A high-context culture is a culture or society that communicates dominantly through the use of contextual elements, such as specific forms of body language, the status of an individual, and. "[28] In such cultures, people are highly perceptive of actions. Interaction. The scale of high- and low-context cultures helps explain much about how we experience communication across our cultural experiences. From each culture, 96 business managers were surveyed for the American and Chinese sample and 50 managers were surveyed from Korea. While some cultures are low or high . Pages: 3. Communication Differences in Low-Context vs. High-Context Cultures, Comparing Communication Styles in Low- and High-Context Cultures, Additional Resources for Determining Cultural Contexts, Ethnocentrism and Cross-Cultural Competence, Additional Resources for Understanding Trompenaars Dimensions, Three Prototypes: Dignity, Face, and Honor Cultures, Ethnocentrism, Culture Shock, and Cultural Relativism. By contrast, a low-context culture is characterized by information being communicated primarily through spoken language, as well as rules being explicitly and directly stated. Examples of low-context cultures include the United States, Australia, and many European countries. The use of an elaborated code indicates that speaker and listener do not share significant amounts of common knowledge, and hence they may need to "spell out" their ideas more fully: elaborated codes tend to be more context-independent. [42] The images found on the websites used in the study promoted individualistic and collectivist characteristics within the low-context and high-context websites, respectively. In contrast, low-context cultures rely on explicit verbal communication. With this regard, America culture is a low-context . What is an Interculturally Effective Person (IEP)? The hypotheses tested indicated the high-context culture in Mexico would provide different motives for communication when compared with the low-context culture of the U.S. On one side of the dimension, we have high context cultures, which depend on greater context when communicating. This allows individuals of different generations to communicate through a shared set of values, which, in turn, provides stability to the culture. Trust High context cultures and situations may extend significant trust to members. Type of paper: Research Paper. Developing Cultural Intelligence in Corporations, Cultural Perceptions of Time in Organizations: Monochronic and Polychronic Time, Using CRM to Improve Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Comparing Communication in Cultures with High & Low Tolerance for Ambiguity. Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. The situation, people, and non-verbal elements are more important than the actual words that are communicated. Communication Research Reports. For high-context cultures, language is a kind of social lubricant, easing and harmonizing relations that are defined according to a group or collectivist orientation where we rather than I is the key to identity. High-context cultures are those that communicate in ways that are implicit and rely heavily on context. Conclusion The dynamics of relationships within High and Low context cultures are very different. The results show significant differences between the American, Chinese, and Korean samples on 15 out of 16 items, with 11 items significant at the .01 level, one at the .05 level, and three at the .10 level. Create your account, 10 chapters | High-context communication tends to be more indirect and more formal. Effectively communicating within this culture, therefore, requires messaging that is perceived as objective, professional, and efficient. succeed. Family gatherings and interactions with people from high-context cultures are two examples of scenarios in which Americans participate in high-context communications, largely because they are with close-knit groups of people who share similar values, rules, and norms. Ramos suggests that "in low context culture, communication members' communication must be more explicit. A low-context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code.". Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. High-context cultures promote the development of ingroups. They tend to use more slangs, idioms and are generally high pace speakers. A conclusion may be implied but not argued directly. It relies on the straightforward use of language, without depending much on nonverbal cues. In. Contexts in source publication. Low-context cultures are less stable than high-context cultures as they are not founded upon any shared background. In addition, Hall identified countries such as Japan, Arabic countries and some Latin American Countries to practice high-context culture; "High context communication carries most of its information within physical acts and features such as avoiding eye contact or even the shrug of a shoulder. Hall is also credited for developing the idea of chronemics, or the study of the use of time during nonverbal communications. Since North American business practices tend to follow low-context norms, most of us are more familiar with this system than we are with high-context cultures. [6] Information is transmitted not through words alone but also through non-verbal cues such as gestures, voice inflection, and facial expression, which can have different meanings in different cultures. [36], Individualistic cultures promote the development of individual values and independent social groups. What are the effects on the communication process? Culture and Interpersonal Communication. [33] Conversely, in cultural groups with low context, where people share less common knowledge or 'value individuality above group identification', elaborated codes are necessary to avoid misunderstanding. Generally, the situation, people, and non-verbal elements are more important than the actual words that are communicated in a high-context culture. Discover high context culture examples, and identify the importance of high context vs. low context communication. [13] Not all individuals in a culture can be defined by cultural stereotypes, and there will be variations within a national culture in different settings. Low-context and high-context cultures are the ends of a continuum portraying how cultures communicate. Sage Publications. The cultural context. Individualism and collectivism are related to low-context and high-context cultures, respectively. [25] There were 225 Mexican participants from three different undergraduate universities in Mexico City and 447 participants from Kent State University in the U.S.