Cultural Stereotypes in Communication between Bulgarian and Norwegian Children - Essay Example

Cultural stereotypes in communication between Bulgarian and Norwegian children This research examined Bulgarian and Norwegian children perceptions of experience of communication. Irrespective of culture, an increase in age of the children in the study resulted into attribution of politeness and deference norms, communicative avoidance and respect benevolence, precisely attribution of communication avoidance and personal vitality decreased linearly. Though the study was not fluent communicators in English, conversation between Bulgarian and Norwegian children proved to be effective. In both settings appreciation and comprehension of other study group culture proved the presence of an effective communication. Therefore cultural stereotypes predicted satisfactory communication for both children in Norway and Bulgaria. Literature review An immense literature in European countries and Anglophone states has centered on communication dynamics in relation to intergenerational relations. Off late, cultural unpredictability has been considered in the study of communicational practices in under different regions. Thus, these researches investigated these issues in Norway and Bulgaria, where there is social gerontological work and paucity of work, and where there is for comparative differences that are in existence between Norway and Bulgaria (Orbe 31). Western society’s researches indicate that children construe communication with non-family older adults as often problematic and dissatisfactory. Young children report that they are patronized by elders due to the overly-nurturing concept and yet suggest inauspicious stereotypes about their childhood group. Effective communication between children illuminates the non-accommodative nature of the elderly communication because they are dismissive and authoritarian. Also elder people are preoccupied with their problems and are ever complaining thus are insensitive to other people’s concerns. Though children avoid conversations with the elderly, respect is paramount. Different cultures with disparate social and religious traditions show cross-cultural resilience. Areas such as USA and Australia show favorable differences in cultures, however, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and china show intoxicating cultural differences (Jandt 27). oingkon gfrom the study it is evident that children in the western countries communicate effectively despite differences in cultures as opposed to the cultural stereotypes that rely on elderly people in the society that are insensitive to different cultures. Introduction Despite the presence of several approaches to studying stereotypes in political science, social psychology and psychology, only currently have researchers begun to examine social factors such as external elements and in-group interaction and their contribution to maintaining and forming stereotypes. Psychological and perpetual processes aspects of stereotype development constituted the past research analysis on stereotypes. Also they were concerned with inter-relating the processes of perpetual understanding establishment of the outside world to individual’s authoritarian personal traits and prejudice. Nevertheless, current study approaches are concerned with other components of social reality and their impacts in relation to the perpetuation and formation of stereotype notions of outsiders and its group members. This includes social institutions that are organized such as educational systems, mass media, and the church (Sarmover et al 33). Two significant approaches to stereotypes study have been identified namely the socio-cultural and cognitive process approach. The cognitive approach is based on examination of stereotype nature and its contribution to the process of the group and individual perception. The social identity theory emerged in the context of theoretical tradition. This theory proposes that social identities are consequent of group memberships and are molded by comparing out-groups and in-groups to determine unit group members in accordance with the characteristics. Stereotyping ethnocentric aspect could be tracked in part to a common cause to distinguish positively the in-group from the out-group because they are perceived as the most important demonstration of out-groups opinions at an individual level (Jandt 59). However, the cognitive approach has faced intense criticism due to its failure to give a model that inculcates political, social, and mental inclinations that affect decision making and opinion formation in regards to group associations. Nonetheless, the approach still finds applications in political and psychological areas because scholars find a chance to empirically determine how subjects psychologically represent a divergence circumstances. It also enables the scholars to comprehend the stimuli and process its convolution cognitively (Orbe 101). The socio-cultural approach to stereotype studies emanates from the concept that relations experienced both at group and individual level are responsible for identity formation that heavily determined and influenced by social institutions and external factors. The advancement was based on the need to re-introduce “social” in the collective psychology in regards to intergroup activities other that the personal mind-sets. Communication avoidance pattern In regards to communicative avoidance and respect pattern consistence in children, new programs that are theoretically driven have delved into the matter to carry a further inquiry into the subject. Such studies include comparative studies in Ghana and South Africa as well those carried out in India. Thus this research aims at extending into Eastern Europe in order to understand the validity of cross-cultural stereotypes. Most researches over this topic have been concentrated in the northern European countries such as Norway. However, to draw comparisons, Bulgaria which is located in eastern European is selected (Sarmover et al 87). Bulgaria is therefore of greater interest to this study as a comparative society in relation to Norway that has been featured in cross-cultural studies on communication cultural stereotypes. Bulgaria is an important culture to examine because children unlike the elder generation have not been so politically or vividly mingled under the restrictions of a communist regime. Bulgarian children are suspected to portray a difference in the social context from the obligations and intergenerational solidarity that were prominent in the traditional concepts; which could have impacted unacceptable communication among people of a similar age group. Theoretical studies have proposed that age norms