C OMMUNICATION A CCOMMODATION T HEORY (H OWARD G ILES ) Socio-psychological tradition

C OMMUNICATION A CCOMMODATION When two people from different ethnic or cultural groups interact, they tend to accommodate each other in the way they speak in order to gain the other’s approval. This process of seeking approval by meshing with another’s style of speaking is at the core of what has been labeled as speech accommodation theory.

Accommodation – The constant movement toward or away from others by changing your communicative behaviour.

S OME QUESTIONS Are there times we don’t adjust our speech style to match that of others? If so, what is our motive for not accommodating? How do groups with which we identify affect our accommodation choices? Is accommodation always conscious? To what extent do we adjust what we say as well as the way we say it? What are the social consequences if we over accommodate?

CAT in: Intercultural groups Intergenerational context (Young - upto 50 years of age, Old – 65 and above) To what extent do the members of these two groups adjust their communication when talking to someone of the other generation?

C OMMUNICATION A CCOMMODATION S TRATEGIES Convergence – A strategy of adapting your communication behaviour in such a way as to become more similar to another person Divergence – A communication strategy of accentuating the differences between your-self and another person.

C ONVERGENCE STRATEGY While talking to an old man: Abandon long flowing sentences, speak in short phrases with similarity of sound and cadence Speaking one notch louder while clearly enunciating consonants Through discourse management – the sensitive selection of topics to discuss Meet the emotional needs of the other

D IVERGENCE S TRATEGY Strategy of accentuating the differences between yourself and another person Using a different language or dialect Employing a thicker accent, speaking in a monotone or with exaggerated animation In intergenerational encounters, divergence is the norm and convergence the exception

Young people typically characterize the old as close-minded, out of touch, angry, complaining, and negatively stereotyping youth Elderly often increase the social distance through self-handicapping. Self-handicapping – For the elderly, a face saving strategy that invokes age as a reason for not performing well.

O THER FORMS OF DIVERGENCE Maintenance – Persisting in your original communication style regardless of the communication behaviour of the other; similar to divergence; underaccommodation. Overaccommodation – Demeaning or patronizing talk; excessive concern paid to vocal clarity or amplitude, message simplification, or repetition.

D IFFERENT M OTIVATIONS FOR C ONVERGENCE AND D IVERGENCE Desire for approval (personal identity) Convergence Positive Response Social Identity Theory (To explain divergence)- Group memberships and social categories that we use to define who we are. Our group membership can greatly affect our communication. Need for distinctiveness (social identity) Divergence Negative response

Initial Orientation – Communicator’s predisposition to focus on either their individual identity or group identity during a conversation

F IVE FACTORS OF INITIAL ORIENTATION Collective cultural context (we-centered Vs I- centered cultures) Distressing history of interaction Stereotypes Norms for treatment of groups High group solidarity/high group dependence

R ECIPIENT EVALUATION OF CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE Objective Versus Subjective accommodation Attribution Theory – The perceptual process by which we observe what people do and then try to figure out their intent or disposition.

Q UESTION Can you think of a time when you found another’s divergence in speech style delightful or another’s convergence distressing? To what extent is it possible to interact with another person and not have age, sex, race, nationality, religious commitment, or political ideology be salient when you know that one or more of these differs from your own?

Q UESTION In what way might you overaccommodate to the stereotypical image you hold of opposite-sex communication behaviour? As you read about the actions and reactions of young people cited from intergenerational research, with which strategies and responses do you identify? Which do you believe are uncharacteristic of you?

Acknowledgement - All slide adaptations are from A First Look at Communication Theory by Em Griffin