High context refers to societies or groups where people have close connections over a long period of time. Information has to be explicit and detailed for the message to be conveyed without distortion. Copyright 2023 Helpful Professor. Robin Bargheon on Twitter Performance is highly valued and early required as the school system separates children into different types of schools at the age of ten. It should be noted that the present study cannot rule out a potential role of the participants' study background, as we did not assess this in the questionnaire. Which of the following statements best describes a larger power distance. Order Free Brochure. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. 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. In high-context cultures, people are used to messages that are implicit and for which it is necessary to use cues from the context to decipher the message, such as metaphors. After the data collection, two of the participants were randomly selected to receive a 25-euro coupon. Low-context and high-context culture are anthropological concepts that describe the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a cultures communication. This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine whether national differences in the comprehension and appreciation of ads with visual metaphors can indeed be attributed to participants' context-culture scores. Is the USA a high or low context culture? A direct and participative communication and meeting style is common, control is disliked and leadership is challenged to show expertise and best accepted when its based on it. No decisions are made until all parties involved are heard; negotiations are fact and subject matter based. 9. It has to do with whether peoples self-image is defined in terms of I or We. The indirect effect of nationality on perceived complexity through participants' individual context score proved to be significant (b = .05; CI [0.117, 0.007], bootstrapping technique, N = 50,000). This means that, however popular, context theory has mainly been used as a theoretical construct to study cultural differences and similarities. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. In low-context cultures, people are said to prefer explicit, task-related language. Many aspects of cultural behavior are not made explicit because most members know what . - |Cjg@Q.TN"8. Germany is masculine. Although there are problems associated with the use of self-reported measurements, it is the best tool there currently is (see Matsumoto & Yoo, Citation2006; Taras, Rowney, & Steel, Citation2009). Two examples of items were A speaker can assume that listeners will know what they really mean, and People understand many things that are left unsaid (all nine items are in Appendix1). hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(3356907, '2a8a93c6-0c6a-4fe5-9e63-52c235f8ec9d', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); With its sizable middle class and decentralized society, Germany has a low power distance. Self-motivation and personal identity are important values to Germans. Germany. It can imply understanding or agreement, but it can also mean their conversea lack of certainty. This concept was first advanced by Edward T. Hall in the 1950s. The Belgian students were sampled from the Dutch-speaking part of the country: Flanders. Tanaka, Citation1992). In a toothpaste ad that featured a pearl necklace, one version included an explicit headline as verbal anchoring (Makes your teeth pearly white), one version included an implicit headline as verbal anchoring (Flash em), and one version did not include a headline (the complex ad). Although the use of understandable messages is commonplace in advertising and communication, complex messages are regularly used; for example, through the use of jargon, foreign languages, or verbal or visual metaphors. Van Mulken etal. This is especially true when it comes to business dealings. However, in conflict situations, Germans often defend their position strongly and loudly (independent of job level). In order to present participants with ads that varied in complexity, different metaphors were used, including the juxtaposition metaphor, the fusion metaphor, and the replacement metaphor (cf. However, is it context culture that is responsible for this variation? b'K/{:6 ,eQ_`RYHS9pkRg91o)?OM8u}Vo0~8m Wurtz studied McDonalds online advertising in various countries such as Japan, Germany, the United States, etc. As the ads depicted individuals or individuals in interaction, they chose to measure the participants' personal achievement (i.e., leadership) and affiliation (i.e., friendship) evoked by the images as measures of implicit meaning. The Culture Map - intercultural communication - Project Abroad In this study, we follow their classification: Belgium is expected to be a higher-context culture than the Netherlands. The Culture Map - Communication: Low and High context cultures. Which countries have low context. Social media have become important environments for people to express and explore their political views. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. About The Helpful Professor Belgian participants have a lower perceived complexity than Dutch participants, and this national difference is explained by the participants' personal context score. Loyalty is based on personal preferences for people as well as a sense of duty and responsibility. The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? Germany Germany is one of the so-called " low-context " cultures. In. Besides cultural context, personal experiences and preferences also shape communication. Thus, Relevance Theory accommodates two seemingly opposing outcomes: a more complex message may generate higher as well as lower appreciation than a less complex message. Based on their detail-orientation, they tend to talk at great length. Register to receive personalised research and resources by email. Unlike low-context cultures, high-context cultures prioritize the group over the individual (Hofstede, 1984). 