Influence of Salient Cultural Characteristics on Communication Styles - Essay Example

Introduction Culture is said to be an integral element of an individual that has significant contribution in shaping an individual’s attitude, emotions, feelings and behaviour. Culture is also demonstrated in the way different people react and behave in different situation in different ways. Certain cultural traits and characteristics greatly contribute towards the development of particular communication styles and interpersonal skills of people. Because communication style is a learned behaviour it is influenced by the cultural norms and values of a person. There exists visible difference in the communication styles and relationships of people belonging to Anglo-American and Japanese culture. These two cultures are distinct not only in terms of norms and values but also differ with respect to how people behave and interact with each other. In today’s increasingly globalised world people from different cultural backgrounds are required to work together and have consensus on critical issues. Effective communication becomes very important in the context of such working relationships. It is therefore of particular significance to examine the influence of culture on the communication styles adopted by individuals as well its impact on people’s personal relationships. This paper illuminates the ways through which salient cultural characteristics influence an individual or whole society’s communication styles. It categorises the differences in cultures with respect to individualistic and collectivistic approaches as well as high and low context of communication. It basically aims to illustrate that culture plays a very important role in determining the way people communicate and interact with each other. Influence Of Culture On Communication Style And Personal Relationships Culture plays an important role in determining the specific traits and characteristics of individuals belonging to a group that are distinct from other groups of people. People tend to identify themselves with respect to cultural groups and take pride in associating with them. Hofstede defines culture as, “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another” (51). People in a separate group share similar characteristics that are identifiable with the help of visible traits and qualities. Drake delineates that, “culture describes a group’s relatively homogenous evaluations of multiple, interrelated phenomena” (320). These homogenous cultural traits develop into certain social norms and values that have a significant impact on how people think, feel, observe and react, i.e., traits that individual tend to display in their regular activities. Thus people consult with their cultural values when they come into contact with each other and behave in a way that is considered to be the most suitable. Culture tends to have a substantial influence on individuals shaping their emotions, feelings, behaviours and reactions. In the same vein, cultural norms prevailing in a society mould the communication styles of individuals belonging to a particular cultural background. In today’s world where working environment is consistently being shaped in the realm of multiculturalism, the distinctiveness that exists in different cultures becomes substantially evident. People coming from different cultural backgrounds are specifically marked with differences in communication styles, varied reaction to certain situations and distinct behaviours. Gudykunst et al. say that, “the styles individuals use to communicate vary across cultures and within cultures” (511). On the other hand, people belonging to same culture demonstrate similar characteristics as well as style of communication. Simintiras and Thomas shed light on this point as, “individuals having the same cultural backgrounds tend to display common patterns of thinking, feeling and reacting in line with their cultural heritage” (11). Because a communication style encompass norms and values specific to a certain culture, people within a cultural realm share homogeneity There are several aspects that illuminate the differences existing among various cultural norms as demonstrated by people belonging to them. Communication styles that are adopted by individuals do not only exhibit their inner understanding and reaction to different situations but also display visible traits of culture they belong to. Gudykunst and Lee propound that, “communication is unique within each culture, and at the same time, there are systematic similarities and differences across cultures. The similarities and differences can be explained and predicted theoretically using dimensions of cultural variability…” (26-27). Different communication styles as relevant to people from different cultural backgrounds can be explained with the help of distinct characteristics delineating a culture. For instance, Anglo-American culture is known to be overt and upfront in communication as well as personal and working relationships. On the other hand, Japanese culture is famous for its covertness and conservatism as demonstrated by the Japanese people in their communication as well as relationships. The way culture influences communication styles of people associated with it can be best understood with the help of specific characteristics that define a culture. These characteristics include the level of individualism and collectivism prevailing in a society as well as high and low context of communication. Culture also have a significant impact on the personal and working relationships shared by people within as well as outside the culture i.e., intracultural and intercultural relationships. Gudykunst et al. illuminate that, “the culture in which individuals are raised influences the way individuals are socialised in terms of individualistic and collectivistic tendencies” (511). Culture plays a very important role in defining the magnitude of