1. Culture and Communication in a World of Globalization
Jennifer Lloyd
UIN: 01015633
COMM 200S
12/7/15
HONOR PLEDGE
Jennifer Lloyd

2. Culture and Communication in a World of Globalization
Culture definesmanybehaviorsandshapesthe waywe communicate withothers. Specifically,our
emotionsandthe waywe encode anddecode emotionisbasedonculture. Ina world of substantial
growthof globalizationitisimportanttounderstandthe waydifferentculturesexpressemotioninorder
to maintainhealthy,professional,andpersonal relationshipswiththose people. While globalizationhas
beeninexistence since before WorldWarI,it has increased20 timessince 1950. (Globalization101,
2015) In addition,the increaseinglobalizationprovidesthe opportunityforustointeractwiththose
fromothercultures.Therefore itisimportantto avoidmakinggeneralizationsbasedonstereotypes.
Furthermore, culturesmayexpressemotiondifferently butultimatelywe all have the same emotions
and we are all individuals. Thisresearchwill analyze emotion,emotionmanagement, expressionof
emotionandvalues,conflictstyles,andhow toprepare for workingandcommunicating withother
culturesinorderto enhance bothprofessional andpersonal relationshipswithpeoplefromaroundthe
globe.
Emotionsare the way we expressourperceptionof asituation. AsstatedbyChristinaKotchemidova
(2010) inher paper“EmotionCulturesandCognitive Constructionof Reality,”
“emotionsare part of the meaning-makingprocessof the individual andare thusfluidlyintegratedinto
cognitive constructionsof reality.” (Kotchemidova,2010, p. 213) She alsostates “everysocietydevelops
some emotional normsthatoutline the admissiblerange of emotionalexperienceinconcurrence with
definitesituations.”(Kotchemidova, 2010, p. 208) In otherwords,societycreatesacceptable emotional
responsesbasedonavarietyof situations. Therefore, we create waystocognitivelycontrol emotionsin
orderto meetcultural standards. (Kotchemidova,2010,p. 208) Forthat reason, moststrive to manage
emotionthatsocietydeemsasacceptable becauseif one isunable todoso theymaybe perceivedas
emotionallydisturbedoranoutcast. (Kotchemidova,2010) Emotionmanagementinvolvescreating,

3. intensifying,suppressingortransformingemotionsbycontrollingcognitiveandsomaticexperience.
(Kotchemidova,2010) Emotionmanagementcanbe uncomfortable forsome,especiallythose from
anotherculture. Forexample,inherresearchKotchemidova(2010) spoke toparticipantsthatwere
raisedoutside,butnowlivingin, the UnitedStates. Participantsspoke of Americansasbeingcheerful
and notwantingto participate innegative speaks. Therefore,the participantsfeltuncomfortable
complainingordiscussingtopicsthatwere notpositive. (Kotchemidova,2010) While emotional
managementisdifficultwhenbecomingimmersedinotherculturesitseemsencodinganddecoding
emotionof otherculturesis difficultaswell.
Accordingto Young,Hugenberg,andProkhovich (2012) in the article “Group-Level andIndividual-Level
Influence onEmotionExpressionDecoding,the researchersfoundthat“perceiversare mostaccurate
whendecodingthe emotional expressionsof membersof theirownsocial group.”(Young,Hugenberg,
Prokhovich, 2012, p. 51) Also,there isa difference inthe waywe interpretthe intensityof emotion.
Usinganotherexample fromYoungetal.(2012) “Americanparticipantsrate expressionsasbeingmore
intense thanJapanese observers,butthatJapanese participantsrate the expressionsasbeingmore
indicative of actual internal experiencesthanAmericanparticipants.”(Young,Hugenberg,Prokhovich,
2012, p. 53) And there are additional differencesinthe waywe encode anddecode emotions. Another
example isWesternculture emphasize the mouthwhenencodinganddecode bygazingevenlyacross
the face,whereasEasternculturesencode withthe eyesanddecode bymaintainingfocusonthe eyes.
(Young,Hugenberg,Prokhovich,54) As evidencedbythisinformation,emotionsare encoded and
decodeddifferentlyculturetoculture. Butunderstandingspecificcultural differencesinthe waywe
expressemotionswill helpusfullyunderstandhow togetalongwiththose fromothercultures.
Culturesexpressemotionsdifferently. Suchas,Americans beingviewedas cheerful,nice,andfriendly,
accordingto Korchevmidova’sfindings. (Kotchemidova,2010) Furthermore,there isresearchthat

