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. Primarily use non-verbal methods to relay meaningful information in conversations, such as facial expressions, eye movement, and tone of voice. Croucher's study examines the assertion that culture influences communication style (high/low-context) preference. These countries are quite explicit and elaborate without having prior knowledge to each member's history or background. He studied English literature at the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Many low context cultures are individualist so people openly express their views, and tend to make important information obvious to others. Data was gathered in India, Ireland, Thailand, and the United States where the results confirm that "high-context nations (India and Thailand) prefer the avoiding and obliging conflict styles more than low-context nations (Ireland and the United States), whereas low-context nations prefer the uncompromising and dominating communication style more than high-context nations."[16]. - Definition & Assessment, Bipolar vs. Borderline Personality Disorder, Atypical Antipsychotics: Effects & Mechanism of Action, What Is a Mood Stabilizer? High-context cultures are more likely to be intuitive, contemplative, and concerned with the collective. Examples of low-context cultures include Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the United States. Hofstede, G. (1984). Most notably, members of either culture must recognize and make an effort to understand the values and characteristics of other cultures so that miscommunications may be avoided. High context refers to societies or groups where people have close connections over a long period of time. Since understanding every culture has its level of complexity, it is hard for other country people to determine what is the state of culture of the country they visit as a traveller. 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). Messages can be contextualized by assuming that the audience would think in the same manner and will follow the underlying meaning implied in someone's speech or writing as a result of these common experiences. Overall, this study provides further evidence to support the high versus low-context culture concepts with Chinese, Korean, and American participants. 2. According to Hall, the high-context culture definition relates to a culture by which the rules of communication are primarily and dominantly transmitted through the use of contextual elements. Edward T. Hall describes low-context culture as one in which: most of the information is either in the explicit code or readily available elsewhere (Hall, 1976). The reverse holds true for High (Collectivistic) Context Cultures. The results found that U.S. participants used communication for pleasure more often than Mexican participants. (2014, December 10). The continuum pictures how people communicate with others through their range of communication abilities: utilizing gestures, relations, body language, verbal messages, or non-verbal messages. Meanwhile, in low-context cultures, more explicit speech is needed in order to allow the listener to fully understand the message. France is a high-context culture. The tools are used to establish context by adding additional information as personal and social cues are not as presentable as they are in face-to-face negotiations. Amount of Detail Expected - High-context cultures such as Japan, China, and France provide little details in their writing. Due to this shared understanding, high-context cultures are slightly more informal. The author states that Japan is a high context culture because they have every decision based on their culture and France is both a high and low mixture finally low context example is America. All rights reserved. Communicating with high-context cultures can require you to focus on politeness strategies that demonstrate your respect for readers and listeners. 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]. Trompenaars' Cultural Dimensions Model & Examples | 7 Dimensions of Culture, Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance | Culture, Example & Index, Developing an Audience-Centered Presentation, Methods to Increase the Accuracy of Impressions, Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation | Hofstede, Culture & Concept, Cross-Cultural Interactions & Relationships in Agile Organizations. [41] One study on McDonald's online advertising compared Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the United States, and found that in high-context countries, the advertising used more colors, movements, and sounds to give context, while in low-context cultures the advertising focused more on verbal information and linear processes. Your message needs to be clear and precise. Anchor Press/Doubleday. Ironically, contexting is most frequently discussed in terms of directness, yet empirical studies nearly all fail to support this relationship. Negotiators basically say what they mean. The American legal system, for example, relies on low context communication. As a result of these years of interacting with one another, the members know what the rules are, how to think, and how to behave, so the rules do not have to be explicitly stated. Characteristics of Low Context People behave according to rules Preference is given to knowledge sharing and transfer Relationships do not last longer On purpose relationships [42] In a case study conducted by the IT University of Copenhagen, it was found that websites catering to high-context cultures tended to have more detailed and advanced designs, including various images and animations. Beyond Culture. With this regard, America culture is a low-context . Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Low-context cultures (such as those in North America and Western Europe) depend less on the environment of a situation to convey meaning than do high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, and Arab countries). Eye contact, for example, which is encouraged in North America, may have ambiguous meaning or be considered disrespectful in certain high-context cultures. [42] Low-context websites had less animation and more stagnant images, with more details on information. Examples of high context cultures include many Asian, African, and Latin American countries, as well as some European cultures such as Spain and Italy. A high-context culture is a culture in which the values, rules, and social norms are primarily communicated through the use of contextual elements (such as body language, a person's status, and tone of voice) and are not explicitly stated. High context cultures are more common in the eastern nations than in western and in countries with low racial diversity. ", Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 23:13, http://db19.linccweb.