Racial similarity as a moderator variable in the perception of leader behavior and control

This study compared leader behavior ratings of black and white Army infantry squad members serving in squads led either by black or white leaders. One black and one white squad member, chosen at random from each of 34 racially mixed squads, rated their leader's Consideration and Initiation of Structure behaviors (Stogdill, 1963), and their leader's behavior relevant to French and Raven's (1959) five bases of social power. In general, it was found that members who were of the same race as their leader rated him as significantly less likely to use punishment-related behaviors than did members who were of a different race than their leader. However, same-race members did not rate their leader's considerate or structuring behavior differently than did different-race members. The overall pattern of findings were discussed in terms of the leaders' implicit reliance on their punishment power to obtain compliance from different-race subordinates.     

Research on attitude change in U.S. students who participate in foreign study experiences: Past findings and suggestions for future research

Little research has been conducted on attitude change in U.S. students who participate in foreign study experiences. This is especially disconcerting given the number of programs available and participants involved. This research review includes five studies utilizing one-time questioning of program participants and 15 articles employing analysis of pre- and postsojourn questionnaires. Unfortunately, attitude change is seldom verified empirically in these works. Possible explanations include loosely structured experimental designs, infrequent use of follow-up studies, the lack of an established theoretical base, and perhaps most importantly, the lack of a consensus concerning what to measure. Suggestions for future research include: the study of specific variables thought to facilitate attitude change, analysis of subgroups of students similar on a particular characteristic or ability, and measurement of behavioral competencies.     

A communication approach to the acculturation process: A study of Korean immigrants in Chicago

This paper explores a theoretical and methodological basis for studying foreign immigrants' acculturation processes from a communication perspective. Communication patterns of immigrants are conceptualized on three levels — behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual. The behavioral level of communication includes the immigrant's participation in communication channels of the host society as well as the ethnic community. The perceptual level refers to the immigrant's cognitive structure in perceiving the host society. The attitudinal level is examined by the immigrant's affective-evaluative orientation toward the host society. The three levels of communication patterns were empirically investigated in a survey of 400 randomly selected Koreans in the Chicago area. The communication variables were assessed through composite scores using questionnaire items that were tested for reliability. The results show an overall linear trend in the immigrant's interethnic communication with Americans, positive attitude toward Americans, cognitive complexity in perceiving the American society, and satisfaction level. A simultaneous increase is observed in the immigrant's interpersonal communication with Americans and with other Koreans. The immigrant's use of ethnic media rapidly decreases over the years while that of American media steadily increases. Findings are discussed in comparison to previous studies of foreign immigrants and students and to sociological theories of acculturation of minority groups.     

Kiowa forty-nine singing: A communication perspective

Kiowa Forty-Nine singing is a social activity in which important aspects of Kiowa culture are performed and revealed through traditional communicative activities. The purpose of this study was to examine forty-nining as it serves to reveal cultural patterns of interaction. Rooted in ethnomethodology, this field research combined personal interviews and content analysis. The data first provided a general characterization of forty-nining; subsequent analysis produced distinguishable, but interrelated, sets of rules which regulate the nature and structure of forty-nines. Patterns identified in the fortynines can be extended to other intratribal interaction, as well as to intercultural communication. Better conception of these interactive patterns may foster better understanding of Kiowa intercultural relations.     

Sociolinguistics: The implications of a sociological approach in examining the counseling relationshipSociolinguistique: Les insinuation d'une approche sociologique en examinant le rapport de conseil

This article discusses basic concepts of sociolinguistics and considers their relationship to the counseling process. Essentially, it suggests that interviewing be examined in the light of (1) language as a cultural phenomenon and (2) the interactions between individuals and society. When reconceptualized in this way, counseling can benefit from the systematic knowledge of a related field and counselors will be helped to communicate more competently.     

A comparison of sex differences in career and achievement motivation in Iran and the U.S.

Differences in career and achievement motivation of U.S. and Iranian male and female college and high school students were compared, employing recently developed cross-cultural methodology. Of particular interest was the differential shift in achievement orientation at different age levels in the two cultural samples. Whereas achieving and career orientations were found to be higher in the U.S. college than in U.S. high school samples, the reverse was true in the Iranian samples. Compatible with observations made elsewhere, this suggests that age-related waxing and waning of achieving orientations occur in different cycles in different cultures. Also of interest was that the culture main effect was not significant but that the culture × sex interaction was. Thus, overall, achieving orientations between the culture samples were not different but Iranian males and females exhibited greater differences in achieving orientations than did U.S. subjects, as was predicted.     

Observing intercultural communication: A proposal of theory and method

Techniques for analyzing intercultural communication should minimize subjective intrusion by observers and maximize the potential benefit of analysis to communicators. Interchange between communicators is defined transactionally as events involving simultaneous change in (1) a communicator, (2) other communicators encountered by that communicator, and (3) what is known about these encounters. Interchange in dyadic communication is explained in terms of an ABX model, which is phenomenal rather than objective for an observer and in which X signifies mutual experience between communicators A and B. X is the focus of empirical investigation by the observer, who conducts parallel interviews with A and B and cross checks them. Comparison of different sets of interviews indicates which variables are persistent in intercultural communication. Research procedures are proposed for rigorous evaluation of the transactional model.     

