Brief Analysis on Cross-cultural Communication

Abstract

Abstract-It is impossible to completely separate the theoretical study of intercultural and cross-cultural communication. Gudykunst states that before the late 1970s when he began his doctoral studies, there were few, if any, reliable and valid theories for the study of either type of communication. Perhaps then there were only trends in research. As the study of intercultural and cross-cultural theories has matured many new actual theories have been developed, tested., and confirmed or disconfirmed. Still more cross-cultural theories will develop over time which can be tested in a reliable and valid manner. Intercultural and cross-cultural investigations may include such areas as attitudes, beliefs, cognition, cross-cultural business and training, journalism, language and linguistics, mass media, nonverbal cues, organizational culture, perceptions, stereotypes, thought-patterning and values, Gudykunst and Lee (1977) argue that among the following elements of communication several can be accurately considered cross-culturally as theoretical constructs for current investigation: 1. cultural variability including the spectrum of similarities and differences, plus horizontal versus vertical national cultural dimensions; as identified by scholars such as Geert Hofstede, Michael Harris Bond, Robert Ingelhart, and Shalom Schwartz; 2. individualism-collectivism with the study of ingroups and outgroups; as well as individualistic versus collectivistic values and 3. self-construals or the ways that people see themselves.Additionally, Gudykunst and Lee (1977) propose other theoretical dimensions of cultural variability such as low and high context culture, initially introduced by Edward T. Hall in his 1976 book Beyond Culture; face-negotiation theory, proposed by Stella Ting-Toomey in 1985, which illustrates how members of cultures manage high or low face and conflicts; the conversational constraints theory, developed by Young Yun Kim in 1993 as goal or task oriented and coordinated conversations in relationships; the expectancy violations theory, proposed by J. K. Burgoon in 1978, by which guidelines are delineated for appropriately expected behavior in communicative situations; the anxiety/uncertainty management theory (AIM), developed by Gudykunst in 1995, which focuses on effective interpersonal and intergroup communication as it incorporates how communicators manage anxiety and uncertainty processes; and the communication accommodation theory (CAT) which Gudykunst also includes in theoretical intercultural communication studies, occurring between people of different ingroups and outgroups by assessing their language, nonverbal behavior, and paralanguage in communicative situations. II. PRINCIPLES OR CRITERIA GUIDING CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION RESEARCHERSStephen McDowell (1997) stipulates that a field of inquiry is not just a series of substantive topics, but a set of core problems, concepts, theories, and methods and an ongoing discussion among practitioners.Various principles or criteria guide researchers in study...