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. In addition to striving for personal accomplishment through masculine traits, Germans also enjoy tokens of status, which often comes from high-quality cars and new technology. This is what the cultural standard "Direct communication style" is about. When doing business with German clients, having employees in place who command respect with extensive knowledge and a willingness to have an open mind will be a huge asset. Germans tend to make a strict distinction between work and social life; therefore expect little small talk in a business context. )&ucLHDCommunication is driven by cultural differences - MSU Extension In high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, and Arab countries), the listener is already contexted and does not need to be given much background information[3]. Deductive reasoning that relies on details are what matter in German society, and having a carefully thought out plan for the future is essential. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In a high-context culture, there are many contextual elements that help people to understand the rules. German Culture and Traditions - WorldAtlas Comfort in knowing the rules; protocol important; sensitivity to position and age. As we discuss culture, we are making generalizations to create cultural prototypes. A principal component analysis did not lead to a more reliable scale. This methodological limitation makes it impossible to assess whether it is indeed context culture that is the explanatory factor of the results obtained. For complex messages to be effective, consumers need to have a minimum of cognitive resources. The blue line (Main-Linie) divides Middle German and High German. In contrast, when anthropologist Edward T. Hall developed the terms in the 1930s, his usage was far broader: The original theory compared different views on . Few hallway conversations; once you have greeted a person in the morning, there is no need to say hello when passing in the hallway. Its impressive business sector features many of the largest brands in the world, and the consumer market has a high buying power. Next to this measure of perceived comprehension, other useful approaches are to ask participants to select the appropriate meaning among a list of potential meanings (cf. For instance, See, Petty, and Evans (Citation2009) showed, in two studies, that people with a high need for cognition (who have a tendency to appreciate undertaking cognitive activities) were more motivated to process a complex rather than a simple message, and that people with a low need for cognition were more motivated to process a simple instead of a complex message. The terms "low-context" and "high-context" usually refer to language groups or nationalities. First, it is expected that participants from a higher-context culture perceive the message as less complex than participants from a lower-context culture (H1). i~^/NGu8Oc$j*$hd$BC+ji.9mkK"B?0m`d()-r//JQ ?7M!7|Q]pTX6w9 In general, both Germany and the U.S. are low-context cultures, meaning that information and meaning are usually communicated explicitly through words. These cookies do not store any personal information. Guffey, M.E., Lowey, D., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2013). Your email address will not be published. Neuliup, J. W. (2011). He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU. The present study is the first of its kind to test one of the central claims of context theory: namely, that complex messages are perceived as less complex and are better liked in higher-context than in lower-context cultures. endstream endobj 315 0 obj <>stream Chapter 2 sets the theoretical background on leadership styles, and the differentiation between high- and low-context . According to the influential context theory of Hall (Hall, Citation1976; Hall & Hall, Citation1990; see also Kittler, Rygl, & Mackinnon, Citation2011), a person's cultural background affects how well that person is able to comprehend complex messages and how well s/he appreciates such messages. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance. Rather than valuing positions that are based on family connections or age, Germans prefer to put trust in those who demonstrate experience and vast knowledge. The culture of Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. This allows individuals of different generations to communicate through a shared set of values, which, in turn, provides stability to the culture. Figure1 visualizes the theoretical model of the role of context culture in perceived complexity and message liking that is under investigation. Low-context countries, on the other hand, relied more on linear processes and verbal communication. In the example above between the two sisters, they are using high-context communication; however, America is considered a low-context culture. Fourth, in future empirical studies on the role of context theory in comprehension and persuasion, it may be worthwhile to vary the ways in which message comprehension is measured. Generally, high-context cultures prefer oral communications, while low-context cultures favor written communications. 2.3: Understanding Intercultural Communication The complexity of a message can be the result of different message components (Lowrey, Citation2008), such as the difficulty of the words that are used (e.g., jargon or words from a foreign language), the syntax of the sentences (see Lowrey, Citation1998), or the length of the message. There is a strong preference for a direct communication style. A person's culture shapes their beliefs, as well as the way they express themselves through communication. The complexity of a message is actually defined by the comprehension of the receiver. Beyond Culture. gut (good) rather than fantastic.. Characteristics of HC and LC Communication. