Chapter Review

KEY TERMS

culture

power

Co-Cultural Communication Theory

co-cultures

prejudice

Stereotype Content Model

individualistic cultures

collectivistic cultures

high-context cultures

low-context cultures

uncertainty avoidance

image display rules

power distance

masculine cultures

feminine cultures

monochronic time orientation

polychronic time orientation

intercultural communication competence

world-mindedness

ethnocentrism

attributional complexity

Communication Accommodation Theory

Chapter Activities

  1. To better understand cultural influences on your communication, make a list of the cultural factors that influence communication described on pages 100–104 and explain where you fall on each spectrum. For example, are you from a high- or low-power-distance culture? Have an M-time or P-time orientation? From a masculine or feminine culture? Include an example of a recent event that reflects each cultural influence. Then, partner with a classmate and exchange lists. What cultural influences do you share? Where are you different? Would you have communicated in the same way for each example? Why or why not? Consider how these influences illustrate the saying “it’s not bad, it’s not wrong, it’s just different!”

    Question

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  2. Many TV shows and movies base their jokes on stereotypical communication problems between men and women or between people from different cultures. For example, think about how shows like New Girl or movies like The Hangover trilogy get a lot of their laughs. With a partner, find an example from the media that uses culture and communication in this way. Discuss how the example embodies or violates principles discussed in this chapter. How could the media better represent communication between people from different cultures?

    Question

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  3. image Watch the video for display rules and think about the appropriateness of the emotions displayed. Then, write a one-page reflection paper that answers these questions:
    1. In what contexts are public displays of affection appropriate? Inappropriate?
    2. How do cultures differ in their display rules regarding public affection?
    3. What other emotional displays are considered taboo in various contexts?

    Question

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  4. Go to the site understandingprejudice.org and access the Ambivalent Sexism quiz. (There is a link in the right-hand column of the home page.) Take the quiz, answering as honestly as you can, and submit your results. What was your “hostile sexism” score? What about your “benevolent sexism” score? How do you compare to other people in the country you currently live in? How about any other country you’ve lived in? What do these comparisons tell you about your own potential for sexism and how might you improve your communication in the future?

    Question

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