Roles Intercultural Communication CMUN 4 Mrs Waddell A

Roles Intercultural Communication CMUN 4 Mrs. Waddell

A Contextual Model of Intercultural Communication

Roles n n n A role is a person’s relative position/rank in a group Roles do not exist in isolation q q Roles relate to other roles Dictate communication n n With whom About what How Formal q Defined n n n q n CEO Parent/Grandparent Congressman Contractual Informal q q Roles= expected behaviors q Less explicit Behaviors must be learned through experience Varies across cultures

Roles n Four dimensions q q n n n Personal vs. Impersonal Formality vs. Informality Hierarchy Deviation from ideal role Family Social Occupational

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self Actualization: Living life to its fullest. Function as autonomous beings Esteem Need: The need for respect or esteem from self, or others Belongingness Need: The need to be a part of a group Survival Needs: Physiological/Safety

All In The Family n Transmits (Samovar and Porter) q Culture n n n Culture is transmitted to the family from the wider cultural context (environment/history) Major institutions of a culture are tied together/interact with each other Family is primary caretaker of cultural values/worldview q q “Families do not develop their rules, beliefs, and rituals in a vacuum. The family provides the environment within which human values and morals develop and grow in the new generation; these values and morals cannot exist apart from the family unit. ” Identity n “The family is not only the basic unit of society, but also affords the individual the most important social identity” q Family history q Traditions/customs/language q Culture and ethnicity

Power Bases n Legitimate Power q n Referent Power q n Those with knowledge/experience Reward Power q n Those we allow to have power because we admire them Expert Power q n Those elected/chosen Those able to reward other’s performance (grades) Coercive Power q Those able to use threats/blackmail

Power/Status and Gender n Do men and women have different power bases in our society? n How does culture impact the issue of power/status and gender?

Power Distance Large power distance: n n Small power distance: n n Inequalities among people should be minimized. Inter-dependence between less/more powerful Inequalities among people expected. Dependence expected of those more powerful Obedience of children expected Familial decisions made via hierarchy q Father q Eldest son

All In The Family n Hierarchy q q q n Legitimate roles q n Patriarchal Matriarchal Each with its own cultural responsibility Father/Mother Default roles q q Oldest child/Relative “She wears the pants in the family”

Family roles: Individual/peer work Role Survey n Work with peer n Choose five roles you each perform n List at least 8 behaviors expected of you for that role n n Compare with your partner What similarities and differences were there between you?

Family roles q Social/Symbolic Expectations made clear by culture/religious values Father & Husband q Leader n q Provider n n q q q Directs family per roles each holds Wage earner Bill payer Strength Disciplinarian Handyman n Mother & Wife q Follower n q Nurturer n q q q Teach manners Taxi driver Counselor n q Take direction Listen to problems Chef Shopper

Family roles Social/Symbolic q q Expectations made clear by culture/religious values Ultimately based in trust

Trust n n Trust must be earned Trust develops when you can predict how another will behave under certain circumstances q they actually do as expected q n n Trust is always a gamble Previous experiences influence ability to trust

Gender : Biology or Culture?

Sex and Gender: Group work You have two minutes to come up with the most adjectives associated with: n Male/Men n Female/Women How do you best describe each gender? Keep adjectives clean, please

Sex and Gender n n Sex: Biological Gender: Social/Symbolic q Expectations made clear by culture/religious values Boys: q q q Tough Physical Macho Forceful Assertive ? Girls: q q q Feminine Modest Gentle Compliant Tender ?

Sex and Gender n Deviation = negative reactions q q Disrupts harmony in group Collectivist/Individualistic Boys: q q q Tough Physical Macho Forceful Assertive ? Girls: q q q Feminine Modest Gentle Compliant Tender ?

All In The Family : Gender Roles n 24 months of age: male/female differentiation learned n Often linked to religious beliefs and values q q Value statements: n She wears the pants in the family n Woe to the house where the hen crows and the rooster is still Cultural n Men: Task functions/superior gender q q n Dominant role/Income earner/Undisputed authority Oldest son assumes authority in absence of father Female: Social and cultural tasks/subservient gender q q q Domestic role/Need protection Represent purity Sacrifice self for family/Saintly

Gender vs. Status & Power

Power Bases n Legitimate Power q n Referent Power q n Those with knowledge/experience Reward Power q n Those we allow to have power because we admire them Expert Power q n Those elected/chosen Those able to reward other’s performance (grades) Coercive Power q Those able to use threats/blackmail

High Status n n Shown more deference q Are listened to more often q Asked for advice more often q Rewarded with greater share of goods n Home: Place at the table/size of personal space n Community: Table at restaurant/Name in news n Work: Bigger car/office/salary q Receive more recognition for contributions High Status people talk more often to other high status people Are more likely to have a leadership role-person with the highest status is usually the leader Have more influence than low status people

