Psychology

What are potential obstacles that may prevent intracultural communication and intercultural communication, and how do these obstacles differ based on cultural differences? Include an example of obstacles to intracultural and intercultural communication from your life.

ANSWER

The Potential Obstacles that May Prevent Intracultural and Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication occurs between people of two or more different cultures, while intracultural communication occurs between people of the same culture. Cultural diversity makes communication challenging since the mindset of individuals are different, the symbols, signs, language, behaviors, the meaning of words, manners, prejudices, and opinions. Communication between individuals of similar and different cultures is influenced by barriers that interfere with social interaction between people such as anxiety, prejudice, ethnocentrism, negative stereotypes, and language differences.

Anxiety leads to a feeling of not knowing what to expect from their counterparts due to a lack of knowledge about the ways of interaction. Ethnocentrism is an individual’s view of another heritage and culture as being inferior to their heritage and culture (Logan, Steel, and Hunt, 2015). This influences communication with a person from another culture since they cannot acknowledge their opinion or understand things from the other person’s point of view. Assuming the similarities in intercultural communication creates predetermined assumptions that affect communication.

Prejudice leads to irrational judgments that are evident among certain groups of people. This is primarily a negative perception of individuals based on ethnicity, race, or religion (Ruscher, 2017). Therefore, prejudgments that are passed in cross-cultural settings influence social interactions and communication. Interaction with my Black American peers in school has faced conflicts and misunderstandings due to prejudice which has always been a powerful influence in biasing thinking and acting. For instance, the group targeted humor has influenced how we socialize and interpret information thus affecting how we communicate.

Language is the main source of the exchange of thoughts, ideas, and values between two groups. Language gaps between two individuals increase the problem of cross-cultural interaction and communication. Cultural differences influence communication-based on cultural values and norms that present different social environments (Gut, Wilczewski, and Gorbaniuk, 2017). Ideally, culture offers its member implicit knowledge on how to behave and interpret other people’s behavior, thus creating a socializing influence on how one communicates. Therefore, cultural differences may create misunderstandings and conflicts in the communication process.

References

Gut, A., Wilczewski, M., & Gorbaniuk, O. (2017). Cultural differences, stereotypes, and communication needs in intercultural communication in a global multicultural environment. The employees’ perspective. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 43(1), 1-20.

Logan, S., Steel, Z., & Hunt, C. (2015). Investigating the effect of anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism on willingness to interact in intercultural communication. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(1), 39-52.

Ruscher, J. B. (2017). Prejudiced communication. In Oxford research encyclopedia of communication.