Cultural Differences

Running head: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Cultural Differences Research Paper

Analysis on Cultural Differences

The way we communicate at home is usually different than the way we communicate at work, school, or church. This paper will examine how we communicate with people that are different from our culture or beliefs and how we communicate with people we can relate to such as family members. Cultural value patterns are either individual or collectivism. To understand the difference, we must first understand the definition of the two. According to Ting-Toomey, individualism is based on individual identity rather than people in a culture. Collectivism is the opposite of individualism. Collectivism culture refers to people who value group identity over individual identity. They opinions are group based or family based. They depend on immediate and extended family to help them make decisions. The US culture is an individualism culture.

Another cultural pattern is low context and high context communication. According to Ting-Toomey, it is the way people communicate whether individualism, or collectivism. High context communication refers to multilayered contexts (e.g. historical context, social norms, roles, and relational contexts) while low context communication refers to direct verbal mode, straight talk, and sender-oriented value. The US has a low context communication value.

The way we communicate at home is different that we do at work. At home, we can be ourselves and we are not trying to impress anyone. We can say what is on our mind and we can show our real personality. This is where we learn to communicate and examine our culture. School also teaches us to communicate with diverse people. We learn to respect authority and prepare us for work life. At church we are with people that we can relate to and sometimes share the same values that our family does. Anywhere else, we have to show the image that we want the world to see. We are usually...