4. supportsthe assumptionthatAmericansare more likelytoexpresspositiveemotionwhileavoiding
negative emotion. Forexample,Americanstendtosmile more oftenanduse exclamationsand
superlativesmore frequentlythanEuropeans. (Kotchemidova,2010). An exaggerationof positive
emotionis commoninAmericaunlike othersimilarcultures. For instance,Americansuse the word
“great” to describe manythings,the Australianequivalentis“notbadat all.”(Kotchemidova,2010)
Furthermore,accordingtothe article “How We Think,Feel andExpressLove:A Cross-Cultural
ComparisonbetweenAmericanandEastAsianCultures,”“Americansreportedopenness,
expressiveness,andphysical contactmore oftenthanJapanese inexpressingintimacy.” (Kline,Horton,
Zhang,2005, p. 7) Obviouslythere are differencesinthe waywe expressouremotion. While Americans
are seenasa culture of cheerfulness,that refusestodiscuss topicsthatcouldruinthe mood,other
cultureshave a more seriousoutlook. Forinstance,ChristinaKotchemidova(2010) states“studiesof
emotionmanagementinthe UnitedStatesconsistentlydescribeindividuals’effortstosustainand
cheerful state of mind,but comparable studiesfrom Europe focusalmostexclusivelyonself-restraint
fromsexual andviolenturgestotransformingthe emotionsof anger,hate,anderoticlove intorespect
and kindness.” (Kotchemidova,2010, p. 212) Furthermore,she statesthatGermanstendto focuson
reflection,self-awareness,andunderstandinglife. (Kotchemidova,2010) In otherwords,cultureshave
differentgoalsand valuesthattheyholdasimportant. Americansvalue happiness,Europeans value
respect,andGermans preferthoughtful reflection. Understandingthese differencesisimportantto
cultivatingrelationshipswiththose fromothercultures. Howeveritisnotonlyimportanttounderstand
the differencesin valuesandhowwe visualize the worldaroundus,it’sequallyimportanttounderstand
howwe deal withconflict.
Recognizingthe way culturesrespondtoconflictisimportant. Conflictis a part of both professional and
personal relationships. Inthe researchreport“ConflictStylesandHigh-Low ContextCultures:A Cross
Cultural Extension,”StephenM.Croucheretal. (2012) define conflictas“anexpressedstrugglebetween

5. at leasttwointerdependentpartieswhoperceiveincompatible goals,scarce resources,andinterference
fromthe otherpartyin achievingtheirgoals.”(Croucheretal,2012, p. 64) Thisresearchcompared
conflictstylesbetweentwohigh-contextnations(IndiaandThailand) withtwolow-contextnations
(Irelandandthe UnitedStates). The resultsshowed“individualsfromhigh-contextculturesare more
likelytouse indirectconflictstrategies,suchasnon-confrontationstrategies(avoidingandobliging)”.
(Croucheretal,2012, p. 70) Furthermore,AmericansandIrish,low-contextcultures,usedmore
dominatingconflictstyles. Moreover,the resultsfindhigh-contextnationsfocusonsolution-oriented
stylesand compromise more thanlow-contextnationshoweverthe resultsdifferedfromprevious
research. (Croucheretal,2012) To explainthese differencesinfindingsthe researcherspointtoa
couple aspects of the IndianandThai nationsincluding;rapidincrease ineconomyandexpansionin
competitioninaglobal marketplace andpotential change of individualisminnations. Nomatterwhat
the reasonfor the difference,itisclearthatculturesrespondtoconflictdifferently. Therefore inorder
to maintainrelationshipsinaworldof globalizationitisimportantto determine differences andrespond
appropriately. Anotheraspectof understandingotherculturesisrecognizingthe cultural differencesas
it relatestobusiness.
Withthe increase inglobalizationitisimportantthatprofessionals recognize how culturesoperate in
the businesssense. Itisimportantnotto stereotype aculture basedonperceivednotions. Asdiscussed
inthe article “Navigatingthe Cultural Minefield,”authorErinMeyer(2014) reportsthat stereotypingcan
leadto “oversimplifiedanderroneousassumptions.”(Meyer,2014, p.1) Asan example she arguesthat
the Japanese are hierarchical,therefore the assumption isthatthe Japanese wouldalwaysmake top-
downdecisions,which isnotthe case. (Meyer,2014) Inaddition,she usesthe exampleof French
subtletyincommunication;one mightexpectthe Frenchtobe indirectwiththeirnegativefeedback.
(Meyer,2014) These assumptionsare notalwaysaccurate and couldcause miscommunicationor
conflict. Meyers (2014) goeson to reportthe importance of understandingaculture inorderto grasp

