Culture and Psychology Language and Communication.
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Transcript of Culture and Psychology Language and Communication.
Culture and Psychology
Language and Communication
Language and Communication Introduction Functions of Nonverbal
Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication Language Attitudes Communication Accommodation
Theory Linguistic Relativity
What is Communication? Communication is a process during
which source individuals initiate messages using conventionalized symbols, nonverbal signs, and contextual cues to express meanings by transmitting information in such a way that similar or parallel understandings are constructed by the receiving pry or parties toward whom the messages are directed. (Defleur et al., 1992, p. 11)
What is Language? Language is a sign and symbol
system. It involves a set of rules regarding the linking of symbols to referents and their meanings and the linking of symbols to each other.
What is Language? Language includes several subsystems:
Phonological system sounds
Morphological system meaning units (e.g. words)
Syntactic system grammar
Semantic system meaning
Pragmatic system use
What is Nonverbal Communication? Nonverbal communication is
defined as the way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words.
Nonverbal Communication Functions of Nonverbal
Communication (Ekman & Friesen, 1969) Repeat what is said verbally Complement or clarify verbal meaning Contradict verbal meaning Regulate verbal interaction Substitute for verbal meaning
Similarities and Differences in Verbal and Nonverbal Codes (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996)
Discreteness Syntax rules Polysemy Arbitrariness Displacement Reflexivity Transformation Productivity
Analogic coding Iconicity Universality vs.
culture/context bound meaning
Simultaneity Sensory directness Spontaneity
Nonverbal Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication
Facial Expression Kinesics - body movement and
gesture Proxemics - use of interpersonal space Oculesics - eye gaze Haptics - touch Chronemics- time Paralinguistics - vocal cues and silence
Nonverbal Communication Kinesics is the study of body
movement and gestures Illustrators -- nonverbal gestures
directly linked to language Emblems – nonberbal substitutes for
spoken language
Nonverbal Communication Proxemics
Hall (1959, 1966) Zones of Spatial Distance
Intimate (18 inches) Personal (18 inches to 4 feet) Social (4 to 12 feet) Public (12 to 15 feet)
Nonverbal Communication Chronemics
Monchronic perspective: time is a scarce resource, which must be rationed and controlled.
Polychronic perspective: time is flexible, used for the maintenance of harmonious relationships.
Language Attitudes: Definition of Attitudes An attitude is a mental and neural
state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related. (G.W. Allport, 1935)
Attitudes and Language Variation “Persons have attitudes toward language
which are especially salient and influential in initial interactions. Various linguistic features trigger in message recipients beliefs and evaluations regarding message senders and these beliefs and evaluations are most likely to affect recipient’s behaviours toward senders in contexts of low mutual familiarity” (Bradac, 1990, p. 388)
Standard and Non-Standard Speech Styles A standard speech style is the
prestige form of a language, associated with the higher status group in a society.
A nonstandard form is any variant from the standard form (e.g., another language, dialect, accent), usually associated with the lower status group.
Hypotheses about Standard and Non-Standard Speech Styles
Inherent value hypothesis The standard dialect became the prestige
form of the language because it evolved as the aesthetically ideal form of that language.
Imposed norm hypothesis Standard and non-standard dialects are
equally aesthetically pleasing, but the non-standard form is viewed negatively because of social norms which are biased against it.
Research Approaches Content analyses Survey research Experimental research
Matched Guise Technique(Lambert, Hodgson, Gardner, & Fillenbaum 1960)
Independent Variable 4 bilingual speakers read passage once
in English and once in French = 8 passages
Dependent Variable Height, good looks, leadership, sense
of humour, intelligence, religiousness, self-confidence, dependability, entertaining, kindness, ambitious, sociable, character, likeablity
Evaluative Dimensions Ryan et al. (1977)
Status Educated-uneducated, wealthy-poor, intelligent-
unintelligent Solidarity
Trustworthy-untrustworthy, friendly-unfriendly, kind-cruel Zahn & Hopper (1985)
Superiority Literate-illiterate, educated-uneducated, upper class-lower
class Attractiveness
Nice-awful, kind-unkind, good natured-hostile Dynamism
Active-passive, talkative-shy, enthusiastic-weak
Evaluative Dimensions:Status and Solidarity
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HiStatusGroup
LowStatusGroup
Status
Solidarity
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Hi Status Group Low Status Group
Respondents fromLower Status Group
Respondents from Higher Status
Group
Language Attitudes and Discrimination Compliance Workplace Education Law Medicine
Language Attitudes and Discrimination in the Workplace (de la Zerda & Hopper, 1979)
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Supervisor SkilledTechnician
UnskilledWorker
AccentedUnaccented
Pro
babil i
ty o
f Em
pl o
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Other Speech Characteristics Lexical Diversity
Vocabulary range, assessed through a type-token ratio (# of new words to total words)
Evaluative reactions: status, competence, control, persuasiveness
Speech Rate The number of words or syllables that
speakers utter per unit of time (per minute is the standard unit)
Evaluative reactions: competence, persuasiveness
Other Speech Characteristics, continued Language Intensity
The quality of language which indicates the degree to which a speaker’s attitude toward a concept deviates from neutrality (Bowers, 1963, p. 345)
Evaluative reactions: complex, interacts with other variables.
Communication Accommodation Strategies Convergence
Moderation of a speech style, whether in terms of lexical diversity, rate, accent, language, and/or some other linguistic feature, to become more similar to the interactant
Divergence Accentuation of a difference between
interlocutors on one or a number of linguistic features.
Maintenance Refusal to alter communication style
Communication Accommodation Theory Social Exchange Theory Similarity-Attraction Hypothesis Causal Attributions Psychological Group
Distinctiveness
Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis) Linguistic Determinism
The structure of a language strongly influences or fully determines the way its native speakers perceive the world.
Linguistic Relativity Structural differences between
languages will generally be paralleled by non-linguistic cognitive differences in the native speakers of the two languages.
Linguistic Relativity, cont. “Languages differ not so much as
to what can be said in them, but rather as to what is relatively easy to say” (Hockett, 1954, p. 122, original emphases)
Linguistic Relativity, cont. Language and perception Language and memory Language and reasoning Language and social inference