CHAPTER 11 Episodes, Contexts, and Intercultural Interactions CHAPTER OBJECTIVES (1) To describe and explain how communication experiences are structured by people’s participation in events that are quite predictable and routine. (2) To introduce students to the five components of social episodes, each of which influences intercultural communication. (3) To explain that all social interactions are influenced by culture. (4) To examine three specific social settings in which cultural variations play an important role: health care, education, and business. (5) To encourage an awareness that intercultural competence is critical for everyday experiences and contexts.

I. Social Episodes in Intercultural Relationships A. The nature of social episodes 1. People’s interactions are structured by their participation in events or social episodes that are quite predictable and routine. 2. The nature of social episodes varies from culture to culture; however, there are some common characteristics: a. Social episodes are interaction sequences that are repeated over and over again. b. The structure of the social episodes themselves are very predictable. c. The individuals who participate in these episodes generally know what to expect from others and vice versa.

B. Components of social episodes 1. Cultural patterns are the shared judgments about what the world is, what it should be, and the widely held expectations about how people should behave. 2. Social roles are sets of expected behaviors that are associated with people in a particular position. 3. Rules of interaction are not written down, nor are they typically shared verbally; instead, they operate at the level of unwritten, unspoken expectations. 4. Interaction scenes are made up of the recurring, repetitive topics that people talk about in social conversations. 5. Interaction contexts are the settings or situations within which social episodes occur.

II. Contexts for Intercultural Communication A. The Health Care Context 1. Culture’s influence on the health care context a. Cultural patterns affect how people understand the health care context. b. Three general approaches people take to issues about health, illness, and wellness. 2. The magico-religious or personalistic approach refers to a belief that health and illness are closely linked to uncontrollable supernatural forces. 3. The holistic approach refers to a belief in an essential harmonious balance between a person and nature (defined as the larger social, political, and environmental circumstances). 4. The biomedical approach refers to beliefs that a person’s health is controlled by biochemical forces. 5. Family and gender roles in the health-care context a. Cultural patterns influence the definition of the patient, family responsibilities, ideas regarding medical treatment, and medical interviews. b. Cultural patterns also influence expectations about appropriate gender-related behaviors.

B. Conversational structures and language a. Cultural differences in interaction rules affect the medical interview between caregiver and patient. b. Potential difficulties include the perceived authority of health-care professionals and the expected degree of ambiguity in the use of language. C. Intercultural competence in the health care context a. Health-care professionals must assume the responsibility of assuring intercultural competence—which requires an understanding of cultural patterns—in order to treat people effectively. b. However, an individual may not share the preferences of his or her cultural group.

D. The Educational Context 1. Culture’s influence on the educational context a. Participants in educational settings bring with them their cultural backgrounds and patterns. b. Culture influences people’s expectations about teacher-student relationships, learning styles, valuation of education, classroom behavior, and communication styles. E. Classroom interaction a. Culture affects expectations about teacher-student interactions. b. Culture affects preferences about classroom behaviors of students. c. Culture affects preferred learning styles of students

3. Families and the educational system a. Intercultural communication competence affects the relationship of family members with the educational system. b. There are differing cultural expectations about the interrelationships among parents, teachers, and students 4. Intercultural competence in the educational context a. The starting point for developing intercultural competence in the educational context is to understand one’s own cultural background. b. The educational context has the potential to help or harm students and their families.

F. The Business Context 1. Culture’s influence on the business context a. Specific areas of intercultural business are associated with four variations in individualistic or collectivistic cultures: who speaks for the organization, who makes decisions for the organization, what motivates employees, and what is the basis for the business relationship. b. The cultural dimension of universalism-particularism explains how business practices vary between cultures. 2. Doing business interculturally a. Cultures vary in their interpretations about what constitutes appropriate and effective business communication and the manner in which to practice business. b. Business negotiations, social exchanges, decision making styles, reward systems, and gender expectations are all influenced by the cultural backgrounds of the business participants involved. 3. Intercultural competence in the business context a. Intercultural competence in the workforce involves educating managers and their employees on the skills necessary to work in an intercultural environment. b. Training includes opportunities to improve knowledge, motivation, and skills concerning intercultural issues and ongoing training about diversity issues.

III. Episodes, Contexts, and Intercultural Competence A. Intercultural competence requires an understanding of the episodes and contexts within which interaction occurs. B. Cultural differences related to episodes and contexts can be a cause of misunderstanding in intercultural interactions.