UNIT 4 – CROSS CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

Day 1:
1. What is communication and its importance?
 The transmission of information, which may be by verbal (oral or written) or nonverbal
means (see nonverbal communication). Humans communicate to relate and exchange ideas,
knowledge, feelings, and experiences and for many other interpersonal and social purposes.
Nonhuman animals likewise communicate vocally or nonvocally for a variety of purposes
(see animal communication). Communication is studied by cognitive and experimental
psychologists, and communication disorders are treated by mental and behavioral health
therapists and by speech and language therapists. Communications is the discipline that
studies the processes and systems involved in communication at both the interpersonal and
broadly social levels, in the latter case paying particular attention to the publishing media and
telecommunication systems (telephones, radio, television, Internet, etc.).
It has been widely discussed how the system of communication greatly helps in the
development, formation, growth and change of attitudes, stereotypes and prejudices. Group
and individual behaviour also change significantly because of the effect of communication.

As we know, language is the chief source of communication. The ideas, experiences,

feelings, sentiments and above all knowledge etc. are expressed and transmitted through
language and speech. So it is said that language serves as an instrument of thought, and of
communication, as a means of controlling the actions of others and as a cohesive force
uniting the members of a particular community.

Why communication is important in life?

 Communication Is More Than Sending and Receiving Messages

In reality, communication is often about transmitting information. We send and receive

messages with people in our lives. Daily, much of our communication consists of
coordinating schedules, “What time are you getting home for dinner?” and negotiating whose
turn it is to do the dishes, pay the bills, or take dinner to a friend who is ill. We send messages
like, “It is your turn to let the dog out” and receive messages like, “Don’t forget to get dog
food at the store” (if you have not guessed, a lot of the messages in my house are about the
dog).

We might also blame problems on communication, talking about “communication

breakdowns” or on a “lack of communication.” If we think about communication in these
ways, we have missed so much that is important about communication. We have neglected
how and why communication matters.

 Communication Matters to Creating and Changing Relationships

We become aware of how Communication Matters when

 We confront issues with work-life balance.
 We experience positive events like the birth of a baby or winning an award.
 We have a friend who does not do or say what we expect.
 We have disagreements over religious beliefs or political values.
Both positive and challenging events affect, reflect, and change our identity and the identity
of our personal and family relationships. What do I mean by this? How did these
relationships come into being? Well, think about the last time you started a new friendship or
had a new member join your family. Through what you and the other person said and did,
what we’d call verbal and nonverbal communication, these relationships took shape.

Sometimes relationships develop easily and clearly. They are healthy and pleasant. Other
times, relationships develop in stress and storm and may be healthy or not. How we
communicate helps relationships get off on the right foot, navigate problems, and change
over time.

What is important to understand is that relationships are talked into (and out of) being. In
communication, we develop, create, maintain, and alter our relationships. As we
communicate, we become and change who we are. Think about how you have grown and
changed as you communicate at home, at work, with friends, and in your community.

 Communication Matters to Relationship and Family Identity

As we communicate, we co-create relationships and our own identity. As you think about
your close relationships and your family, you can likely recall important events, both positive
and negative, that impacted how you understand your relationship and yourself as a person.

Consider this example: one of my college students described a childhood family ritual of

going out on the front lawn on Christmas Eve. The family sang Christmas carols and threw
carrots on the roof for Santa’s reindeers. The family still does this annual carrot-throwing
ritual in adulthood. You can picture them bringing their sometimes confused new partners
and spouses out in the snow to throw carrots onto the roof and sing.

Why does this family still throw carrots and sing? Through this seemingly silly ritual, the
family celebrates who they are as a family and the togetherness that is important to them. The
family creates space for new people to join the family. Through their words and actions,
members of the family teach their new partners how to be family members through carrot
throwing and other vital experiences.

I am sure you can point to experiences that have been central to creating your relationships
and your identity.

 Communication Matters as We Face Change and Challenges

We also communicate to work our way through family changes and challenges. Family
members or others may have different expectations of what our family and personal identity
or should be. This is especially true when a family does not fit dominant cultural models,
such as single-parent families, multi-ethnic families, stepfamilies, LGBTQ families, or
adoptive families.

For me, becoming a stepfamily was highly challenging. We became a stepfamily when I was
12 years old. My mother had recently died, and my Dad surprised us, kids, introducing us to
the woman he wanted to marry. We no longer matched the other families in the neighborhood
where we’d lived most of our lives. We certainly did not feel like a family overnight.

It took my stepfamily several years to create an understanding of what it meant to be a

family. As we interacted, and with many mistakes and some successes, we slowly came to
understand what we needed and expected from each other to be a family.

For all of us, relationship and family identity is constantly developing and changing. In my
case, I remember my stepmom reminding me to wear a jacket when going out in the evening,
even into my 40s, and giving me advice about my health. At some point, our roles changed,
and now, as she moves toward her 80s, more often than not, I am in the role of asking about
her health and helping her with significant decisions. What it means to be a mother or
daughter and what we expect of each other and ourselves change as we interact.

Communication Matters. Whether we are negotiating whose turn it is to feed the dog, how to
become a parent, how to interact with a difficult co-worker, or how to celebrate with a friend
who won a major award, it is in communication that we learn what to do and say. This is
what I will write about in this blog as I reflect on what I have learned as a professor and
researcher of interpersonal and family communication. I invite you to go on this journey with
me. I hope to give you insights into your communication.