The impact of cultural,ethnic, and national variables on attitudes towards the disabled in Israel: A review

Studies in Israel relating to attitudes of various ethnic, cultural and religious groups towards the disabled were reviewed. The results indicate that although there were differences in attitudes towards the disabled, these differences appear to be a function of interaction effects between many other variables and not necessarily only related to ethnic, cultural, and religious affiliation.     

Institutional completeness and communication acculturation: A comparison of Korean immigrants in Chicago and Hartford

This paper addresses the question of whether the institutional completeness of an ethnic community affects the communication acculturation patterns of the members of that ethnic community. The study examines the effects of institutional completeness upon the ethnic interpersonal and mass communication patterns. The research question was tested by applying some of the methods used in a study of a very institutionally complete ethnic group, the Chicago Korean community, studied by Young Kim, to a less institutionally complete ethnic group, the Greater Hartford Korean community. The results indicate that there are differences in some of the communication patterns which can be seen as evidence that the institutional completeness of an ethnic community influences certain aspects of the communication acculturation patterns of the immigrants within that community.     

Images of life in America: The impact of American T.V. in Israel

The present study sets out to uncover young Israelis' perceptions of the American reality using the postulates and methodology of the cultivation analysis approach to mass communication. The comparison of the perceptions of “light” and “heavy” T.V. viewers with measures of the actual reality reveals that heavy viewers demonstrate a strong and consistent tendency to paint a rosier picture of life in the U.S., in terms of wealth and standard of living, even when other factors (age, gender, residence and ethnic group) are held constant. The findings of this study have methodological implications concerning the study of media effects as well as theoretical implications regarding the ongoing debate on “media imperialism.”     

Person perception in cross-cultural settings: A review of cross-cultural and related cognitive literature

The purpose of this paper is to review cross-cultural studies and other relevant cognitive literature concerning person perception in a cross-cultural setting. A summary is made of the major findings and hypotheses are suggested which would significantly increase our understanding of this very underresearched field. The authors determine that cross-cultural research in those areas reviewed suffers from lack of unity as a result of little common theory-driven research. Finally, potentially contributive cognitive theories and concepts are briefly mentioned that might improve research paradigms and provide a more unified approach to cross-cultural person perception research.     

Text and metatext in Hersey's A Single Pebble from the perspective of intercultural communication

An interdisciplinary study of a literary text from the perspectives of both literary scholarship and communication studies is possible under the conditions of expanding applicability of communication models to other fields and the broadening of literary studies to include approaches formerly excluded. This study was undertaken to show the relevance of issues of intercultural communication and models of communication in general to the analysis of issues of concern to the student of literary texts, and to demonstrate the blending of two methodological standpoints. The novel A Single Pebble by John Hersey presents textual structures which complement its ostensible content of interaction by a member of one culture with the members of another. This complementarity may be examined through a model of the interplay of text and metatext in narrative fiction applied to the analysis of an incident in the plot centering upon the disappearance of the protagonist's watch. Because the watch is referred to in a peculiar metaphor at one point, a series of observations on its relationship to the characters, the narrator, and the author are generated in the process of reading out its significance. This is related to the basic situation of the experience of an individual in penetrating an alien culture. The metaphor in which reference to the watch is couched can be taken as emblematic of an ironic authorial stance in Hersey's account of a largely unsuccessful attempt at communication across cultures.     

Communication patterns among young Korean immigrants

The study examines diverse host and ethnic interpersonal and mass media communication patterns of 69 first-generation college Korean immigrants. A series of analyses of variance with length of stay in the United States and sex as prior independent variables was used for detecting diverse communication patterns. Differences in the host mass media use, except magazine, were not affected by length of star in the host society. In the use of ethnic newspaper, however, significant interaction effect was found. The main effects of sex and time in the United States and the interaction effects lacked significance in diverse interpersonal communication with Americans and Koreans. However, communication gaps between the adult immigrants and their children were significantly revealed over the years regardless of sex. English proficiency also eased the communication gaps between generations and general communication patterns. Related to relevant predictors, various differences in communication patterns are discussed.     

Cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards disabled persons: A study of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel

Cultural values may be seen as the primary determinants of altitudes towards deviant or exceptional persons. The present study deals with the attitudes of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel towards the disabled as a function of cultural identity, existence of contact with a disabled person, and type of disability (blindness, amputation, facial disfigurement, or confinement to a wheelchair).A sample of 510 Jews and 655 Arabs filled out the Yuker Altitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP). The results indicated that overall, Jews were more positive towards the disabled than Arabs. Furthermore, the existence of previous contact with a disabled person was a positive factor in the formation of the Jews' attitudes, and a negative factor for the Arabs. In their ranking of different types of disability, Jews and Arabs differed significantly.The results are interpreted in the context of modern versus traditional cultures, whereby the Jewish youths' more tolerant Western approach seems to engender a more positive attitude than the Arab youths' conservative values.     

