Low-context cultures (such as those in North America and Western Europe) depend less on the environment of a situation to convey meaning than do high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, and Arab countries). Generally, the situation, people, and non-verbal elements are more important than the actual words that are communicated in a high-context culture. These rules of communication are understood without being explicitly stated. The terms low-context and high-context usually refer to language groups or nationalities. In high cultures, much of the communication is understood by the group either by non-verbal coding, which refers to common body language; distinct in-groups and out-group's, which refers to the cohesiveness of the group; and covert and implicit messages, which refers to what we refer . According to Watson, "the influence of cultural variables interplays with other key factors for example, social identities, those of age, gender, social class and ethnicity; this may include a stronger or weaker influence. In a high-context culture, emphasis is placed on interpersonal relationships rather than personal achievement. Data was gathered in India, Ireland, Thailand, and the United States where the results confirm that "high-context nations (India and Thailand) prefer the avoiding and obliging conflict styles more than low-context nations (Ireland and the United States), whereas low-context nations prefer the uncompromising and dominating communication style more than high-context nations."[16]. Seekprofessional input on your specific circumstances. Cultural contexts are not absolutely "high" or "low". In his model, context refers to the stimuli, environment, or ambiance surrounding an event. The low-context websites had multiple images of individuals, while the high-context websites contained images and animations of groups and communities.[42]. This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). Therefore, it is necessary for more explicit information to be included in the message so it is not misinterpreted. (2014, December 10). Examples of high and low context cultures It can be helpful to consider a few examples of high and low context cultures. Low-context cultures tend to be logical, analytical, action-oriented, and concerned with the individual. London: Routledge. Sage Publications. The study tested 16 items, covering various aspects of the high-versus-low context concept, including social orientation, responsibility, confrontation, communication, commitment, and dealing with new situations. [1] "High-" and "low-" context cultures typically refer to language groups, nationalities, or regional communities. In high-context cultures, there are often many opportunities for social and cultural context to explain speech, which reduces the need for words in all instances. Developing Cultural Intelligence in Corporations, Cultural Perceptions of Time in Organizations: Monochronic and Polychronic Time, Using CRM to Improve Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Comparing Communication in Cultures with High & Low Tolerance for Ambiguity. [2], Website design among cross-cultural barriers include factoring in decisions about culture-sensitive color meanings, layout preferences, animation and sounds. 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]. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. The tools are used to establish context by adding additional information as personal and social cues are not as presentable as they are in face-to-face negotiations. Unlike the linear communication style preferred in low-context cultures, high-context communicators may use spiral logic, circling around a topic indirectly and looking at it from many tangential or divergent viewpoints. Low context is a communication environment that doesn't heavily rely on common understanding such as shared culture, experiences and norms.This can be contrasted with high context communication that relies on common background or understanding. The results found that U.S. participants used communication for pleasure more often than Mexican participants. They assume that listeners know very little and must be told practically everything. Hofstede, G. (1984). They often use written contracts and agreements to clarify expectations (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988). Individualism may lead to communicating to all people in a group in the same way, rather than offering hierarchical respect to certain members. Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. [30] The diversity within a main culture shows how the high and low scale differs depending on social settings such as school, work, home, and in other countries; variation is what allows the scale to fluctuate even if a large culture is categorized as primarily one or the other. The law is important! In other words, the relationship between directness and contexting based on traditional classifications of [high-context] and [low-context] cultures is particularly tenuous. High-context cultures include close-knit groups of people, while low-context cultures are generally more diverse. Communication is seen as a way of exchanging information, ideas, and opinions. 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. The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau. We cite peer reviewed academic articles wherever possible and reference our sources at the end of our articles. 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. In. This is in direct contrast to low-context cultures, in which information is communicated primarily through language and rules are explicitly spelled out. They are considered less direct, and they put a lot of weight on gestures and body language to draw significance from messages. In high-context cultures, communication cues are transmitted by posture, voice inflection, gestures, and facial expression. They also displayed pictures of individuals, while high-context websites foregrounded group pictures. An individual from Texas (a higher-context culture) may communicate with a few words or use of a prolonged silence characteristic of Texan English, where a New Yorker would be very explicit (as typical of New York City English), although both speak the same language (American English) and are part of a nation (the United States of America) which is lower-context relative to other nations. Cultural differences in advertising and marketing may also be explained through high- and low-context cultures. However, the concept may also apply to corporations, professions and other cultural groups, as well as to settings such as online and offline communication. Communicators in low-context cultures (such as those in North America, Scandinavia, and Germany) depend little on the context of a situation to convey their meaning. Strategies to work effectively with people from high context and low context cultures Follow these 4 key strategies to communicate effectively across cultures: 1. A 2008 meta-analysis concluded that the model was "unsubstantiated and underdeveloped".