third culture, multiculturalism, and postethnic cultures.
Then you’ll read about anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, ethnocentrism, and stereotypes and prejudice as barriers to effective and appropriate intercultural communication. The chapter concludes with a consideration of ethics in intercultural communication.
Intercultural Communication Competence
Communicating effectively in intercultural settings is known as intercultural communication effectiveness or intercultural communication competence. For the purposes of this textbook, let’s agree to define Intercultural communication effectiveness as the degree of the source’s success in accomplishing the goals set out for the interaction. (Review the Western model of communication in Chapter 1.) It would seem that one way to define intercultural communication competence places emphasis on the two behaviors of encoding and decoding (Monge, Bachman, Dillard, & Eisenberg, 1982). Encoding includes expressing ability, and decoding includes listening ability.
The term Intercultural communication competence has a broader meaning. For the purposes of this textbook, let’s agree to define this term as the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures (Spitzberg, 2000). This concept adds to effectiveness consideration for appropriateness—that is, that relationship maintenance is valued. Intercultural communication competence requires understanding others’ perceptions and values. Intercultural communication competence consists of affective, cognitive, and behavioral attributes (Bennett, 2009). Chen and Starosta’s (1996) model of intercultural communication competence includes these three perspectives:
1 Affective or intercultural sensitivity—to acknowledge and respect cultural differences
2 Cognitive or intercultural awareness—self-awareness of one’s own personal cultural identity and understanding how cultures vary
3 Behavioral or intercultural adroitness—message skills, knowledge of appropriate self-disclosure, behavioral flexibility, interaction management, and social skills
Focus on Skills 2.1 Assessing Intercultural Communication Competence
Read the following court transcript:
Magistrate: Can you read and write?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Can you sign your name?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Did you say you cannot read?
Defendant: Hm.
Magistrate: Can you read or not?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: [Reads statement.] Do you recall making that statement?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Is there anything else you want to add to the statement?
Defendant: [No answer.]
Magistrate: Did you want to say anything else?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: Is there anything in the statement you want to change?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: [Reads a second statement.] Do you recall making that statement?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Do you wish to add to the statement?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: Do you want to alter the statement in any way?
Defendant: [Slight nod.]
Magistrate: What do you want to alter?
Defendant: [No answer.]
Magistrate: Do you want to change the statement?
Defendant: No.
1 Assess the intercultural communication competence of the magistrate and the defendant from the transcript alone.
2 The defendant is an Aboriginal in an Australian court. Liberman (1990a, 1990b) describes the unique form of public discourse that evolved among the isolated Aboriginal people of central Australia: Consensus must be preserved through such strategies as unassertiveness, avoidance of direct argumentation, deferral of topics that would produce disharmony, and serial summaries so that the people think together and “speak with one voice.” If any dissension is sensed, there are no attempts to force a decision, and the discussion is abandoned. Western European discourse style is direct, confrontational, and individualistic. Thus, it can be said that the Aboriginal defendant in the example finds it difficult to communicate a defense by opposing what has been said and rather frequently concurs with any statement made to him (Liberman, 1990b). Now that you have this information, does the defendant’s strategy of giving the answers “Yes,” “No,” or “Hm” to placate the magistrate demonstrate intercultural communication competence?
3 Obviously the magistrate knows the defendant is an Aboriginal. Does the magistrate’s questioning demonstrate intercultural communication competence?
Source: Quoted in Liberman (1981).
Chen (1989, 1990) identifies four skill areas: personality strength, communication skills, psychological adjustment, and cultural awareness.
Personality Strength.
The main personal traits that affect intercultural communication are self-concept, self-disclosure, self-monitoring, and social relaxation. Self-concept refers to the way in which a person views the self. Self-disclosure refers to the willingness of individuals to openly and appropriately reveal information about themselves to their counterparts. Self-monitoring refers to using social comparison information to control and modify one’s self-presentation and expressive behavior. Social relaxation is the ability to reveal little anxiety in communication. Competent intercultural communicators must know themselves well and, through their self-awareness, initiate positive attitudes. Individuals must express a friendly personality to be competent in intercultural communication.
Communication Skills.
Individuals must be competent in verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Intercultural communication skills require message skills, behavioral flexibility, interaction management, and social skills. Message skills encompass the ability to understand and use language and feedback. Behavioral flexibility is the ability to select an appropriate behavior in diverse contexts. Interaction management means handling the procedural aspects of conversation, such as the ability to initiate a conversation. Interaction management emphasizes a person’s other-oriented ability to interact, such as attentiveness and responsiveness. Social skills are empathy and identity maintenance. Empathy is the ability to think the same thoughts and feel the same emotions as the other person. Identity maintenance is the ability to