openness, freedom, argumentativeness, assertiveness, secrecy and conservatism in the relationship that is shared between individuals. The two distinct characteristics of a culture i.e., individualism and collectivism determine the individuals’ style of communication and form of relationship. An individualistic society is characterised with communication styles such as openness, freedom and individual attention, whereas a collectivist society is considered to be close, secretive, conservative and restricted. These two traits found in any society greatly shape the way people belonging to different cultural backgrounds communicate. People belonging to individualistic societies tend to be very different from the collectivist societies in terms of communication as well as relationship. Gudykunst et al. say that, “as members of individualistic cultures are socialised into their culture, they learn the major values of their culture (e.g., independence, achievement) and acquire preferred ways for how members of the culture are expected to view themselves (e.g. as unique persons)” (512). In individualistic societies, people are regarded as individuals with distinct feelings, emotions and needs. It suggests that people from individualistic cultures learn to be open in communication and free in relationships. These people have a direct approach to making complaints whenever a need arises and confront low levels of anxiety and uncertainty in communicating with new people. People from individualistic culture tend to view other people as individuals with different feelings, emotions and behaviours. In collectivistic societies, people are regarded as members of societies and a group rather than individuals. In such a culture people tend to view others not in terms of individuals but as groups thus paying no regard to individual feelings and needs. Gudykunst et al. point out that, “members of collectivistic cultures learn different major values (e.g., harmony, solidarity) and acquire different preferred ways to conceive of themselves (e.g., as interconnected with others)” (512-13). As these people remain focused on social aspect of people, they give a great deal of preference to their social relationships over others. These cultures are characterised by closeness and conservatism in communication and secrecy in relationships. Complaining in a direct manner is considered as debilitative to the social relationships of people. Hence, people from these cultures do not tend to openly and directly communicate their views and concerns to other people. Also, individuals in these cultures refrain from developing new relationships because of high level of uncertainty and anxiety prevailing in the society. Individualistic societies tend to give individual focus on each person and encourage interaction among members of the society. Thus people from these cultures are mostly open communicators with great interpersonal skills. They tend to have free and open personal as well as working relationships. On the other hand, people from collectivist cultures tend to be covert in communication and feel difficulty in openly communicating with others. Complaints and criticism are considered to be unacceptable and social bonds are greatly cherished. Aune et al. say that, “in the predominantly individualistic cultures (e.g. mainstream U.S.), talk is viewed positively and is generally rewarded. Many other cultures may not place as high a premium on the amount and frequency of talk as does the mainstream U.S. culture” (386). This suggests that individualistic culture influences people to openly interact with others and develop transparent relationships. Collectivistic culture discourages direct communication and restrains people to openly interact with each other thus limiting their interpersonal skills. When people from individualistic culture communicate with others, they do not hesitate to adopt an argumentative approach when necessary. On the contrary, people belonging to a collectivistic culture avoid arguments as this is considered as unacceptable in the context of their social relationships. For instance, Aune et al. propound that in “individualistic cultures (e.g. mainland U.S.), argumentativeness has been found to be a constructive form and verbal aggressiveness a counterproductive form of aggressive communication” (387). But Japanese view argumentativeness as unacceptable and debilitative to personal and working relationships (388). This has a great influence on the communication styles of individuals. Because people feel argumentativeness as detrimental to their social relationships, they do not feel inclined to openly communicate their personal views and thus the communication remains vague and ambiguous. The level of anxiety and uncertainty also determines the development of new relationships among individuals. Uncertainty and anxiety exist when people find it difficult to anticipate each other’s intentions and potential behaviour. Communication becomes ineffective in the cases when there exist high level of anxiety and uncertainty among people. Gudykunsta and Nishidab “…individuals can communicate effectively to the extent that they are able to manage their anxiety and accurately predict and explain others attitudes, feelings, and behaviours” (55). The extent to which these traits are existent among individuals is also determined by their cultural backgrounds. Gudykunsta and Nishidab expound that, “in high uncertainty avoidance cultures, people have high levels of anxiety about interacting with others” (67). Cultures that are non-transparent, conservative and close tend to develop a sense of uncertainty and anxiety among individuals that undermine their ability to effectively communicate with new people. The influence of culture on communication styles of individuals can also be explained in terms of high and low context. Gudykunst et al. illuminate this concept as, “… HC [High context] communication involves using and