[25] The case study looked into culture shock experienced by Mexicans studying in the U.S. Examples of a low context communication cultures include The United States, the UK, Switzerland, Canada and Germany. High Context Culture And Its Importance In anthropology, high-context culture and low-context culture are ends of a continuum of how explicit the messages exchanged in a culture are and how important the context is in communication. [42] In a case study conducted by the IT University of Copenhagen, it was found that websites catering to high-context cultures tended to have more detailed and advanced designs, including various images and animations. Required fields are marked *, This Article was Last Expert Reviewed on January 24, 2023 by Chris Drew, PhD. - Uses & Side Effects, What is Amitriptyline? The terms "high context culture" and "low context culture" are used to define how people in various cultures communicate messages to each other. The law is important! Cultures and languages are defined as higher or lower context on a spectrum. Monochronic vs. Polychronic Communication Styles | What Are Chronemics? [26] The terms high- and low-context cultures are not classified with strict individual characteristics or boundaries. It is important to note that no culture is low-context or high-context in absolute terms but a mix of both. Examples of low- and high-context cultures are those based in the following culture clusters: High-context cultures The Sub-Saharan Africa Cluster The Middle East Cluster The Latin Europe Cluster The Eastern Europe Cluster The Latin America Cluster The Southern Asia Cluster The Confucian Asia Cluster Low-context cultures The Anglo Cluster Overall, this study provides further evidence to support the high versus low-context culture concepts with Chinese, Korean, and American participants. Ironically, contexting is most frequently discussed in terms of directness, yet empirical studies nearly all fail to support this relationship. Verbal message is explicit. For example, while the United States is a low-context culture, family gatherings (which are common in American culture) tend to be high-context. The author states that Japan is a high context culture because they have every decision based on their culture and France is both a high and low mixture finally low context example is America. An in-depth understanding of cultural norms is not required because the communication is explicit. Most notably, members of either culture must recognize and make an effort to understand the values and characteristics of other cultures so that miscommunications may be avoided. Croucher, S., Bruno, A, McGrath, P, Adams, C, McGahan, C, Suits, A & Huckins, A. [5]. High-context cultures are related to connotation. What is culture? In a low-context culture, the onus for communication lies with the speaker. https://helpfulprofessor.com/low-context-culture-examples/. Meaning depends on what is said- the literal content of the message- rather than how it is said. "High context". "[17] On the other hand, he identified countries such as Germany, the United States and Scandinavia as low-context cultures. Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. How Do I Format and Cite Long Direct Quotes? Most of the contexting categories simply have not been researched enough to make firm conclusions. It can imply understanding or agreement, but it can also mean their conversea lack of certainty. Some recognized examples include: Higher-context culture: China, India, Korea, Japan, other Asian countries, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Oman, and Yemen, African countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, Latin America, the Pacific islands, France, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Italy, and Russia. By contrast, a low-context culture enjoys communications that take place most often through written or spoken (verbal) speech and rules are directly and explicitly stated. Low use of nonverbal elements. Guffey, M.E., Lowey, D., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2013). Rules are not directly or explicitly written or stated. High-context cultures are collectivist, value interpersonal relationships, and have members that form stable, close relationships. [14] Groups that are able to rely on a common background may not need to use words as explicitly to understand each other. Examples of high-context cultures include Asian, African, Latin American, and some European countries. In Low Context Culture it is normal to be self reliant and yet have many relationships. However, this type of segregation is not rigid, but takes the form of a gradient since the contextual base of a culture is not a quantifiable but relative concept. High-context cultures also value group harmony above individual achievement. He studied English literature at the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Russians employ a communication style that relies on environmental, non-verbal, traditional, and symbolic cues when communicating. Communicators in high-context cultures pay attention to more than the words spoken they also pay attention to interpersonal relationships, nonverbal expressions, physical settings, and social settings. This can be quite confusing to an outsider, especially someone from a low-context culture who is used to communicating via explicit messages. Whereas low-context cultures prefer more words (to a certain extent), high-context cultures prefer more images. Many aspects of cultural behavior are not made explicit because most members know what . Wurtz, Elizabeth (2005). Carolyn Meyer (2017)[4]discusses the prototypes for