[5]. The aim of this report is to evaluate the concept of different communication cultures through the application of Hall's high and low-context model of culture. Intercultural Business Communication by Confederation College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. While some cultures are low or high . Meyer defines low-context cultures as cultures where people communicate and receive messages at face value. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Websites catering to high-context audiences had a lot of animation & images. People have many acquaintances they have fewer close friends. The reverse holds true for High (Collectivistic) Context Cultures. While in high context cultures, communication is done primarily through nonverbal mediums and gestures, in low context cultures, information is vested explicitly so that there is no risk of confusion. Culture also affects how individuals interpret other people's facial expressions. [26] The terms high- and low-context cultures are not classified with strict individual characteristics or boundaries. Give some examples of cultural differences in the interpretation of body language. This concept was introduced by Edward T. Hall, an anthropologist back in 1976. This study is a result of a cross-cultural examination between students from the United States, a low-context culture, and Mexico, a high-context culture, to study the reasons people communicate in each culture. In, Meyer, C. (2017). Hall is also credited for developing the idea of chronemics, or the study of the use of time during nonverbal communications. Goodwill Messages and Recommendations. [25] Pleasure, affection and inclusion were the highest motives for communication in both cultures, and control was the lowest for both cultures. The following high-context culture examples are a few global cultures where these rules, as well as other characteristics of high-context cultures, apply predominantly: For additional context, a few examples of low-context cultures beyond the United States include Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, and Denmark. Communication Research Reports. Examples of a low context communication cultures include The United States, the UK, Switzerland, Canada and Germany. Instead, a comparison between cultures may find communication differences to a greater or lesser degree. The study identifies whether and how variables that characterize high- and low-context cultures are reflected on Web sites. High-context cultures rely heavily on non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. For example, resemblance is a significant trait in cultures with a high level of context. They also are AT-CTI certified. . Trust High context cultures and situations may extend significant trust to members. [2] Collectivist societies prioritize the group over the individual, and vice versa for individualist ones. Topic: Culture, Context, Communication, Middle East, Business, Conflict, People, Relationships. Kim Dunghoon conducted a study to test the major aspects of high-context versus low-context culture concepts. [13] Not all individuals in a culture can be defined by cultural stereotypes, and there will be variations within a national culture in different settings. Traditionally, Western cultures are known for being more individualistic or communicating with a low context style. [30], Punctuation marks and emojis are more often used by high-context users than low-context users. For example, for someone who is older and more experienced within a society, the need for social cues may be higher or lower depending on the communication style. We will write a custom Report on Communication Culture: Hall's High and Low-Context Model of Culture specifically for you. We know that the way in which we say things at these gatherings is more important than what we say. Bernstein, B. The Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice states that, "high context defines cultures that are relational and collectivist, and which most highlight interpersonal relationships. A conclusion may be implied but not argued directly. people generally use. People within low-context cultures see their relationships much looser and the lines between networks of people are more flexibly drawn.[11]. In anthropology, high-context culture and low-context culture are ends of a continuum of how explicit the messages exchanged in a culture are and how important the context is in communication. Ramos, D. C. (2014). This study, done by Kim Dunghoon, was to test the major aspects the high versus low-context culture concepts. A low-context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code.". lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. In the United States, Native Americans and Hawaiian islanders are also considered high-context. If you want to appear polite, you need to be willing to greet strangers and thank . Instead, many cultures tend to have a mixture or at least some concepts that are shared between them, overlapping the two context cultures.[26]. They rely less on context & non-verbal cues and instead convey meaning more directly. The High Context / Low Context cultural dimension is a broad and far reaching theory which touches on many aspects of cultural communication including verbal and non-verbal messaging, internal and external locus of control, inward and outward reaction, cohesion of groups, people's bonds and commitments, as well . Since understanding every culture has its level of complexity, it is hard for other country people to determine what is the state of culture of the country they visit as a traveller.