularly when experiencing new cultures.
Face negotiation theory: The view that
cultural groups vary in preferences for
conflict styles and face-saving strategies.
Conversational constraints theory: The
view that cultural groups vary in their
fundamental concerns regarding how
conversational messages should be
constructed.
Diffusion of innovations theory: The view
that communication and relationships
play important roles in how new ideas are
adopted (or not) by individuals and
groups.

Applications of Social Science Approach

It may be difficult to understand the
various meanings of the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
STEVE
In this photo, people are trying to make
their way to safety while the National
Guard comes into New Orleans. How
would you study the meanings of
Katrina? What kinds of questions can
you ask from each paradigm? What
kinds of questions can't be asked from
each paradigm?

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE APPROACH

Limitations
human communication
is often more creative
than predictable and
that reality is not just
external but also
internally constructed
some methods: not
culturally sensitive
Strengths
useful in identifying
variations in
communication from
group to group and
specifying
psychological and
sociological variables

TO OVERCOME THESE KINDS OF PROBLEMS

Translation
equivalence: The
linguistic sameness
that is gained after
translating and
back-translating
research materials
several times using
different translators.
Conceptual
equivalence: The
similarity of linguistic
terms and meanings
across cultures.

THE INTERPRETIVE APPROACH

Aims: to understand and describe human behavior
based on the assumptions that:
(1) human experience is subjective
(2)
human behavior is creative rather than
determined or easily predicted
(3)
culture is created and maintained through
communication

Some Interpretive Approaches

Qualitative methods: Research methods that
attempt to capture people's own meanings
for their everyday behavior in specific
contexts. These methods use participant
observation and field studies.
Participant observation: A research method
where investigators interact extensively with
the cultural group being studied.
Rhetorical approach: A research method, dating
back to ancient Greece, in which scholars try to
interpret the meanings or persuasion used in texts or
oral discourses in the contexts in which they occur.
Etic: A term stemming from phonetic. The etic
inquiry searches for universal generalizations across
cultures from a distance.
Emic: A term stemming from phonemic. The emic
way of inquiry focuses on understanding
communication patterns from inside a particular
cultural community or context.

Applications of Interpretive Approach

BOSTON COMMON
FOUNDED
16
VETERANS
PEACE
FIGURE 2-2
One way to study and learn about cultural patterns is to interview
other people, which is this woman's approach. What are the strengths and weaknesses
of interviewing as a research strategy? (@ Digital Vision/Alamy)

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF INTERPRETIVE APPROACH

Strengths
Provides an in-depth
understanding of
communication
patterns
it emphasizes
investigating
communication in
context
Limitations
There are few interpretivist
studies of intercultural
communication
Not studied what happens
when two groups come in
contact with each other
the researchers often are
outsiders to the
communities under
investigation - may not
represent accurately the
communication patterns of
members of that
community

THE CRITICAL APPROACH

A metatheoretical approach that includes
many assumptions of the interpretive
approach but that focuses more on
macrocontexts, such as the political and
social structures that infuence
communication.

FOCUS ON CRITICAL APPROACH

Macrocontexts: The
political, social, and
historical situations,
backgrounds, and
environments that
influence
communication
Textual analysis:
Examination of cultural
texts such as
media-television,
movies, journalistic
essays, and so on.
MESECTUR
WERE
WAFD
1150WJ
FIGURE 2-3
This photo of Louisiana Governor
Kathleen Blanco (left) and FEMA director Michael
Brown (right) highlights the importance of com-
munication in helping to shape our understanding of
the response to Hurricane Katrina. How might each
of the paradigms study these communication mes-
sages and their influence in shaping the response to
Hurricane Katrina? (C Jocelyn Augustino/Corbis)