communication in low-context and high-context cultures: Communicators in low-context cultures (such as those in Germany, Scandinavia, and North America) convey their meaning exclusive of the context of a situation. Table 2 shows a classification of countries in low and high context, their characteristics and the expected role . The terms low-context and high-context usually refer to language groups or nationalities. Intercultural communication. [30], Punctuation marks and emojis are more often used by high-context users than low-context users. [2] High-context cultures often exhibit less-direct verbal and nonverbal communication, utilizing small communication gestures and reading more meaning into these less-direct messages. Verbal message is direct; one spells things out exactly. It further attempts to draw parallels between face-to-face communication and communication on the web by looking at communication rules and patterns in high-context cultures and comparing and contrasting them to the . In Mexico's high context culture, communication is . Moving from high-context communication to low-context communication or vice versa is challenging for students. A high-context culture is a culture or society that communicates dominantly through the use of contextual elements, such as specific forms of body language, the status of an individual, and the tone of voice employed during speech. But we can also use them to talk about smaller groups, such as corporate cultures or a specific setting like the airport. Messages can be contextualized by assuming that the audience would think in the same manner and will follow the underlying meaning implied in someone's speech or writing as a result of these common experiences. Low-context cultures (such as those in North America and Western Europe) depend less on the environment of a situation to convey meaning than do high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, and Arab countries). On the other hand, certain intercultural communication skills are unique for each culture and it is significant to note that these overlaps in communication techniques are represented subgroups within social interactions or family settings. It is important to note that while a nation or society may be widely considered a high-context or low-context culture, certain events occur in the opposite context regularly (such as family gatherings in the United States). Some common characteristics of high-context cultures include: Though the United States has a low-context culture, we have all been placed in situations that are considered high-context. Intercultural Communication on Websites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Websites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures. High-context cultures are collectivist cultures. People from low-context cultures value logic, facts, and directness. (The pedestrians example) High Context vs. Low Context High-context is that "most of the information is either in the physical context or initialized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message." (Hall). In his work, "Beyond Culture", Hall described these two different types of cultural relationships as they applied to information. Copyright 2023 Helpful Professor. These experiences inclu. Examples of low-context cultures include the United States, Australia, and many Western countries. Most of the cultural behavior aspects are not open for the reason that many of the members are aware of what to do and what thoughts to engage in. After completing this chapter, you will be able to: Now that we know, broadly, what culture is, lets discuss some ways to categorize aspects of different cultures. Teachers can share their own experiences and examples with their students. [2] Collectivist societies prioritize the group over the individual, and vice versa for individualist ones. On the other hand, low-context culture does not have any such shared background. The American sample scored the lowest compared to the two "Oriental samples," which aligns with Hall's concept. What is the role of such non-verbal communication in business relationships? The ways by which humans communicate are based heavily on the context of what is being spoken, the individuals involved, and the setting in which the communication takes place. (2014, May 9). So the poor cow's life depends on the country, where it was born: whether it is going to be worshipped or to end up on someone's . Because low-context communication concerns more direct messages, the meaning of these messages is more dependent on the words being spoken rather than on the interpretation of more subtle or unspoken cues. For a communicator to successfully interact with others from a different culture he must know whether his own culture is high or low context and which context is the culture in the interaction. (2014, December 10). About The Helpful Professor The same applies for the other characteristics in varied countries. Relationships: The components of these cultures tend to value long-term relationships. They place a high value on interpersonal relationships and group members are a very close-knit community. In anthropology, high-context culture and low-context culture are ends of a continuum of how explicit the messages exchanged in a culture are and how important the context is in communication. Class, Codes and Control. Guffey et al. In, Meyer, C. (2017). 