CH.10: communication and culture Flashcards
culture
system of beliefs, understandings, practices, and ways of interpreting experience that are shared by a number of people
cultures vary on five dimensions
individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity/femininity, and long-term/short-term orientation
individualism/collectivism
the extent to which members of a culture understand themselves as part of and connected to their families, groups, and cultures
uncertainty avoidance
the extent to which people try to avoid ambiguity and vagueness
power distance
the size of the gap between people with high and low power and the extent to which that gap is regarded as normal
masculinity/femininity
the extent to which a culture values aggressiveness, competitiveness, looking out for yourself, and dominating others (masculine) vs gentleness, cooperation, taking care of others, and living in harmony with the natural world (feminine)
long-term/short-term orientation
the extent to which members of a culture think about long term (history and future) vs short term (present)
dynamic
cultures are dynamic - they evolve and change over time
social communities / cocultures
groups of people who live within a dominant culture, yet also are members of another group that is not dominant in that culture; examples: gender, social class, race, ethnicity
high-context communication style
indirect and undetailed communication favored in collectivist cultures and social communities
low-context communication style
explicit, detailed, and precise communication favored by individualist cultures and social communities
hate groups
collections of people that advocate and engage in hatred, aggression, or violence towards members of particular groups
ethnocentrism
the use of one’s own culture and its practices as the standard for interpreting the values, beliefs, norms, and communication of other cultures
cultural relativism
recognizes that cultures vary in how we think, act, and behave as well as what they believe and value
resistance
a response to diversity in which we attack the cultural practices of others or proclaim that our own cultural traditions are superior
assimilation
occurs when people give up their own ways and adopt those of the dominant culture
tolerance
a response to diversity in which we accept the differences even though we may not approve of them or even understand them
understanding
a response to diversity in which we assume that differences are rooted in cultural teachings and that no customs, traditions, or behaviors are intrinsically better than any others
respect
a response to diversity in which we value others’ customs, traditions, and values, even if we don’t actively incorperate them in our lives
participation
a response to diversity in which we incorporate some of the practices and values of other groups into our own lives
multilingual
able to speak and think in multiple languages
