Intercultural Communication
COM 2603
Semester 1
ASSIGNMENT 01
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Unique assignment number 868015
Closing date 10 March 2014
Contact lecturers Prof KB Khan, Ms B Sibango
QUESTION 1
1. 1 Social Science Approach - The Social Science Approach: This approach, also known as the functionalist approach, was most popular in the 1980s and is based on research in psychology and sociology.
1. Assumptions: a The existence of a describable external reality. b Human behaviour is predictable.
2. Goals: Describe and predict behaviour.
3. Procedures:
a. Quantitative methods
b. Data is usually gathered by questionnaires and sometimes by observing subjects firsthand.
4. Culture is assumed to be a variable that can be measured, and the research goal is to predict specifically how culture influences communication.
5. Methods:
a. From the 9/11 example, researchers using this approach might want to measure attitudes toward Middle Easterners, then try to predict and prevent hate crimes against them.
b. Several contemporary research programs take a social science approach.
i. Gudykunst 's uncertainty reduction studies have found that people in individualist or collectivist cultures vary in their strategies for reducing uncertainty during initial encounters. ii. Communication accommodation theory originated from studies focused on identifying when and how people change their communication patterns to accommodate others during an interaction. iii. Some social science studies explain how communication styles vary from culture to culture. iv. Other studies have investigated how travelers adapted overseas.
6. Strengths and Limitations: Many of these studies have made useful contributions; however, this approach has limitations.
a. Many scholars now realize that human communication is often more creative than predictable.
b. Reality is not just external but may be constructed by human beings. c We cannot identify all of the variables that
Semester 1
ASSIGNMENT 01
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Unique assignment number 868015
Closing date 10 March 2014
Contact lecturers Prof KB Khan, Ms B Sibango
QUESTION 1
1. 1 Social Science Approach - The Social Science Approach: This approach, also known as the functionalist approach, was most popular in the 1980s and is based on research in psychology and sociology.
1. Assumptions: a The existence of a describable external reality. b Human behaviour is predictable.
2. Goals: Describe and predict behaviour.
3. Procedures:
a. Quantitative methods
b. Data is usually gathered by questionnaires and sometimes by observing subjects firsthand.
4. Culture is assumed to be a variable that can be measured, and the research goal is to predict specifically how culture influences communication.
5. Methods:
a. From the 9/11 example, researchers using this approach might want to measure attitudes toward Middle Easterners, then try to predict and prevent hate crimes against them.
b. Several contemporary research programs take a social science approach.
i. Gudykunst 's uncertainty reduction studies have found that people in individualist or collectivist cultures vary in their strategies for reducing uncertainty during initial encounters. ii. Communication accommodation theory originated from studies focused on identifying when and how people change their communication patterns to accommodate others during an interaction. iii. Some social science studies explain how communication styles vary from culture to culture. iv. Other studies have investigated how travelers adapted overseas.
6. Strengths and Limitations: Many of these studies have made useful contributions; however, this approach has limitations.
a. Many scholars now realize that human communication is often more creative than predictable.
b. Reality is not just external but may be constructed by human beings. c We cannot identify all of the variables that
Bibliography: 1. Topic 2 ~ Understanding Culture: Tonks & Iacobucci (2013) tonks.disted.camosun.bc.ca/courses/psyc257/Methods.htm 2. Intercultural Communication: The Imperatives of Intercultural ... intercultcomm.blogspot.com/2009/02/imperatives-of-intercultural.html 3. History and Intercultural Communication - McGraw-Hill Higher ... highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/.../363237/Martin3e_ch03.pdf