and stereotypes would be particularly persuasive variables alongside communicative avoidance and respect (Jandt 132). The study hypothesis were to determine whether children will attribute increasing communicative avoidance and respect, difference, benevolence, and politeness norms as they their age increases. Material and methods Children aged between 10 to 12 years from both countries were used as participants in this study. A random selection was conducted in both countries in order to come up with a representative population. All participants were selected based on their efficiency in communicating in their native language and conversance with their culture. Procedure and instruments Questionnaires were employed in the research to retrieve information from children to indicate whether they understood each other despite their cultural differences. Despite age limit specification, children were allowed to state their ages. Due to language differences, the questionnaires were translated into Bulgarian for study in that country. Half of the questionnaires were reserved for the youngest participants while the other portion was used for the older children. Included in the questionnaires were communication behavior measures, communication satisfaction, insinuated stereotypes of the age groups, and norms of respect to establish consistency in the current study with previous works , a confirmatory test was conducted. Moreover, separate evaluations were carried out for Norwegian and Bulgarian samples. To establish suitability of the data for evaluation, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin sampling technique was conducted on the samples (Sarmover et al 193). All the nations under study had similar factors according to the analysis. Also the analysis showed consistence in regards to age stereotypes, communication behavior, norms of respect, and target ages. Similarly the results were in consistent with the earlier studies. Co-efficiency calculations were conducted on the factors that were realized to determine the reliability of the data. Communication behaviors Several items were employed in assessment of communication behaviors during the interaction, however, only two dimensions were revealed by the confirmatory factor analysis. This included avoidance and respect. Respect factor encompassed items such as “I respected them” and “I accommodated it” while avoidance included items such as “I did not know what to say”. According to past researches one item “I did not give my opinion” failed to feature on either side of the factors. Age stereotypes Semantic differential scale was used to assess participants’ cultural stereotypes in regards to age. The results were in accordance with the past researches since two factors were evident that is benevolence and personal vitality. Under personal vitality, the study centered on six items that included active against inactive, strong versus weak, and unattractive against attractive. Ungenerous versus generous, wise against unwise, and kind against unkind characterized the benevolent factor. Norms of respect To evaluate the interaction between the participants, seven items were employed thus resulting into two dimensions that were found by factor analysis. Politeness between the children was assessed through their ability to speak and listen. Similarly, an assessment of the deference among the children was evaluated to gauge the children restrain on behaviors of other cultures. The study showed that reliability was lower for the younger children while high among the older children. Communication satisfaction To determine the effectiveness of communication among the children of both countries, two items were included in the questionnaires. They were aimed at determining whether the children understood each other or there existed difficulties in communication. Results The results were represented in a tabular form with regards to participant country of origin and research parameters. Dependent variables such as norms of respect, age stereotypes, communication satisfaction, and communication behaviors were subjected to MANOVAs to ascertain their differences (Jandt 301). Similarly, same MANOVA was employed in treatment of both factors under each independent variable. The subject variables covered all target age, cultural differences, and nation. The study did not cover gender distribution of the participants. The cultural differences, interactions between the participants, and target age were considered important in the study. In order to answer the hypothesis, the predictors of an effective communication between children of both countries display politeness, and respect. Cultural stereotypes are viewed as a contributing factor to effective communication in both countries. Discussion The research finding from Bulgaria match those from Norway thus reflects similarities in terns of communicative behaviors, communicative satisfaction, norms, and cultural stereotypes. It is evident that as children grow older they confer more deference and respect thus the noted communicative respect and appreciation of each others cultures. Similarly, cultural typecast cannot be associated with the young generation because children effectively communicate with other despite the difference in cultures. Cultural biases is not propagated by children. Similarly, the results show that, despite cultural differences, children demonstrate a superior sense of social recognition with their age mates. Moreover, the research dispels the cultural stereotype that is manifested on avoidance since children of both countries relate freely. Conclusion Despite the presence of constraints, valuable data has been generated with an exclusively studied population. The research shows children are not cultural stereotypes because they effectively communicated amongst themselves despite their cultural background. Age is important in studying cultural differences because young are prone to be insensitive to certain issues that are common among the aged. Recommendations Despite the exclusive coverage of the topic, the results of this research should be taken into accounts in regards to some limitations such as reliance and distribution of the participants. Therefore future research are called for to expound on the uncovered topics and to answer some emerging question. Works Cited Jandt, Fred E. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community. New York: Sage Publisher, 2009. Print. Orbe, Mark P. Constructing Co-Cultural Theory: An Explication of Culture, Power, and Communication. New York: Sage Publishers, 1997. Print. Sarmover, Larry A., Porter Richard E., and McDaniel Edwin R. Communication Between Cultures. New York: Wadsworth Publisher, 2009. Print. Read More