Non-western perspectives on human communication : implications for theory and practice / Min-Sun Kim.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kim, Min-Sun.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intercultural communication.

Communication and culture.

Physical Description:

xv, 227 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, [2002]

Summary:

What it means to be a self - and a self communicating and being in a particular culture - are key issues interwoven throughout Min-Sun Kim's impressive text, Non-Western Perspectives on Human Communication. Going beyond cultural descriptions or instructions on adapting to specific cultures, the author interrogates the very core assumptions underlying the study of human communication and challenges longstanding individualistic, Western models on which much intercultural research is based. Kim proposes a non-western way of conceptualizing identity, or the "self" - the cornerstone of cultural research -- illuminating how traditional western and non-western views can be blended into a broader, more realistic understanding of cultures and communication. Grounding her work in a thorough knowledge of the literature, she challenges students and researchers alike to reexamine their approach to intercultural study.

Contents:

1. "Who Am I?" Cultural Variations in Self-Systems 7

Evolution of Western Self-Construction: "America's Civil Religion" 10

Interdependent Self-Construals: An Alternative Framework 13

2. Independent and Interdependent Models of the Self as Cultural Frame 15

Independent Self-Construal: Individualistic Aspects of Self 16

Interdependent Self-Construal: Group-Derived Identity 17

3. Why Self-Construals Are Useful 21

Parsimony of Explanation: Impact of Culture 22

Cultural Relativity of Communication Constructs 24

II U.S.-Centrism: Cultural Relativity of Communication Constructs and Theories 27

4. Communication Apprehension: Deficiency or Politeness? 31

Motivation to Avoid Verbal Communication 33

Traditional View: Communication Avoidance as a Deficiency 38

Communication Avoidance Stemming From a Sensitivity to Social Contexts 39

Implications 41

5. Motivation to Approach Verbal Communication: Is Communication Approach Always Healthy? 45

Assertiveness: Standing Up for Your Own Rights 45

Argumentativeness: A Subset of Assertiveness 48

Critique and Summary 51

6. Conflict Management Styles: Is Avoidance Really a Lose-Lose? 57

Prior Conflict Management Typologies 58

Individualistic Bias in Past Conceptualizations of Conflict Styles 60

7. Cognitive Consistency: A Cultural Assumption? 69

Fundamental Assumptions of Cognitive Dissonance Theory 70

Is Cognitive Dissonance a Culture-Bound Concept? 72

8. Attitude-Behavior Consistency: Cultural Ideal of Individualistic Society? 77

Predicting Behaviors: De-Emphasizing Situations Over Attitudes 83

Emphasizing Other Sources of Behavior 86

9. Susceptibility to Social Influence: Conformity or Tact? 89

An Eco-Cultural Explanation of Conformity 91

Conformity as Social Sensitivity and Independence as Insensitivity 93

10. Internal Control Ideology and Interpersonal Communication 99

Internal Control Ideology 101

Relationship Between Locus of Control and Communication Ideology 104

11. Deceptive Communication: Moral Choice or Social Necessity? 109

Deception as a Moral Issue: Independent Perspective 111

Deception as a Social Necessity: Interdependent Perspective 114

12. Self-Disclosure: Bragging vs. Negative Self-Disclosure 121

Motivational Influences on Styles of Self-Disclosure 122

Gender and the Preferred Forms of Self-Presentation 128

13. Silence: Is It Really Golden? 131

Silence as Malfunctioning of (Human) Machines 132

Silence as Neglected Component of Human Communication 134

14. Models of Acculturative Communication Competence: Who Bears the Burden of Adaptation? 141

Assimilation Model: "Marginal Man [sic]" Perspective 144

Alternation Model: Bicultural Person Perspective 147

Host Communication Competence: One-Way Assimilation 149

Bicultural Communication Competence: A Fluid Cultural Alternation 151

III Toward a Bidimensional Model of Cultural Identity 155

15. The Sources of Dualism: Mechanistic Cartesian Worldview 159

Bias Toward Yang Communication Behaviors 162

Particle/Wave Paradox: Some Preliminary Implications of Personhood for Human Communication 164

16. Dimensionality of Cultural Identity 167

Unidimensional Model of Self-Construals 167

Bidimensional Model of Cultural Identity 168

Support for the Bidimensional Model 169

Formation of Bicultural Identity 175

17. Into the Future: Implications for Future Inquiry 183

Ideology and Beyond 183

Reclaiming Cultural Relevance of Communication Theories 185.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-216) and index.

ISBN:

0761923500

0761923519

OCLC:

49650203