The study suggests that in high-context cultures, such as China and Korea, people tend to be more socially oriented, less confrontational, and more complacent with existing ways of living compared to people from low-context cultures like the US.[23]. Low-context cultures tend to be logical, analytical, action-oriented, and concerned with the individual. Edward Hall is a famous theorist and anthropologist who has contributed a renowned theory of high- and low-context cultures to facilitate students, researchers . They assume that listeners know very little and must be told practically everything. [14] However, understanding the broad tendencies of predominant cultures can help inform and educate individuals on how to better facilitate communication between individuals of differing cultural backgrounds. Instead, many cultures tend to have a mixture or at least some concepts that are shared between them, overlapping the two context cultures.[26]. Because of this, communication can change drastically from one generation to the next, creating communication gaps between parents and children. High context culture is common wherever there is a relationship between people. Relationships: The components of these cultures tend to value long-term relationships. [2] High-context cultures often exhibit less-direct verbal and nonverbal communication, utilizing small communication gestures and reading more meaning into these less-direct messages. Low-context communication is often seen in Western, more individualistic cultures (i.e., U.S., Australia, some European countries) where communication is direct, to the point, and one doesn't have to guess the meaning or intention behind what is being said. As such, what is said is what is meant, and further analysis of the message is usually unnecessary. [25] There were 225 Mexican participants from three different undergraduate universities in Mexico City and 447 participants from Kent State University in the U.S.[25] The case study looked into culture shock experienced by Mexicans studying in the U.S. classifications are discussed below. Hall and Hall proposed a "spectrum" of national cultures from "High-Context cultures" to "Low-Context Cultures. For high-context cultures, language is a kind of social lubricant, easing and harmonizing relations that are defined according to a group or collectivist orientation where we rather than I is the key to identity. These countries are quite explicit and elaborate without having prior knowledge to each member's history or background. Context is less important than words. succeed. Wurtz found something similar while analyzing website design. [30] The diversity within a main culture shows how the high and low scale differs depending on social settings such as school, work, home, and in other countries; variation is what allows the scale to fluctuate even if a large culture is categorized as primarily one or the other. For example Japan, which has a very high context culture, uses both polychronic and monochronic time. (PDF) COMMUNICATING IN HIGH & LOW CONTEXT CULTURES COMMUNICATING IN HIGH & LOW CONTEXT CULTURES March 2016 Affiliation: Arizona State University State: In Progress Authors: Jay Klagge. They tend to use more slangs, idioms and are generally high pace speakers. Examples of low-context cultures include Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the United States. [24] The table shows the major differences and similarities between individual queries. High-context cu. High-context communications, as well as low-context interactions, are important to understand from many perspectives. A person's identity in a high context society tends to be based on one's roles and experiences within the group. Low-context and high-context cultures are the ends of a continuum portraying how cultures communicate. They also displayed pictures of individuals, while high-context websites foregrounded group pictures. Low context implies that a lot of information is exchanged explicitly through the message itself and rarely is anything implicit or hidden.People in low context cultures such as the UK tend to have short-term relationships, follow rules and standards closely and are generally very task-oriented. Explain the differences between high- and low-context cultures, giving examples of each. People within high-context cultures tend to be more aware and observant of facial expressions, body language, changes in tone, and other aspects of communication that are not directly spoken. Cultural Perceptions of Communication in Organizations: Low Context and High Context. Low-Context Culture Communication & Examples | What Is Low-Context Culture? Low and High Context Culture. The composite score also indicates a significant difference among the three samples at the .01 level. Note: Comparison of low- and high-context cultures reprinted from Business communication: Process & product (p. 64) by M.E. In his work, "Beyond Culture", Hall described these two different types of cultural relationships as they applied to information. Low context cultures emphasize individuality and tasks. The designation "high and low context culture" broadly refers to the way people communicate in cultures. Examples of low-context cultures include the United States, Australia, and many European countries. High-context cultures are collectivist, value interpersonal relationships, and have members that form stable, close relationships. However, the concept may also apply to corporations, professions and other cultural groups, as well as to settings such as online and offline communication. Anthropologist Edward T. Hall first discussed high-context culture in his 1976 book titled Beyond Culture. [1] "High-" and "low-" context cultures typically refer to language groups, nationalities, or regional communities. High context cultures tend to build relationships slowly, and they are generally stable for a long time and are based on trust and loyalty. High-context cultures also value group harmony above individual achievement. Learn what high context culture is. Meanwhile, in low-context cultures, more explicit speech is needed in order to allow the listener to fully understand the message. If you want to appear polite, you need to be willing to greet strangers and thank . They rely less on the shared values/assumptions of the group and the context of the situation. Japan and other countries located in Asia, Brazil and other countries located in South America, African tribal groups and most countries located in Africa, A majority of the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, Describe Edward T. Hall's characterization of high-context cultures, Distinguish between high-context and low-context cultures, Explain the characteristics of high-context cultures, Recall the importance of ingroups to high-context cultures. On the other hand, certain intercultural communication skills are unique for each culture and it is significant to note that these overlaps in communication techniques are represented subgroups within social interactions or family settings. The USA and Australia are typically low-context, highly individualistic cultures, where transparency and competition in business are prized. It further attempts to draw parallels between face-to-face communication and communication on the web by looking at communication rules and patterns in high-context cultures and