Communication Matters. Communication is the Beginning of Understanding. It is an exciting

and ever-changing journey.

2. What is cross cultural communication and its importance

What Is Cross-Cultural Communication?
Cross-cultural communication theory explores how people of different countries, ethnicities,
and cultures can work together to communicate most effectively. This means overcoming
language differences, understanding multicultural nonverbal cues, and working together to
understand how to best convey ideas across cultural divides.

Given the prevalence of remote work and the continued globalization of the economy, cross-
cultural communication is likely to become more important than ever in the years ahead.

Why Is Cross-Cultural Communication Important?

Cross-cultural communication allows people to avoid miscommunication and
misinterpretation, instead opening up the possibility of fruitful relationships across previously
daunting cultural barriers. This form of multicultural communication enables the free
exchange of information among people of vastly different backgrounds, empowering
everyone to profit from the flow of valuable data.
Knowing how to converse across cultures is useful in both your personal life and within the
business communication process. Have tools at the ready to learn how to communicate across
cultures with anyone in your near proximity.

Cultural differences might present themselves even within a specific country or territory, not
just internationally—for example, people from New York might approach work and life
differently than people from Los Angeles, despite sharing the same language and nation.

3. How it would be to grow through different cultures?

 Exposure to travel
 To learn different cultures
 To empathize and understand the people
 Improved social skills
 Contributes to self-development

4. Language differences between cultures

Discuss: How culture influences thoughts, feelings and motives

 While communicating
 On decision making
 On perception
 On actions/behavior
(use different environment setup as examples)
Components of languages:

1. Vocabulary:
Vocabulary acquisition concerns how people expand the number of words they understand
when learning a new language. This includes both first and second language acquisition.
Vocabulary refers to words and is divided into two types: functional words that perform a
role in grammar and lexical words that provide information.
2. Phonology:
The study of speech structure within a language, including both the patterns of basic speech units and
the accepted rules of pronunciation, is known as phonology.2 The smallest units of sound that make
up a language are called phonemes. For example, the word “that” contains three phonemes the “th”
represents one phoneme /th/, the “a” maps to the short a sound /ă/, and the “t” to its basic sound /t/.
3. Morphology:
Moving to the next level of language, we find the study of the smallest units of meaning, morphemes.
Morphemes include base words, such as “hat,” “dog,” or “love,” as well as affixes, such as “un-,”
“re-,” the plural “s” or “es,” and the past tense “ed.” Knowledge of the morphology of our language is
critical to vocabulary development and reflects the smallest building blocks for comprehension
4. Syntax:
The study of how individual words and their most basic meaningful units are combined to create
sentences is known as syntax. As words are grouped together when we communicate, we must follow
the rules of grammar for our language, in other words, its syntax. It is the knowledge of syntax that
allows us to recognize that the following two sentences, while containing different word order and
levels of complexity, have the same meaning.  The boy hit the ball.  The ball was hit by the boy.
Syntax also allows us to accept “I went to the store” as a meaningful (grammatical) sentence while
“To store went I” would not be acceptable English.
5. Semantics:
Not only does the grammatical structure of our language provide the needed clues for understanding,
we also have a wealth of figurative language and rich description that adds color and nuance to our
communication. Semantics refers to the ways in which a language conveys meaning.3 It is our
understanding of semantics that allows us to recognize that someone who is “green with envy” has not
changed hue, or that “having cold feet” has less to do with the appendage at the end of our legs and
more to do with our anxiety about a new experience. Because semantics moves beyond the literal
meaning of words and is culture-dependent, this is among the most difficult aspects of language for
individuals who are not native speakers and even those who speak the same language but come from
different cultures and convey meaning using words in unique ways. Anyone who has attempted to
converse with a teenager in his own vernacular can appreciate the importance of sharing a semantic
base for communicating clearly.
6. Pragmatics:
“‘Pragmatics’ refers to the ways the members of the speech community achieve their goals using
language.”4 The way we speak to our parents is not the same as the way we interact with a sibling, for
example. The language used in a formal speech may bear little resemblance to what we would hear at
a lunch with five friends. The conversational style of day-to-day interactions is quite different from
the language used even when reading a Chapter 5: Components of Language & Reading 43 storybook
to a toddler. Knowing the difference and when to use which style is the essence of pragmatics
5. Basic elements of cross cultural communication
3 Basic Elements of Cross-Cultural Communication
With each passing year, you’re more and more likely to find yourself in cross-cultural
situations. Here are three basic elements of all forms of cross-cultural communication:

1. Language: Verbal communication is how people most explicitly convey

information from one person to another, so knowing how to speak different languages
greatly empowers people to connect across cultural divides. Once you overcome
language barriers, you remove the greatest obstacle to free-flowing communication. A
conversational level of fluency might be all that is necessary.

2. Nonverbal communication: Sometimes body language—such as eye contact or facial

expressions—might be all it takes to communicate certain information across cultures.
Still, nonverbal communication often takes on different meanings among different
cultural groups. For instance, an inoffensive hand gesture in one culture might be
offensive in another.

3. Social norms: Different cultural norms lead to different communication styles. For
example, in high-context cultures (such as in Japan and China), people talk around a subject
gingerly rather than take a more blunt approach. By contrast, low-context cultures (such as in
the United States and Germany) generally prefer more direct forms of communication.