Low Status n n n Direct conversation to high status, not low status people. Communicate more positive messages to high status people More likely to complain about the task they have been assigned (victim mentality) Are more likely to have comments ignored Communicate more irrelevant information

Status is a position in society that carries with it certain distinct behaviors and n abilities. High Status q q q n Low Status q q n Age/Beauty Position Talent (celebrities) Age/Beauty Gender Introverted/Social unease Position Cultural hierarchy application q q Men = high status Women = low status

n Role is the behavioral definition required by persons occupying certain statuses. Thus, Gender Roles are the behaviors required by persons occupying the Male or Female Status

Gender n Gender is part of culture q q n has its own culture gender norms Gender as status: q q "tomboys“ "sissies"

The Cause of Gender Roles - Biology or Culture? n n n most truckers are male, most nurses female (although there are male nurses and female truckers). most cooks are women, most chefs are men. the primary caregivers of children are usually women. men make more money for the same job than do women as a group consistently score lower on mathematics and science achievement tests men score lower on verbal ability and language facility. men are prone to aggressive, assertive, inexpressive actions, while women are prone to passive, expressive ones.

Biology Argument n Predetermined appropriate sex based behavior q Thus: n n Musculature - women are physically weaker than men Brain function - women are more verbal, where men are more oriented to actions Style - Women are more diplomatic, men are more direct. Affection - Women are more nurturing, men are more instrumental (task oriented)

Culture Argument n Appropriate gender behaviors learned from those around us q n Women are weak q q n n Thousands of years of evolution Consistent performance of physically less demanding tasks Women are verbal and scheming Men social, political, and economic resources. q n Conventional wisdom. Women must align themselves with a powerful man to achieve in those arenas. Women are nurturing

Genetic Difference n n n Girls "xx“ Boys "xy" Hormonal Difference q q n Physical differences q q n n testosterone (aggression) androgen are higher in males estrogen and others are higher in women. Gonadal Difference - ovaries and testes Genital Difference Reproductive Difference - babies/cigars. Brain Function difference.

Differences in motivation n Culture exacerbates differences at birth q Acculturation into the appropriate role n n n Constant Powerful Traditional male and female behavior in American culture is not traditional in other cultures q “feminine" and "masculine" behaviors are culturally affected.

Different value placed on gender. n Males most often inherit power q q …and keep it (rarely is this not the case). This is known as PATRIARCHY n n men have afforded themselves most of the social power in almost every society known. Social Learning Theory q q Children are rewarded for conforming to their parent's (i. e. , society's) expectations Children are punished for behavior that meets with disapproval. n Disapproved behavior is extinguished.

Gender roles vs. Gender Identity n Self-identity and self-esteem q q partially dependent on the successful achievement of one's gender. Social and relational expectations demand it. Happiness and life-satisfaction is partially dependent on successful gender performance. Understanding of gender role effects on limiting our progress as individuals and as a species may inform our choices in life.

Sex Roles and Family Relationships Traditional sex roles inhibits the full range of emotional expression and interaction. n Males q inexpressive, action oriented, instrumental n no help necessary n won't stop the car to ask directions n Females q nurturing q passive q helpless in a crisis. Agree? Disagree?

African American n Matriarchal society q q q Mother is both wage earner and nurturer Mother-Son relationship Reasons: n n q Slavery Crime Current action n n Bill Cosby Million march

Mexican/Mexican American n Patriarchal Society q q Cultural ties strong Father dominant over home Mother takes care of home Children in hierarchy n n q q Oldest son Oldest daughter Social forces impact children/culture 3 generation rule for immigration

Traditional South n n Social status and self-worth came primarily from the family role for men q q q husband father aggressive, dominant, and virile protecting and providing for the family maintaining the family honor responsible for protecting wives and daughters from the sexual approaches of other men. Southern men have also been allowed and/or encouraged n display evidence of machismo q q sexually active outside of marriage drinking, gambling, and exhibiting violence on the surface, condemned by Southern society/church still considered positive evidence of "manliness. "

Traditional South n Social status and self-worth came primarily from the family n role for women q wife and mother q passive, submissive, docile, and nurturing q White women in the antebellum South n pure, seemingly helpless q n Delicate q q actually shouldering a great deal of work on the farms and plantations, actually enduring ten to twenty rounds of pregnancy and childbirth in less than ideal conditions. Primary labor roles n n n housework, raise children, and manage the household On small farms, women often spent more time on the production of food--tending a garden and helping their husbands in the fields--and the production of clothing than they did on cleaning and caring for children. Children were viewed as a source of labor and child-rearing had a very different meaning then than it does today.

Tradition matters n Traditional North q q n Status & Familial roots Strong cultural identity Traditional West q q q No/limited familial roots Individualism Self-reliance Culture unidentified Families operated traditionally n n Father wage earner Mother homemaker

End of Presentation