Slide 1
Chapter 10: Intercultural Competence
in Interpersonal Relationships
• Benefits and Challenges of Intercultural
Relationships
• Cultural Differences in Notions of
Friendship
• Cultural Differences in Relational
Development
• Relationships Across Differences
• Contexts of Intercultural Relationships
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© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 2
Types of Interpersonal
Relationships
•
•
•
•
•
Strangers
Acquaintances
Friends
Romantic Partners
Family
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Slide 3
Benefits and Challenges of
Intercultural Relationships
• Benefits of intercultural
relationships:
1. Acquiring knowledge about the world
(relational learning)
2. Breaking stereotypes
3. Acquiring new skills
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Slide 4
Benefits and Challenges of
Intercultural Relationships
• Challenges of intercultural
relationships:
1. Differences in communication styles,
values, and perceptions
2. Negative stereotypes
3. Anxiety
4. Need to explain ourselves to others
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Slide 5
Cultural Differences in Notions
of Friendship
• Notions of friendships are related to
ideas about identity and values:
1. Individualists tend to view friendship as
more voluntary, individual-oriented, and
spontaneous than collectivists.
2. In some collectivist cultures, friendships
are long-term and involve obligations.
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Slide 6
Cultural Differences in Notions
of Friendship
3. In some cultures, family and friend
relationships are inextricably
intertwined.
4. What most people in the world
consider simply a “friend” is
probably what a U.S. American
would consider a “close friend.”
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Slide 7
Cultural Differences in Notions
of Friendship
5. Characteristics of friends are
prioritized differently in different
cultures, both internationally and
domestically.
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Slide 8
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
Cultural differences affect relationships at
each stage of development:
1. Initial attraction
2. Exploratory interaction
3. Stability phase
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Slide 9
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
•
Initial attraction:
1. The proximity principle - People in the U.S.
form relationships with people to whom they
are in close proximity, and are attracted to
individuals from similar social, economic, and
cultural backgrounds.
2. The structures of society often determine
whom we come in contact with.
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Slide 10
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
• Initial attraction:
3. Physical attraction is especially
important in the United States.
4. Standards for physical attractiveness
are culturally based.
5. According to the similarity principle,
we tend to be attracted to people we
perceive to be similar to ourselves.
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Slide 11
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
•
Initial attraction:
6. Finding that people agree with our beliefs
confirms that we are right and provides us
with cognitive consistency.
7. The complementarity principle - we are also
attracted to persons who are somewhat
different from ourselves in ways that can
contribute balance in a relationship.
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Slide 12
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
• Exploratory interaction:
1. Different cultural rules govern how to
regard strangers.
2. In high-context cultures, relationships
will not easily develop without
background or contextual information.
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Slide 13
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
• Stability phase (friendships):
1. As relationships develop more
intimacy, friends share more personal
and private information.
2. There are also cultural variations in how
much nonverbal expression is
encouraged.
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Slide 14
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
• Stability phase (romantic
relationships):
Gao (1991) and others have found both
similarities and differences across
cultures, some of which seem to reflect
individualism-collectivism.
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Slide 15
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
• Gay and lesbian relationships:
1. Gay and straight relationships differ in
terms of:
a. the role of same-sex friendships,
b. the role of cross-sex friendships, and
c. the relative importance of friendships.
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Slide 16
Cultural Differences in
Relational Development
• Gay and lesbian relationships:
2. Some issues (permanent relationships,
relational dissolution) are unique to
gay and lesbian partners.
3. Same-sex relationships are very much
influenced by the cultural contexts in
which they occur.
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Slide 17
Relationships Across
Differences
• Communicating in intercultural
relationships:
1. Linguistic and cultural competence
2. Finding similarities
3. Time/involvement
4. Turning points such as self-disclosure
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Slide 18
Relationships Across
Differences
• Intercultural Dating and Marriage:
The likelihood of dating interculturally
is influenced by
- family attitudes,
- geographic context,
- social status, and
- larger social discourses.
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Slide 19
Relationships Across
Differences
•
Permanent Relationships
1. Increased interethnic/interracial marriage
2. Challenges include pressures from family and
society and issues around raising children.
3. Cultural conflicts within relationship (values,
habits, roles, time, religion…)
4. Certain groups have been made to seem more
attractive and acceptable as partners.
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Slide 20
Contexts of Intercultural
Relationships
•
It is important to consider intercultural
relationships in the contexts in which they
emerge.
1. History
2. Dialectical tension between the social,
political, and economic contexts and the
desires and motives of the partners
involved
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© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.