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. A prototypical message component that results in complex messages is the use of metaphors. About half of the participants were female (56%). Consumers differ in these resources; for instance, because they vary in the motivation to invest in cognitive tasks (e.g., Lagerwerf & Meijers, Citation2008; See etal., Citation2009). For this reason, understanding differences between U.S. and German business communication may prove useful when starting conversations and negotiations with German business partners. An example of a fusion metaphor is the ad for Ariel liquid detergent that was discussed in the introduction. High-Context and Low-Context Cultures - OUP Academic April 28, 2023. Original music by Dan Powell and . Respect for authority; yet open and even confrontational discussions between subordinate and superior are accepted if they are fact-based and related to the subject-expertise of the subordinate. Eye contact, for example, which is encouraged in North America, may have ambiguous meaning or be considered disrespectful in certain high-context cultures. Intercultural Business Communication by Confederation College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Goodwill Messages and Recommendations. What is an Interculturally Effective Person (IEP)? Examples of low-context cultures include Germany, the United States, and Australia. 6e`pS"\wFR-O/XXdg%8a'Gz:A9=w5G>+1 ) Keep away from uncertain situations, and instead focus on the known and practical. High Context Culture: What Does It Mean and How to Adapt H4: Participants' personal context scores mediate the effect of nationality on ad liking. Communicating in High Context vs. Low Context Cultures Need for Certainty According to Hall (Citation1976; Hall & Hall, Citation1990), the extent to which such complex messages are comprehended and appreciated depends on context culture. Similarly, ad liking was higher for Belgian than for Dutch participants, and again, this difference was explained by context score. Communication Research Reports. They assume that listeners know very little and must be told practically everything. In order to accurately demonstrate the role of context theory, participants' individual context scores should be assessed. Another source of variation is consumers' cultural background; namely, their context culture, as the next section will explain. Strict application of formal rules without much attention to context. Put it in writing. All Rights Reserved. D.u{Tet&q3b Hall's approach, however, was theoretical: nations have been grouped and accorded a position on the continuum from low- to high-context rather loosely. In a comparative survey-based study (N = 289), Belgian and Dutch participants judged 12 complex product advertisements with visual metaphors. (1971). Meaning depends on what is said- the literal content of the message- rather than how it is said. In general, not a high touch culture. This is why complex messages are sometimes more effective than less complex messages. Recognizing High and Low Context Cultures - National Charrette Institute Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires. Map of German language usage: German in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Context High context. Low-context cultures are less stable than high-context cultures as they are not founded upon any shared background. The Influence of High-/Low-Context Cultu . https://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2017.1296985. Meaning is determined not by what is said but by how it is said and by how social implications such as the communicators status and position come into play. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. As a result, context theory predicts complex messages containing visual metaphors to be better understood and to be better appreciated in high- rather than in low-context cultures. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. More responsibility; moving up in the company; time off (as monetary rewards are taxed at a very high rate). The Nine Competencies that Characterize an IEP, Strategies to Increase your IEP[footnote]Deardorff, D. K. (2012). People understand many things that are left unsaid. Many low context cultures are individualist so people openly express their views, and tend to make important information obvious to others. Nevertheless, it persists: Political self-effects in the context of On the other hand, low-context culture does not have any such shared background. However, to access this market and connect with German partners and clients, localization is essential.Developing a strategy based on a holistic cultural analysis can feel difficult, if not impossible, to do without an organized approach. United States Le Pair and Van Mulken (Citation2008, p. 289) stress that their choice to relate the findings on ad liking to participants' context culture is a tentative explanation, and Callow and Schiffman (Citation2002, p. 274) acknowledge, It would also be advantageous to measure context at an individualas opposed to a culturallevel.. ommunication between Population of Germany and German - MCSER When it comes to emails, texts, and online messaging, low-context cultures use it to fire off quick, frequent messages. Cultures and languages are defined as higher or lower context on a spectrum. In other words, high-context communicators attach great importance to everything that surrounds the explicit message, including interpersonal relationships, non-verbal cues, and physical and social settings. There are smaller communities and specific settings within national/linguistic cultures, and they may exhibit different communication patterns. Consensus-finding; thorough decision-making phase is followed by swift implementation phase. This study focuses on two Western European countries: Belgium and the Netherlands. ;#EtZ-P`IsPv;SFMx+CS~!v}w\ `p>cgVX The context theory framework has been adopted in cultural studies to a large extent; Cardon (Citation2008), for instance, reviewed 244 articles. n The effect size is small, but what matters is the relationship between personal context score, on the one hand, and perceived complexity and ad liking on the other. IOR collects cookies to improve your experience on our website. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. This actually implies that context theory is a powerful explanation for differences in perceived complexity and liking of ads. In the studies that did investigate the role of context culture in comprehension and persuasion, individuals' nationality was measured but not individuals' context culture. High-context cultures, on the other hand, depend on both the spoken words and the context of the situationincluding the shared values/assumptions of the groupto convey meaning. Low-context communication aspires to get straight to the point. You can find his work on The Print, Live Wire, and YouTube. Brings out best in individual; challenges to produce best possible outcome, yet a strong sense of collaboration persists, Task Orientation Low-context and high-context cultures are the ends of a continuum portraying how cultures communicate. A polite nod accompanied by a firm handshake is a common greeting, both in a business as well as social context; eye contact is made and held during a face-to-face conversation. This, in turn, may make employers (particularly of smaller companies) very cautious and selective when hiring people. First, whereas the present study took a linear relationship between comprehension and liking as a starting point, future research may examine nonlinear relationships. Also remember that although cultures are different from one another, no culture or cultural characteristic is better or worse than any other. Source expertise did not play a role when the participants were able to understand the message. They were Belgian (n = 174) or Dutch (n = 115) students. YbpIIV 9x~G6 Effectively communicating within this culture, therefore, requires messaging that is perceived as objective, professional, and efficient. Their communication is often indirect and requires a nuanced understanding, so outsiders might find it more difficult to enter their culture. They are not simply complementary but are often used as the primary means of conveying a message and require the members to have greater cultural understanding. New empirical studies should be conducted with other countries than Belgium and the Netherlands in order to empirically examine Hall's theoretical classification of high- and low-context cultures. Xu & Wyer, Citation2010), or foreign languages (cf. When it comes to complex messages in the advertising domain, though, there have been empirical studies that based their expectations on context theory. Relatively weak control is called Indulgence and relatively strong control is called Restraint. Sourabh Yadav is a freelance writer & filmmaker. }Sp*vv^qVbu4.#TpK:5p/&^{tou,! )y_f77\dO :3sPb:#( L%T*qsPJl3)}TkU\z,RzHpO^GFoi'})ff\ Intentions not explicitly stated can often be inferred from the context. Seekprofessional input on your specific circumstances. In other words, messages should not be too complex. Since they value collectivism and interdependence, it makes sense that their communication requires an understanding of the communitys shared values. High-context cultures rely heavily on non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. In contrast, high-context cultures use facial expressions, body language, and gestures in a nuanced manner. However, be sure to consider that your communication style doesnt highlight instant gratification or a can-do emotion. Metaphors, whether verbal or visual, are rhetorical figures that may have a high degree of complexity (e.g., McQuarrie & Mick, Citation1996; Phillips & McQuarrie, Citation2004). More important, we will test whether the effect formulated in H1 is indeed mediated by participants' context-culture scores (H2): Figure 1. The present study shows that individuals' context scores account for the national differences between perceived complexity and liking of ads with complex visual metaphors. Virtual programme Cross-Cultural Management, The Multi-Focus Model on Organisational Culture. This is in part due to Germans unwillingness to reveal personal information to potential strangers. Van Mulken etal., Citation2010). In Relevance Theory (Sperber & Wilson, Citation1995), the principle of relevance holds that people search for a balance between the effort they have to put into understanding the message and the benefits they expect the effort to provide them. Coming from a high context culture, I found the German colleagues too wordy when writing minutes of meeting and focus too much on details in discussions. Desire for stability and caution toward change, Value of academic accomplishments and formal knowledge, Punctuality (reflects reliability and discipline), Strong distinction between public space (formal at work) and private space (informal with family and friends), Healthy balance between work and leisure time, Thoroughness in decision making (analytical, theoretical, deductive), Detail orientation; tendency toward perfectionism, Honesty (may be perceived as overly critical and blunt), Legacy of former communist East (GDR) and capitalist West Germany (FRG), Formality among older generation (use of Sie) vs. informality of the younger generation (use of Du), Strong sense of order and discipline vs. crowding and pushing when standing in line, Lack of mobility vs. open employment market across the European Union (EU), Sophisticated language indicative of social status vs. increasingly pervasive use of D-English (use of Anglicisms), Traditional Christian culture vs. increase of religious diversity entering mainstream society, particularly Islam.