The effects of attitudinal versus religious similarity on the neighborhood preferences of Lebanese university students

The main purpose of the present study was to assess the relative importance of attitudinal versus religious similarity on the neighborhood preferences of Lebanese university students shortly after the 1975–1976 war in Lebanon.It was expected that neighborhood preference for a stranger would be affected by: (1) attitudinal similarity — dissimilarity on an important political issue and by (2) the number of strangers involved.The subjects were 169 Lebanese undergraduate students at the American University of Beirut (67 Christians, 96 Muslims, with six subjects not mentioning religious affiliation). In terms of political ideology, 38 subjects were conservative while 131 were liberal and, with respect to displacement during the war, 81 subjects stated that they were displaced while 88 subjects indicated that they remained in their original neighborhoods. Finally, with respect to ethnic (or national) origin, 118 subjects considered themselves as “Arabs” while 48 indicated that their origin was something “other” than Arab, with the remaining three subjects not responding to this item.The results showed that, irrespective of the background characteristics of the subjects, (1) strangers of a different religion who had the same attitudes on an important political issue were significantly more preferred as neighbors than coreligionist strangers who had opposite attitudes on the same issue, and (2) neighborhood preference was significantly greater for one than for many strangers. However, although one stranger was significantly more preferred as a neighbor than many, this preference was found to be stronger under the opposite attitude — same religion condition.     

Readjustment problems of Brazilian returnees from graduate studies in the United States

This is a pilot study on the readjustment problems of Brazilians returned from graduate study in the United States. Subjects were 31 former LASPAU scholars who were interviewed by the senior author after they were back in Brazil. The family and professional problems they experienced as they tried to readjust to life in their country were investigated, as well as the intensity of these problems and the adequacy of coping, as perceived by the respondent. Taped interviews were coded independently twice, over a 16-month interval. High reliability levels were obtained. Results indicated that returnees had little difficulty adjusting to life with their families except for experiencing some value conflict with them and some lack of privacy. Most of their problems were related to their professional life. In that category they reported that they found some difficulty adjusting to the system as a whole and to their role as professors. Lack of intellectual stimulation, lack of facilities and materials, excessive red tape, lack of opportunity and time to do research was fairly common for most, and they felt these were moderately serious problems. In most cases returnees felt they were coping adequately.     

Sources of bias in performance evaluation: Two experiments

Attribution and stereotyping theories predicted that poor-performing black workers would receive lower evaluations than corresponding Whites, while good performance would have the reverse effect. “Dress and lifestyle” was also predicted to influence performance evaluation. Male business students, evaluating bogus employees differing in race, dress, and behaviorally described performance, provided weak support for the second hypothesis. A second experiment investigated the possibility that perceived social class, rather than race, was the relevant variable in the operation of a stereotype confirmation—contrast process. Individual differences in stereotyping were also measured. No support for the specific hypothesized process was found, but results supported the potential relevance of attribution theory to a configural performance-evaluation model. Results were also discussed in terms of worker-perceived discrimination.     

Phenomenology and hermeneutics: Evolving approaches to the study of intercultural and international communication

The thought models and theories of many individuals and disciplines have contributed to the study of human communication. In recent years scholars have become increasingly aware of the fact that methodologies superimposed upon the actual event of human communication have significantly shaped our perceptions of these events. Going beyond methodological approaches or quarrels, a phenomenological basis requires direct encounter with the event and an attempt to let methodology evolve out of that direct encounter, rather than attempting a so-called objective approach. Self, experience, values, and human relationships are of primary concern to the phenomenologist who sees meaning and interpretation as a unitary concept. Phenomenology thus concerns itself with understanding, and the bases for such understanding, rather than with the mere application of methodology. At the same time, phenomenology by its very approach, concerns itself not merely with the discovery of some abstract truth, but must be deeply concerned also with the improvement of the human condition founded in conscious experience. Behavior and meaning thus become conjoined. The ultimate aim of phenomenological studies becomes a concern with the ontological as well as the epistemological bases of human understanding.     

The functional meanings of behaviors: A factor analytic study of motivational orientations in Virgin Islands students

One hundred and sixty-five high school students in the Virgin Islands were asked to rate the extent to which they associate each of 62 behaviors with their concepts of “success,” “joy,” and “satisfying expectations.” They were also asked to rate the frequency with which they performed each of the behaviors. Results indicated that Virgin Islands students associate the word “success” not with academic behaviors, but with being modern, attractive, and nurturing. Moreover, individual students are less apt to perform those behaviors which Western teachers believe lead to academic success and more apt to perform those behaviors which the sample as a whole associates with being successful. The data indicate that although many Virgin Islands students enjoy traditional island activities, they do not feel successful when they engage in them. The results of the investigation are interpreted within the context of what is known concerning achievement behaviors of middle-class American youth, and implications are drawn for the teaching of young persons from diverse cultural backgrounds who attend classes conducted in the Western mode.