High-Speed Internet Access to the Other: The Influence of Cultural Orientations on Self-Disclosures in Offline and Online Relationships

The global village metaphor, originally popularized by Marshall McLuhan, suggests that individuals connected to information and communication technologies become more involved with others from around the world. The speed at which messages are communicated is one factor why Internet-supported technologies create a sense of community. The diffusion of Internet networks to areas around the world naturally increases the potential for intercultural communication. Considering the cultural differences of the communicators and diminished social cues of the environment, the opportunity for misunderstandings may be elevated in intercultural Internet-based communication. The present investigation explores how two important components of culture—individualism and collectivism—influence communication behaviors in face-to-face and computer-mediated relationships. Self-disclosures, which are fundamental to relationship development, are specifically studied. The findings reveal that collectivism is associated with fewer self-disclosures in computer-mediated relationships than in comparable face-to-face relationships. The difference between self-disclosure behaviors in face-to-face and computer-mediated relationships is more pronounced among individuals high in collectivism than those high in individualism. Implications to social information processing theory and future directions for intercultural Internet-based communication research are considered.     

Relational Tensions and Optimal Listening in the Communication Relationships of American and Finnish Legal Professionals

Drawing on relational dialectics, this study examines definitions of optimal listening, the tensions affecting it, cultural differences in both of these and strategies for managing tensions. The participant sample (N?=?101) consists of 76 American attorneys and 25 Finnish judges. The results suggest that differences in national communication cultures and the requirements of professional communication affect the definitions of optimal listening. The American participants perceived this as a people-oriented and the Finns as a fact-oriented activity. Both groups experienced reported tensions between real and ideal listening, autonomy and connection, the public and the private, and also between equality and inequality. Culturally, specific tensions were also reported.     

Culture and Classroom Communication: A Pilot Study in the Post-Soviet Republic of Armenia

Using participant observations and informal interviews, the study examined whether and how classroom communication in Armenia reflects Armenian culture and history, including the Soviet influence for close to seven decades and Armenia’s transition from one socio-politico-economic system to another, followed by internationalization of education and globalization. Findings of the study revealed three major themes that have impacted the classroom communication style: courtesy, immediacy, solidarity. While consistent in some ways with Soviet communism, these themes may have also been influenced by Armenia’s traditional and family-centered culture and history which predate Soviet communism, as well as by internationalization of education and globalization.     

The Relationships among Perceptions of Social Support,Intercultural Communication Apprehension (ICA), and Conflict Management Preferences in the Context of Cultural Adaptation

This study explores the relationships among perceptions of social support from family and friends, Intercultural Communication Apprehension (ICA) and intercultural conflict management preferences. Two hundred and ninety students, comprising primarily of international students, participated in the study. The results of the study revealed that, in regards to handling conflict with members of the host culture, increased perceptions of social support from family and friends lowered the level of ICA, and the decrease in the level of ICA led to increased preferences for the integrating and the compromising styles and decreased preferences for the avoiding and the dominating styles. Hence, the results of the study suggest that the influence of the perceptions of social support may extend beyond the mere alleviation of acculturative stress and psychological well-being and may have implications for the integration of immigrants and sojourners into the host culture.     

Paths to the Practices of Citizenship: Political Discussion and Socialization among Mexican-heritage Immigrants in the US

Building on research on immigrant political socialization and social connections in politics, I advance a theoretical model for how immigrants develop their sense of political discussion in a new nation. This model, the Social Contact Model of Immigrant Political Socialization, focuses on the influences coming from close-knit social groups and wider-ranging social networks. I apply the model through a qualitative study of Mexican-heritage immigrants in the US and the likely sources of socialization that influence their political discussion behavior. The findings provide some support for the theoretical model and suggest there are important differences between Latino immigrants and native-born Whites in how they learn to engage in political discussion.