Non-Western Perspectives on Human Communication : Implications for Theory and Practice

by Min-Sun Kim

• ISBN13: 9780761923503
• ISBN10: 0761923500
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-08-12
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

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.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
I: INTRODUCTION	1	(26)
``Who Am I?'' Cultural Variations in Self-Systems	7	(8)
Evolution of Western Self-Construction: ``America's Civil Religion''	10	(3)
Interdependent Self-Construals: An Alternative Framework	13	(2)
Independent and Interdependent Models of the Self as Cultural Frame	15	(6)
Independent Self-Construal: Individualistic Aspects of Self	16	(1)
Interdependent Self-Construal: Group-Derived Identity	17	(4)
Why Self-Construals Are Useful	21	(6)
Parsimony of Explanation: Impact of Culture	22	(2)
Cultural Relativity of Communication Constructs	24	(3)
II: U.S.-CENTRISM: CULTURAL RELATIVITY OF COMMUNICATION CONSTRUCTS AND THEORIES	27	(128)
Communication Apprehension: Deficiency or Politeness?	31	(14)
Motivation to Avoid Verbal Communication	33	(5)
Traditional View: Communication Avoidance as a Deficiency	38	(1)
Communication Avoidance Stemming From a Sensitivity to Social Contexts	39	(2)
Implications	41	(4)
Motivation to Approach Verbal Communication: Is Communication Approach Always Healthy?	45	(12)
Assertiveness: Standing Up for Your Own Rights	45	(3)
Argumentativeness: A Subset of Assertiveness	48	(3)
Critique and Summary	51	(6)
Conflict Management Styles: Is Avoidance Really a Lose-Lose?	57	(12)
Prior Conflict Management Typologies	58	(2)
Individualistic Bias in Past Conceptualizations of Conflict Styles	60	(9)
Cognitive Consistency: A Cultural Assumption?	69	(8)
Fundamental Assumptions of Cognitive Dissonance Theory	70	(2)
Is Cognitive Dissonance a Culture-Bound Concept?	72	(5)
Attitude-Behavior Consistency: Cultural Ideal of Individualistic Society?	77	(12)
Predicting Behaviors: De-Emphasizing Situations Over Attitudes	83	(3)
Emphasizing Other Sources of Behavior	86	(3)
Susceptibility to Social Influence: Conformity or Tact?	89	(10)
An Eco-Cultural Explanation of Conformity	91	(2)
Conformity as Social Sensitivity and Independence as Insensitivity	93	(6)
Internal Control Ideology and Interpersonal Communication	99	(10)
Internal Control Ideology	101	(3)
Relationship Between Locus of Control and Communication Ideology	104	(5)
Deceptive Communication: Moral Choice or Social Necessity?	109	(12)
Deception as a Moral Issue: Independent Perspective	111	(3)
Deception as a Social Necessity: Interdependent Perspective	114	(7)
Self-Disclosure: Bragging vs. Negative Self-Disclosure	121	(10)
Motivational Influences on Styles of Self-Disclosure	122	(6)
Gender and the Preferred Forms of Self-Presentation	128	(3)
Silence: Is It Really Golden?	131	(10)
Silence as Malfunctioning of (Human) Machines	132	(2)
Silence as Neglected Component of Human Communication	134	(7)
Models of Acculturative Communication Competence: Who Bears the Burden of Adaptation?	141	(14)
Assimilation Model: ``Marginal Man (sic]'' Perspective	144	(3)
Alternation Model: Bicultural Person Perspective	147	(2)
Host Communication Competence: One-Way Assimilation	149	(2)
Bicultural Communication Competence: A Fluid Cultural Alternation	151	(4)
III: TOWARD A BIDIMENSIONAL MODEL OF CULTURAL IDENTITY	155	(24)
The Sources of Dualism: Mechanistic Cartesian Worldview	159	(8)
Bias Toward Yang Communication Behaviors	162	(2)
Particle/Wave Paradox: Some Preliminary Implications of Personhood for Human Communication	164	(3)
Dimensionality of Cultural Identity	167	(12)
Unidimensional Model of Self-Construals	167	(1)
Bidimensional Model of Cultural Identity	168	(1)
Support for the Bidimensional Model	169	(6)
Formation of Bicultural Identity	175	(4)
IV: CONCLUSION	179	(10)
Into the Future: Implications for Future Inquiry	183	(6)
Ideology and Beyond	183	(2)
Reclaiming Cultural Relevance of Communication Theories	185	(4)
Postscript	189	(2)
References	191	(26)
Index	217	(10)
About the Author	227