interpreting messages that are not explicit, minimising the content of the verbal message, and being sensitive to others. Using LC [low context] communication, in contrast, involves being direct, precise and open” (516). The high context of communication prevails in a collectivistic culture, which promotes implicit messages and encourages people to adopt an indirect approach towards communication. Japanese culture can be an illustration of high context communication. The low-context communication, such as that of the Anglo-American culture, encourages delivery of explicit messages and direct approach in communication. In individualistic cultures, it is very crucial for an individual to have an open and direct communication style so as to demonstrate his or her individuality distinct from that of the society. Aune et al. exposit that, “… from an individualistic point of view, an individual who has low communication motivation is thought to have an unstable or uncertain sense of his or her own role-identity as bounded and separate from others” (392). Therefore these people intrinsically tend to be active communicators with a tendency to be comment in an open and direct way. In collectivistic cultures, on the other hand, as people are recognised as a member of society rather than as individuals, it is not crucial to have good communication skills. People who avoid direct confrontation and open communication generally have a collectivistic approach in which avoidance of direct communication is seen as appreciable. Aune et al. illuminate that in collectivistic cultures, it is considered that “avoidance of verbal expressions can help individuals control their emotions, and may at times allow the passive expression of discontentment without the dangers of a direct challenge” (392). Such an approach is generally very well reflected in the communication styles of people belonging to collectivistic cultures. Culture does not only influence the styles of verbal communication adopted by individuals but it also has a great impact on the abilities of people to listen to others in a certain way. Kiewitz et al. categorise listening styles into different style groups as people style listeners, action style listeners, content style listeners and time style listeners. People style listeners take others’ emotions and interests into consideration while communicating and action style listeners are greatly concerned with organised communication and get frustrated on confronting disorganised presentations. Content style listeners pay a great deal of attention to the content of information that could be utilised for decision-making and time style listeners prefer to communicate in a fast manner consuming least possible time (237). All these styles are developed among individuals through specific traits found in their cultural backgrounds. Culture acts as an important link to determine the listening style of communicators hailing from different backgrounds. For instance in the United States, a person will show great attention and consideration to individuals and respect their feelings. Israelis would be mainly concerned with the content of information and utilise it towards decision-making. Germans, on the other hand, tend to have a communication style moderately between the above two extremes displayed by the Americans and Israelis (Kiewitz et al. 237-38). Hence the differences in communication styles of individuals from different countries depict the differences in their cultures. Conclusion This paper discusses the impact of culture on the communication styles of people. Culture being an important element of people’s social life influences them to adopt certain feelings, emotions, behaviours and attitudes. People tend to reflect their cultural background in the way they communicate and share relationships with each other. Certain characteristics defining a culture such as individualism and collectivism play an important role in shaping a person’s communication style. People belonging to individualistic cultures tend to have an open and direct approach towards communication. They consider having interpersonal relationships as important for their individual identity and do not hesitate to take an argumentative approach in verbal communication. These cultures also have low levels of anxiety and uncertainty that supports effective communication with strangers and development of new relationships. On the other hand, people from collectivistic cultures tend to have a great tendency to avoid direct verbal communication and have a covert and conservative approach towards communication. Their culture teaches them not to be argumentative in verbal communication that is supposed to harm their social relationships. Therefore people from these cultures avoid a direct and open approach to communicate with others. Culture has a great influence in determining the style of communication adopted by individuals in a society. Japan and the United States happen to on the two extreme sides of cultural collectivism and individualism that is reflected in the communication styles of people from these countries. Thus people accept a great deal of influence from their cultural background while communicating with each other. Works Cited Aune, Min S.K.K.S. et al., The Effect Of Culture And Self-Construals On Predispositions Toward Verbal Communication, Human Communication Research; Jul 2001; 27(3): 382-408 Drake, Laura E., The Culture-Negotiation Link. Integrative And Distributive Bargaining Through An Intercultural Communication Lens, Human Communication Research, Jul 2001, 27(3): 317-349 Gudykunst et al., The Influence Of Cultural Individualism-Collectivism, Self Construals, and Individual Values On Communication Styles Across Cultures, Human Communication Research, June 1996, 22(4): 510-543 Gudykunst William B. and Lee Carmen. M., Cross-Cultural Communication Theories. In William B. 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