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/rowmandasj/high_context/0, "Intercultural Communication on Web sites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Web sites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures", "The Influence of High- and Low-Context Communication Styles On the Design, Content, and Language of Business-To-Business Web Sites", "The Influence of High-/Low-Context Culture on Perceived Ad Complexity and Liking", "Communication Style and Cultural Features in High/Low Context Communication Cultures: A Case Study of Finland, Japan and India", 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199809)15:6<507::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-A, "Communicational Features in High/Low Context Organizational Culture: A Case Study of Romania and Russia", "low-context and high-context communication", https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/dictmedia/communication_intercultural_communication/0, "Communication: intercultural communication", "Managing conflict in global teams: 4 keys to leveraging cultural differences in diverse teams", "International communication 101: staying on the right side of culture", "Individualism, Collectivism, High And Low Context", "Discovering cultural differences (and similarities) in facial expressions of emotion", "The Human Face as a Dynamic Tool for Social Communication", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High-context_and_low-context_cultures&oldid=1141991389, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 23:13. Sage Publications. Examples of high-context cultures include China, India, and many non-Western societies. High context communication cultures . The study collected three samples from different cultures - the US, China, and Korea - with 96 business managers surveyed in the American and Chinese sample and 50 managers in the Korean sample. In comparison, the United States is perhaps the best example of a diverse and low-context culture. However, the concept may also apply to corporations, professions and other cultural groups, as well as to settings such as online and offline communication. This is in direct contrast to low-context cultures, in which information is communicated primarily through language and rules are explicitly spelled out. Unlike low-context cultures, high-context cultures prioritize the group over the individual (Hofstede, 1984). They assume that listeners know very little and must be told practically everything. Contexts in source publication. We also make strong distinctions between those who are a part of our family and those who are not. A 2008 meta-analysis concluded that the model was "unsubstantiated and underdeveloped".[5]. Culture and Interpersonal Communication. This allows individuals of different generations to communicate through a shared set of values, which, in turn, provides stability to the culture. 231 lessons. In high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, Korea, and Arab countries), communication relies heavily on non-verbal, contextual, and shared cultural meanings. Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. After you have finished with this lesson, you should be able to: To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Settings and cultures where people come together from a wider diversity of backgrounds such as international airports, large cities, or multi-national firms, tend to use lower-context communication forms. Focusing on tradition creates opportunities for higher-context messages between individuals of each new generation, and the high-context culture feeds back to the stability hence allows the tradition to be maintained. Once again we return to the differences between high-context and low-context cultures. The preferred way of solving problems and learning is in groups. The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau. How Do I Format and Cite Long Direct Quotes? Language may be used to achieve goals or exchange information. For example, while the United States is a low-context culture, family gatherings (which are common in American culture) tend to be high-context. Context is less important than words. The following chart will compare the main differences between high-context vs. low-context cultures and a discussion of example cultures will follow: While nations such as the United States have many low-context situations, it is important to recall that all societies experience high-context events as well. Hall notes a similar difference between Navajo-speakers and English-speakers in a United States school.[18]. "[29] A similarity that the two communication styles share is its influence on social characteristics such as age, gender, social class and ethnicity. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. [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. We'll also look at how they're different and what that means for your work in global business. In his work, "Beyond Culture", Hall described these two different types of cultural relationships as they applied to information. Routledge. . Guffey, D. Lowey, K. Rhodes, K., & P. Rogin. Power Distance Index & Examples | What is Power Distance? Type of paper: Research Paper. Sage Publications. Low-context and high-context cultures are the ends of a continuum portraying how cultures communicate. A case study was done on 30 Romanian and 30 Russian employees, to compare high- and low-context cultures, and results strongly suggested that Russia and Romania are both high-context cultures. [14] Groups that are able to rely on a common background may not need to use words as explicitly to understand each other. Furthermore, cultural aspects such as tradition, ceremony, and history are also highly valued. Guffey, M. E., Lowey, D., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2013). Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. Because low-context communication concerns more direct messages, the meaning of these messages is more dependent on the words being spoken rather than on the interpretation of more subtle or unspoken cues. [32] Awareness of miscommunication between high- and low-context cultures within the workplace or intercultural communication settings advocates for collected unification within a group through the flexibility and ability to understand one another. ; it is the way we communicate, do business and see the world. After completing this chapter, you will be able to: Now that we know, broadly, what culture is, lets discuss some ways to categorize aspects of different cultures. Most of the contexting categories simply have not been researched enough to make firm conclusions. "[27] This implies that communication is quite direct and detailed because members of the culture are not expected to have knowledge of each other's histories, past experience or background. The theory of High and Low Context Cultures puts how people communicate in a dimension. [6] How does her experience in Japan demonstrate what youve learned so far about the different dimensions of culture? Examples of a low context communication cultures include The United States, the UK, Switzerland, Canada and Germany. A simplified example mentioned by Hall is that scientists