6. the bestway manage inculturesdifferentfromone’sown. Meyers (2014) providesa“Cultural Map”
that explainswaystoproperlymanage indifferentculturesthrough;communication,evaluation,
persuasion,leadership,decisionmaking,trust,disagreement,scheduling. (Meyer,2014) Furthermore
she emphasizesthe importance of notunderestimatingthe challenge of change,applyingmultiple
cultural perspectives,beingable toapplydifferentapproaches,andtomake adjustmentsasnecessary.
(Meyer,2014) Comprehendingcultural differencesandbeingflexible bothpersonallyand
professionally isimportanttodevelopandmaintain multi-cultural relationships.
While it’sclearthatwe all have the same emotions,cultural influence affectshow theseemotionsare
expressed. Itisimportanttolearnto encode anddecode emotionproperlyinordertopromote positive
rapport. Learningtodecipherinformationwill improve the abilitytocommunicate andappreciate
diverse cultures. Althoughitisimportanttolearnhow culturesexpressemotionandinteractit’salso
imperative tostress thatgeneralizations andstereotypesare notalwaysaccurate andshouldbe
avoided. Whendealingwithotherculturesineitherapersonal orprofessional manneritisbesttodo
some researchoncultural similaritiesanddissimilaritiesandbuildarelationshipwiththe understanding
of these. Furthermore,with the increase of globalizationssome culturesare seeingashiftintheir
identity;thereforealthoughitisimportanttounderstandthe culture itisalsoimportanttorecognize
people fromaculture as individualsaswell. Inconclusion,we can communicate andbuildsuccessful
relationshipswithpeoplefromotherculturesbyavoidinggeneralizationsandstereotypes and
interactingwiththemasindividuals thatpossess varyingneedsandvalues.

7. References
Croucher,S.,Bruno,A., Mcgrath, P.,Adams,C.,Mcgahan, C., Suits,A.,& Huckins,A.(2012) Conflict
stylesandhigh-lowcontextcultures:A cross-cultural extension. Communication Research
Reports,29, 64-73.
Globalization101.(2015). What is globalization?The Levin Institute– The StateUniversity of New York.
Retrievedfrom http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-globalization/
Kline,S.,Horton,B.,Zhang,S. (2005). How we think,feel andexpresslove:A cross-cultural comparison
betweenAmericanandEastAsiancultures. ConferencePapers-InternationalCommunication
Association.1-28.
Kotchemidova,C.(2010).Emotionculture andcognitive constructionsof reality. Communication
Quarterly,58(2), 207-234.
Meyer,E. (2014) Navigatingthe cultural minefield. Harvard BusinessReview,Retrievedfrom
https://hbr.org/2014/05/navigating-the-cultural-minefield
Young,S., Hugenberg,K.,Prokhovich,A.(2012).Group-level andindividual-level influence onemotion
expressiondecoding. Journalof CommunicationsResearch,4(1/2),51-69.