2. Furthermore, cultural aspects such as tradition, ceremony, and history are also highly valued. Edward T. Hall describes low-context culture as one in which: most of the information is either in the explicit code or readily available elsewhere (Hall, 1976). Germany, Sweden, and the United States are generally classified as low-context cultures. Communicating with high-context cultures can require you to focus on politeness strategies that demonstrate your respect for readers and listeners. [23] For example, Native Americans in the United States have higher-context cultures with a strong sense of tradition and history, compared to general American culture. For example, it could be argued that the Canadian French language is higher context than Canadian English, but lower context than Spanish or French French. Low context cultures rely on the spoken word to communicate. Besides cultural context, personal experiences and preferences also shape communication. Low-context cultures tend to focus more on the individual than the group, which is why they value individualism and autonomy. China, Japan, Turkey, and Mexico are some countries that lean towards high-context. [39][40] In high-context cultures, facial expressions and gestures take on greater importance in conveying and understanding a message, and the receiver may require more cultural context to understand "basic" displays of emotions. Therefore, it is necessary for more explicit information to be included in the message so it is not misinterpreted. Watch this video from international business expert Erin Meyer [1]. Words: 825. In a 2008 meta-analysis of 224 articles published between 1990 and 2006, Peter W. Cardon wrote: [T]he theory was never described by Hall with any empirical rigor, and no known research involving any instrument or measure of contexting validates it. Members of ingroups usually share many characteristics and experiences. Because directness may be thought of as disrespectful, discussions in high-context cultures can be circuitous, circling key issues rather than addressing them head-on. [38] By contrast, low-context cultures tend to change more rapidly and drastically, allowing extension[definition needed] to happen at faster rates. In high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, Korea, and Arab countries), communication relies heavily on non-verbal, contextual, and shared cultural meanings. Hall, E. T. (1976). [25], The categories of context cultures are not totally separate. Data was gathered in India, Ireland, Thailand, and the United States where the results confirm that "high-context nations (India and Thailand) prefer the avoiding and obliging conflict styles more than low-context nations (Ireland and the United States), whereas low-context nations prefer the uncompromising and dominating communication style more than high-context nations."[16]. The most prominent characteristics of high context culture is non-verbal communication, while for low context culture, it is obvious to have verbal and written communication. Meyer defines low-context cultures as cultures where people communicate and receive messages at face value. Strategies to work effectively with people from high context and low context cultures Follow these 4 key strategies to communicate effectively across cultures: 1. We know that the way in which we say things at these gatherings is more important than what we say. What is high and low context culture examples? Intercultural Business Communication by Confederation College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. [12] Typically a low-context culture will be less close-knit, and so individuals communicating will have fewer relational cues when interpreting messages. Low context can describe situations, environments and cultures. Beyond Culture. Hall identifies high-context cultures as those in which harmony and the well-being of the group is preferred over individual achievement. Both often take many aspects of the other's cultural communication abilities and strengths into account. Since understanding every culture has its level of complexity, it is hard for other country people to determine what is the state of culture of the country they visit as a traveller. 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Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A graph which shows the level of context in various world cultures. According to Hall's theory, the Chinese and Korean samples represented higher-context cultures while the American sample represents a lower context culture. When individuals from high-context and low-context cultures collaborate, there are often difficulties that occur during the exchange of information. A 2008 meta-analysis concluded that the model was "unsubstantiated and underdeveloped".[5]. Cultures and communication in which the context of the message is of great importance to structuring actions are referred to as high context. An individual from Texas (a higher-context culture) may communicate with a few words or use of a prolonged silence characteristic of Texan English, where a New Yorker would be very explicit (as typical of New York City English), although both speak the same language (American English) and are part of a nation (the United States of America) which is lower-context relative to other nations. [15] In contrast, scientists working with living systems need to include more context because there can be significant variables which impact the research outcomes. The High Context / Low Context cultural dimension is a broad and far reaching theory which touches on many aspects of cultural communication including verbal and non-verbal messaging, internal and external locus of control, inward and outward reaction, cohesion of groups, people's bonds and commitments, as well . Information has to be explicit and detailed for the message to be conveyed without distortion. In contrast, a high-context language like Japanese or Chinese can use a high number of homophones but still be understood by a listener who knows the context. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Their communication is often indirect and requires a nuanced understanding, so outsiders might find it more difficult to enter their culture. A few predominantly high-context cultures include Japan, China, Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa. Because of this, many features of cultural behavior in high-context cultures, such as individual roles and expectations, do not need much detailed or thought-out explanation. Wurtz studied McDonalds online advertising in various countries such as Japan, Germany, the United States, etc. - Definition & Assessment, Bipolar vs. Borderline Personality Disorder, Atypical Antipsychotics: Effects & Mechanism of Action, What Is a Mood Stabilizer? Guffey, D. Lowey, K. Rhodes, K., & P. Rogin. 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