working in "hard science" fields (like chemistry and physics) tend to have lower-context cultures: because their knowledge and models have fewer variables, they will typically include less context for each event they describe. Intercultural Business Communication by Confederation College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. High-context cultures rely heavily on non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. The most prominent characteristics of high context culture is non-verbal communication, while for low context culture, it is obvious to have verbal and written communication. Topic: Culture, Context, Communication, Middle East, Business, Conflict, People, Relationships. Examples of low-context cultures include the United States, Australia, and many European countries. Goodwill Messages and Recommendations. [5], These concepts were first introduced by the anthropologist Edward T. Hall in his 1959 book The Silent Language. As such, what is said is what is meant, and further analysis of the message is usually unnecessary. [26] The terms high- and low-context cultures are not classified with strict individual characteristics or boundaries. It describes the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a given culture, indicating the range of communicative abilities (verbal messages, gestures, etc.) Explain the differences between high- and low-context cultures, giving examples of each. In the 1970's, anthropologist Edward T. Hall coined the phrases "high-context culture" and "low- context culture.". In. China, Japan, Turkey, and Mexico are some countries that lean towards high-context. The hypotheses tested indicated the high-context culture in Mexico would provide different motives for communication when compared with the low-context culture of the U.S. Create your account. [2], Website design among cross-cultural barriers include factoring in decisions about culture-sensitive color meanings, layout preferences, animation and sounds. Cite this Article in your Essay (APA Style), Privacy PolicyTerms and ConditionsDisclaimerAccessibility StatementVideo Transcripts. Leaders in high-context cultures, such as Ethiopia, tend to communicate more implicitly, using more nonverbal communication and expressing more vague verbal messages (at least from the viewpoint of a low-context culture). Relationships are easy to build, can start very quickly but end just as soon. Also remember that although cultures are different from one another, no culture or cultural characteristic is better or worse than any other. This makes high-context cultures difficult to navigate for those who do not understand the culture's unwritten rules. In contrast, low-context websites had lesser animation and images, focusing instead on the information. The composite score also indicates a significant difference among the three samples at the .01 level. Neuliup, J. W. (2011). Individualism may lead to communicating to all people in a group in the same way, rather than offering hierarchical respect to certain members. Initially, high culture rejects these outsiders but eventually embraces them or appropriates . Some common characteristics of high-context cultures include: Though the United States has a low-context culture, we have all been placed in situations that are considered high-context. [18], Therefore, higher-context cultures tend to correlate with cultures that also have a strong sense of tradition and history, and change little over time. High-context cu. Developing Cultural Intelligence in Corporations, Cultural Perceptions of Time in Organizations: Monochronic and Polychronic Time, Using CRM to Improve Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Comparing Communication in Cultures with High & Low Tolerance for Ambiguity. "[17] On the other hand, he identified countries such as Germany, the United States and Scandinavia as low-context cultures. [34], Restricted codes are commonly used in high-context culture groups, where group members share the same cultural background and can easily understand the implicit meanings "between the lines" without further elaboration. An individual from Texas (a higher-context culture) may communicate with a few words or use of a prolonged silence characteristic of Texan English, where a New Yorker would be very explicit (as typical of New York City English), although both speak the same language (American English) and are part of a nation (the United States of America) which is lower-context relative to other nations. Because low-context communication concerns more direct messages, the meaning of these messages is more dependent on the words being spoken rather than on the interpretation of more subtle or unspoken cues. The verbal and nonverbal cues of low vs. high-context communication can be . Examples of high and low context cultures It can be helpful to consider a few examples of high and low context cultures. This study, done by Kim Dunghoon, was to test the major aspects the high versus low-context culture concepts. A 2005 study by Elizabeth Wurtz demonstrates how cultural differences shape marketing and advertising. An in-depth understanding of cultural norms is not required because the communication is explicit. According to Watson, "the influence of cultural variables interplays with other key factors for example, social identities, those of age, gender, social class and ethnicity; this may include a stronger or weaker influence. Published: 2020/12/03. High-context defines cultures that are usually relational and collectivist, and which most highlight interpersonal relationships. 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. High context is where the groups of people or societies in which individuals have had close links in the course of a long period. In other words, high-context communicators attach great importance to everything that surrounds the explicit message, including interpersonal relationships, non-verbal cues, and physical and social settings. In low-context countries, things need to be spelled out a bit more. Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A graph which shows the level of context in various world cultures. In anthropology, high-context culture and low-context culture are ends of a continuum of how explicit the messages exchanged in a culture are and how important the context is in communication. Generally, the situation, people, and non-verbal elements are more important than the actual words that are communicated in a high-context culture. Indeed, Vietnamese communication style has all the characteristics of highcontext cultures, such as indirect and digressive communication, use of few words, reliance on contextual cues, avoidance of the use of personal names, respect for long silences, and waiting politely until the other person has stopped speaking before taking turns. There are smaller communities and specific settings within national/linguistic cultures, and they may exhibit different communication patterns.
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