International business travelers must understand these boundaries to avoid causing offense or discomfort. A friendly hug or cheek kiss that’s normal in one culture might create serious social problems in another. European cultures often incorporate kissing into standard greetings—one kiss in the Netherlands, two in France and Spain, three in Belgium. These aren’t romantic gestures but social conventions demonstrating friendship and respect. Many East Asian cultures, particularly Japan and parts of China, consider direct eye contact with authority figures or elders disrespectful.
You can confirm what you’ve heard by paraphrasing it in your thecharmerly.com/ own words, such as by saying, “So, you’re saying you need more time to complete the task? Finally, show empathy by trying to understand the speaker’s feelings and perspective, even if you don’t agree. In communication, the way we assign attributions has far-reaching consequences. Attribution errors can lead to unfair judgments, negative emotions, and unnecessary conflict. When we inaccurately explain others’ behavior, we risk undermining trust, damaging relationships, and reducing the likelihood of collaboration.
On the other hand, it is certainly possible to be informed about the cultural practices in countries which we plan to visit or among local communities with whom we are likely to have contact. To the extent possible, we should act in accordance with the cultural expectations. That might mean taking off shoes before entering a home, or dressing more modestly then we would normally. On the other hand, we may oppose particular practices for religious, political, or philosophical reasons, and consciously refuse to adapt to local customs. That might mean, for example, women not accepting the prescribed cultural role in behavior, bearing, or dress expected in a particular culture. In general, it is good practice to anticipate nonverbal expectations to the degree possible.
To be a part of a gendered speech community does not imply that you identify as that gender, or that you perform that gender role on a routine basis. One of the cultural norms that may lead to adverse reactions is the public display of affection. In most Western cultures, there has long been acceptance of heterosexual couples touching and kissing in public. Researchers have found that this is more common, for example, among French and Italian young couples than in the US (Field, 1999; DiBiase & Gunnoe, 2004). Acceptance of homosexual couples is widespread today in many Western countries, but not in many other parts of the world. In most Muslim cultures, the strict separation of unmarried people disallows even heterosexual contact in public.
Chapter 6: Perception
- The results were generalized to the population by means of appropriate inferential statistics.
- We’ve already learned that contact and noncontact cultures differ in their preferences for touch and interpersonal distance.
- Mental structures or cognitive frameworks that individuals use to organize and interpret information about the world, people, events, and themselves.
- Research by psychologist Albert Mehrabian reveals that nonverbal cues carry 55% of communicative weight, vocal tone contributes 38%, while words account for merely 7%.
Although the Germans and French shake hands more often throughout the day, they typically only give one or two pumps and then hold the shake for a couple of seconds before letting go. Brits tend to give three to five pumps, and US Americans tend to give five to seven pumps. This can be humorous to watch at a multinational business event, but it also affects the initial impressions people make of each other. A US American may think that a German is being unfriendly or distant because of his or her single hand pump, while a German may think that a US American is overdoing it with seven. Some cultures tend to be much more expressive and rich in their use of body language than others. Italians and Mediterraneans in general are normally placed in that category, while northern Europeans and Asians are seen as more restrained in their use of gestures.
In Greece, for example, the mountza (μούντζα) or moutza (μούτζα) is a commonly seen insult gesture. It consists of spreading the fingers (one hand or both) and trusting them outwards, towards the other person (as if flinging something unpleasant). In other cultures, the arm-thrust (bras d’honneur) is used, forging a fist and slapping it upwards under the biceps of the arm. Other gestures may convey skepticism or disbelief, such as the French mon oeil (my eye), using a finger to pull down the lower eyelid. And our interactions on the internet are also shaped by our cultural upbringing. As mentioned earlier, cultures can range from high to low context with respect to communication.
Whereas men are taught from youth how to bond through shared structured activities like sports, or imaginary play where the roles are assigned, women are typically raised to value communication as the primary means of bonding. Proxemics, or the study of how people use space in communication, varies widely between cultures. What is seen as a comfortable distance in one culture may be perceived as too close or too far in another.
Saying “good luck” or “I hope it works out” avoids potential misinterpretation while conveying the same sentiment. Vietnam considers crossed fingers highly offensive, equivalent to making obscene gestures. The cultural interpretation relates to female anatomy representation, making it particularly inappropriate in social or professional contexts. In multicultural professional environments, observe and adapt to the comfort levels of colleagues from different cultural backgrounds. When leading diverse teams, explicitly discuss communication preferences to avoid misinterpretation of eye contact patterns. Research by Professors Uono and Hietanen demonstrates that Western cultures use eye contact as primary indicators of attention and sincerity.
Drawing from Langer’s postulation of “discourse communities” (Langer, 1953; Ghosh, 1979) and Labov’s discussion of “speech communities” (1974), Wood formulates the idea of gendered speech communities. Wood explains that “socialization is a gendered process in which boys and girls are encouraged to develop masculine and feminine identities” (2009, p. 19). The goal of understanding gendered speech communities is to explore how socialization creates these specific patterns of communication among females and males.
Conservative Cultural Restrictions
The fourth dimension, responsibility, considers whether the individual had control over the cause of their behavior. Some actions are perceived as within a person’s control, such as choosing to procrastinate or failing to prepare, while others are clearly outside their control, such as sudden illness, unforeseen emergencies, or technical failures. Determining whether behavior was controllable influences not only how we judge others but also whether we approach them with empathy or blame. Sarah sent an email to her colleague, John, asking him to review the report as soon as possible. To Sarah, “as soon as possible” meant within the next hour, as the report was needed for an urgent meeting. However, John interpreted the phrase to mean by the end of the day, as he was juggling multiple tasks.
Did she exclaim those words with a delighted smile, while extending her arm for a handshake? Or did she mutter them through pursed lips, with a deep frown dividing her brows? Either way, the picture painted by your boss’ non-verbal cues will likely communicate more information to you in that instant than her words. In today’s day and age, globalization has increased the interconnectedness between different parts of the world and with just one swipe we can communicate with anyone in the world. Globalization has also led to an increase in exposure to other cultures through travel, media and the internet. As a result, people are more likely to be aware of the differences in communication styles elsewhere and be more understanding of them.
Gestures And Their Varying Meanings Across Cultures
These factors have a direct impact on communication development as boys are taught to assert themselves, compete and attract attention. Since boys are taught to be competitive and dominant, weakness and vulnerability are unacceptable. Within a team context, individuality is still important because the individual skill set is highly valued. The emphasis on being strong, competitive, and invulnerable starts a pattern of communication practices that are more impersonal and focused on achieving an explicit goal.
These statements clarify confusion, address potential misunderstandings, and reduce potential conflicts. Second, offer two thoughts or interpretations of the behavior, which reduces defensiveness and shows your goal is to seek clarity. Lastly, end with a clarification question to show your active interest in understanding the behavior and encourage the other person to engage with you. For instance, in a personal context, you might say, “I noticed you seemed quiet during our shift today. ” Using these statements helps improve communication by creating a mutual understanding of events and reducing conflict.
By misinterpreting “urgent,” it can lead to employees feeling overwhelmed or managers feeling their priorities aren’t being taken seriously. It can also result in delays and inefficiencies if tasks aren’t addressed in the way the manager intended. Finally, in the interpretation stage, we assign meaning to these organized patterns. This is where our perception becomes highly subjective, as we draw heavily on our personal experiences, past knowledge, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds to understand what we’ve perceived. Similarly, a direct gaze might be interpreted as a sign of honesty and engagement in one culture but as aggression or disrespect in another.