1. 31
Communication Accommodation Theory of Howard Giles

2. A Simple Notion Becomes a Comprehensive Communication Theory
Slide 2
A Simple Notion Becomes a Comprehensive Communication Theory
Giles launched program of lab and field research on speech accommodation
When don’t we adjust our speech style?
What is our motive for not accommodating?
Is accommodation always conscious?
Do others accurately perceive our intent?
Do we adjust what we say, the way we say it?
What social consequences exist for overaccommdating?

3. A Simple Notion Becomes a Comprehensive Communication Theory
Slide 3
A Simple Notion Becomes a Comprehensive Communication Theory
Giles offered Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) as “theory of intercultural communication that actually attends to communication”
Accommodation – constant movement toward and away from others by changing communicative behavior

4. Communication Accommodation Strategies
Slide 4
Communication Accommodation Strategies
Convergence – strategy through which you adapt communication behavior to become more similar to another person
Adopt sound and cadence of other person
Talk in a way that is easier for the other person to grasp what you are saying
Discourse management
Satisfy other person’s emotional needs

5. Communication Accommodation Strategies
Slide 5
Communication Accommodation Strategies
Divergence – strategy of accentuating the difference between yourself and another person
Divergence from the norm
Speakers may persist in their original communication style regardless of the other person or overaccomodate to patronize other person

6. Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Slide 6
Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Desire for social approval main motivation for convergence
Does not explain why we frequently communicate in a divergent way
Does not account for fact that we often act as representative of a group

7. Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Slide 7
Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Social identity – group memberships and social categories that we use to define who we are
Tajfel and Turner: motivational continuum with personal identity on one end of the scale and social identity at the other end
Communication will likely become divergent because of their need to emphasize their distinctiveness

8. Social Identity Theory
GUY TASED IN A COURTROOM
Divergent communication motivated by a need for distinctiveness

9. Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Slide 9
Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Initial orientation – communicator’s predisposition to focus on either their individual identity or group identity during a conversation
Collectivistic cultural context
We-centered focus emphasizes similarity and mutual concern within the culture
Communication to outgroup often divergent

10. Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Slide 10
Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Initial orientation (continued)
Distressing history of interaction
If previous interaction is uncomfortable, competitive or hostile, both interactants will tend to ascribe outcome to other person’s social identity

11. Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Slide 11
Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Initial orientation (continued)
Stereotypes
The more specific and negative images people have of an outgroup, the more likely they are to think in terms of social identity and resort to divergent communication
Norms for treatment of groups
Norms – expectations about behavior that members of a community should (or should not) occur in particular situations

12. Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Slide 12
Different Motivations for Convergence and Divergence
Initial orientation (continued)
High group solidarity/ high group dependence
Communicators have an initial intergroup orientation when they have strong identification with the group and high dependence on it for relational warmth and sense of worth

13. Initial Orientation BLACK WOMAN GETS TASED
Divergent communication motivated by distressing history of interaction, stereotypes and norms or expectations for treatment

14. Critique: Enormous Scope at the Cost of Clarity
Slide 14
Critique: Enormous Scope at the Cost of Clarity
Communication accommodation theory morphed into a theory of enormous scope
Explanation of data
Prediction of the future
Quantitative research
Practical utility

15. Critique: Enormous Scope at the Cost of Clarity
Slide 15
Critique: Enormous Scope at the Cost of Clarity
CAT (continued)
Relative simplicity – “structure and underlying terminology are not always represented consistently in texts and propositions” (Gallois, Ogay, and Giles)
Testable hypothesis – “the theory as a whole probably cannot be tested at one time” (Gallois and Giles)

16. Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Slide 16
Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Listeners regard convergence as positive and divergence as negative
It is not important how the communicator converged or diverged, but how the other perceived the communicator’s behavior

17. Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Slide 17
Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Objective versus subjective accommodation
Disconnect between what researchers observed and what participants heard and saw
Giles: one does not converge toward (or diverge from) the actual speech of the recipient, but toward (from) one’s stereotype about the recipient’s speech”

18. Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Slide 18
Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Attribution theory
Our response to others’ communication hinges on the behavior we perceive and the intention or motive we ascribe to them for speaking that way
Attribution – perceptual process by which we observe what people do and then try to figure out their intent or disposition

19. Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Slide 19
Recipient Evaluation of Convergence and Divergence
Attribution theory (continued)
Listeners who interpret convergence as a speaker’s desire to break down cultural barriers react favorably
Benefits and costs to both convergent and divergent strategies

20. Communication Accomodation Theory
“Why Do I Like/Dislike This Person?”
The Accent Game

21. Like/Dislike based on ….
Environment/context of speech
Status, physical environment, communication climate
Speaker’s speech style
Accent, formality, expressiveness
Speaker’s physical ability/competence
Content knowledge and motor skills
Speaker’s effort to communicate
Adaptation/compensation for all of the above

22. Voice Only Perceptions
NORTH CAROLINA WOMAN
TEXAS MAN
TRINIDAD WOMAN
SCOTLAND MAN

23. Voice and Image Perceptions
BARACK OBAMA
SARAH PALIN
DONALD TRUMP