comparing and contrasting them to the . Ramos, D. C. (2014). Individuals in such cultures must hear or read a direct order, point, etc for it to be taken as valid. Low context can describe situations, environments and cultures. The difference between High and Low Context Culture is that Low Context Cultures (Individualistic Cultures) do not need a lot of additional (Contextual) information to engage in " communication ". On the other hand, low-context culture does not have any such shared background. High-context cultures include close-knit groups of people, while low-context cultures are generally more diverse. Intercultural communication. In contrast, the use of restricted codes indicates that speakers and listeners do share a great deal of common background and perspectives, and hence much more can be taken for granted, and thus expressed implicitly or through nuance: restricted codes tend to be more context-dependent. A low-context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code.". For example, resemblance is a significant trait in cultures with a high level of context. Examples of low context cultures include: Scandinavia; Germany, and the US. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. Listen to business speaker Erin Meyer explain how cultural differences can affect communication. A low-context culture is a culture in which people communicate explicitly. Answer (1 of 2): Examples of high context countries include: Japan, China, and the Arab countries. An error occurred trying to load this video. Both often take many aspects of the other's cultural communication abilities and strengths into account. They have a Bachelor's in Air Traffic Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and minored in Aviation Safety and Homeland Security. In high context cultures like Native American tribes, Japan, China, and Arabic countries, communication is curvilinear, and often what is left unsaid is just as important than what is, and there is more flexibility with time and looser schedules. Both the speaker and listener act under the assumption that all relevant information has been explicitly stated. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU. Typically a high-context culture will be relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative. What is an Interculturally Effective Person (IEP)? Verbal message is explicit. It is important to note that while a nation or society may be widely considered a high-context or low-context culture, certain events occur in the opposite context regularly (such as family gatherings in the United States). Meaning is determined not by what is said but by how it is said and by how social implications such as the communicators status and position come into play. The cultural context. Meyer defines low-context cultures as cultures where people communicate and receive messages at face value. In his model, context refers to the stimuli, environment, or ambiance surrounding an event. For example, families typically engage in high context communication whereby they can communicate much with subtleties such as a glace. 1. Discover high context culture examples, and identify the importance of high context vs. low context communication. The Self in a Social Context: Help and Review, Figure-Ground Perception: Definition & Examples, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, High Context vs. Low Context Characteristics, Introduction to Social Psychology: Help and Review, Research Methods and Ethics: Help and Review, Social Cognition & Perception: Help and Review, The Self: Executive and Organizational Functions & Gender and Cultural Differences, Introspection and Self-Awareness Theory in Psychology: Definition & Examples, Self-Perception Theory: Definition and Examples, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in Education: Definition & Examples, Two-Factor Theory of Emotions: Definition and Relation to the Misattribution of Arousal, Social-Comparison Theory: Upward vs. "[29] A similarity that the two communication styles share is its influence on social characteristics such as age, gender, social class and ethnicity. Low-context countries, on the other hand, relied more on linear processes and verbal communication. In high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, and Arab countries), the listener is already "contexted" and does not need to be given much background information [3]. The results show significant differences between the American, Chinese, and Korean samples on 15 out of 16 items, with 11 items significant at the .01 level, one at the .05 level, and three at the .10 level. While in high context cultures, communication is done primarily through nonverbal mediums and gestures, in low context cultures, information is vested explicitly so that there is no risk of confusion. Meanwhile, in a high-context culture, nonverbal cues and unspoken background . Researchers today are using it greatly to study different cultures all over the world. [30][32], Families, subcultures and in-groups typically favour higher-context communication. Strategies to work effectively with people from high context and low context cultures Follow these 4 key strategies to communicate effectively across cultures: 1. [31], Between each type of culture context, there will be forms of miscommunication because of the difference in gestures, social cues, and intercultural adjustments; however, it is important to recognize these differences and learn how to avoid miscommunication to benefit certain situations. [38] By contrast, low-context cultures tend to change more rapidly and drastically, allowing extension[definition needed] to happen at faster rates. Communicating with high-context cultures can require you to focus on politeness strategies that demonstrate your respect for readers and listeners. They rely less on context & non-verbal cues and instead convey meaning more directly. For a communicator to successfully interact with others from a different culture he must know whether his own culture is high or low context and which context is the culture in the interaction. ", "Communication: intercultural communication. Two Types of Reflective Writing Assignments, Additional Resources for Improving Writing, Consistency in comparatives and listed elements: Parallelism, Hofstede Insights country comparison tool, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oYfhTC9lIQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvqDv4vbEg, https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/42958_2_The_Cultural_Context.pdf, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, Tend to prefer indirect verbal interaction, Tend to understand meaning at one level only, Tend to understand meanings embedded at many sociocultural levels, Are generally less proficient in reading nonverbal cues, Are generally more proficient in reading nonverbal cues, Communication in highly structured messages, provide details, stress literal meaning, Communication is simple, sometimes ambiguous, messages; understand visual messages readily, Define cultural context (Guffey et al., 2013, p. 64), Contrast communicate styles for low-context and high-context cultures (Meyer, 2017, p. 59), Explain how cultural differences can affect workplace communication (Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau, 2014).
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