Keep away from uncertain situations, and instead focus on the known and practical. In low-context cultures, people are used to messages that are direct and simple; for them, interpreting metaphors is relatively more demanding. German society also stresses compartmentalizing personal and professional lives in this pursuit of success. New empirical studies should be conducted with other countries than Belgium and the Netherlands in order to empirically examine Hall's theoretical classification of high- and low-context cultures. Future studies may examine other dependent variables, such as product attitude or behavioral intention. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. . A message that is too simple or too difficult to understand is therefore expected to be less persuasive than a message with matching resources. Repeat key points. Highly decentralised and supported by a strong middle class, Germany is not surprisingly among the lower power distant countries (score 35). High and low context cultures were a concept that emerged from anthropology in the 1950s and became more prevalent starting in the 1990s. Conclusion Cultural Communication is always a challenge. (2013)[2]explain the concept of cultural context: Cultural context is a concept developed by cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall. High-context cultures are those in which the rules of communication are primarily transmitted through the use of contextual elements (i.e., body language, a person's status, and tone of voice). There are smaller communities and specific settings within national/linguistic cultures, and they may exhibit different communication patterns. The blue line (Main-Linie) divides Middle German and High German. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. 1. This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Characteristics of HC and LC Communication. An example of such a complex ad is an ad for liquid detergent that was used in Western Europe. Permission will be required if your reuse is not covered by the terms of the License. Universalism b'K/{:6 ,eQ_`RYHS9pkRg91o)?OM8u}Vo0~8m The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. According to Hall's high-/low-context theory, cultures differ in their preferences for indirect, implicit messages versus direct, explicit messages. It can imply understanding or agreement, but it can also mean their conversea lack of certainty. However, in conflict situations, Germans often defend their position strongly and loudly (independent of job level). Contrary to their expectations, French and Spanish participants did not perceive the visual metaphors to be easier to understand and did not like them more than the Dutch participants. The present study shows that individuals' context scores account for the national differences between perceived complexity and liking of ads with complex visual metaphors. Such measures would allow a basis for effectively contrasting cultures and would allow for replication and extension studies.. For the processing of complex messages, the perspective of context theory is very relevant. Germanys need for structure is again seen in its moderately high uncertainty avoidance. Metaphors, whether verbal or visual, are rhetorical figures that may have a high degree of complexity (e.g., McQuarrie & Mick, Citation1996; Phillips & McQuarrie, Citation2004). Bill McDermott, the CEO of SAP, details his methodology when he began working with the German company, saying, When I present to a U.S. audience, I try to inspire them quickly, get them engaged right from the beginning. This work deals with the most common leadership theories in due consideration of their applicability in high- and low-context cultures, more precisely with the leadership styles which are mainly being used Turkey and Germany. The United States is the lowest context culture in the world followed by Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. For complex messages to be effective, consumers need to have a minimum of cognitive resources. Strong analytical orientation. These models, however, do not account for the design of complex ads such as the example of the liquid detergent, which suggests that complexity is employed to positively affect appreciation. For future research on context culture and visual metaphors, it would be interesting to examine if this nonlinear relationship holds as strongly for high-context culture participants as for low-context culture participants. (_CC Performance and target-based; subject expertise important; in public/government institutions, length of service is one aspect of performance appraisal. More important, we will test whether the effect formulated in H1 is indeed mediated by participants' context-culture scores (H2): Figure 1. We used 2-item scales for perceived ad complexity and ad liking because participants had to assess these constructs for 12 different ads. 3~_9!1JLW?
WC "9T$8jKX@N>@\b}16#Q{E82J7gxQWk7&nr^VRjxL%%o7%os ^URt_aOewb,im_ole)hdc|LE<6%E4TEo
o@ W According to the influential context theory of Hall (Hall, Citation1976; Hall & Hall, Citation1990; see also Kittler, Rygl, & Mackinnon, Citation2011), a person's cultural background affects how well that person is able to comprehend complex messages and how well s/he appreciates such messages. These countries were selected because they are similar in many respects, but differ in context culture. This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. Need for Certainty Beyond Culture. It is the reader who has to infer the so-called implicatures, the inferential steps that are needed to decipher the message (Sperber & Wilson, Citation1995). There is a strong preference for a direct communication style. A Localization, Interpreting & Translation Services Company. Two studies have empirically tested this expectation. This result supported H3 (see the lower part of Figure2). Map of German language usage: German in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. To compare your personal preferences to the scores of a country of your choice, get theCulture Compass from our store. All Anglo-Saxon cultures fall on the left-hand side of the scale, with the United Kingdom as the highest context culture of the Anglo-Saxon cluster. At the same time, for many cultures, working in Germany can be challenging because of the direct communication style and high need for detailed information. This means that Germans tend to pay more attention to the literal meaning of words than to the context surrounding them. This conservative, reasoned approach to problems that arise gives Germany the ability to change quickly to local and global situations. H4: Participants' personal context scores mediate the effect of nationality on ad liking. Jobs are changed infrequently (long-term thinking); labor laws support job stability and make it difficult to dismiss people. That is, a limited number of experiments have examined whether people in countries characterized as high-context cultures comprehend and appreciate complex messages better than people in countries characterized as low-context cultures (e.g., Van Mulken, Le Pair, & Forceville, Citation2010). Wurtz studied McDonalds online advertising in various countries such as Japan, Germany, the United States, etc. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Low-context cultures can seem slightly more formal due to the explicit & precise nature of their messages. Consumers differ in these resources; for instance, because they vary in the motivation to invest in cognitive tasks (e.g., Lagerwerf & Meijers, Citation2008; See etal., Citation2009). They often use written contracts and agreements to clarify expectations (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988). . Although context theory has been a dominant perspective in studying cultural differences and similarities in advertising and communication, the theory has received only very limited empirical attention (Cardon, Citation2008; Kittler etal., Citation2011). (2014, December 10). That is, recipients can be persuaded by a message even if they have not processed (and thus comprehended) that message. As Hall (Citation1976, p. 79) states: A high-context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. $suH\ In total, 289 students participated in this comparative survey-based study. Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise. Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Meetings are only scheduled when necessary; punctuality important; agenda is followed; lengthy discussions of agenda items possible (expression of need for thoroughness). You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Cultures with a low-context orientation, including North America and Western Europe, tend to solve problems with logic rather than intuition and highly value directness. They show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results. Long Term Orientation describes how a society deals with the challenges of the present and future, while also continuing to uphold time-honored traditions. How Do I Format and Cite Long Direct Quotes? Low-context and high-context culture are anthropological concepts that describe the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a culture's communication. Complex ads, such as the example of the liquid detergent, may be better comprehended and better appreciated in higher- than in lower-context cultures. Two examples of items were A speaker can assume that listeners will know what they really mean, and People understand many things that are left unsaid (all nine items are in Appendix1). Each participant judged all ads in the same order. Effectively communicating within this culture, therefore, requires messaging that is perceived as objective, professional, and efficient. endstream
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By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. In other words, if a recipient has noticed a message, and is motivated to process it, the message will only have an impact on beliefs, attitudes, and intentions if it is comprehended. High context refers to societies or groups where people have close connections over a long period of time. Communicating with high-context cultures can require you to focus on politeness strategies that demonstrate your respect for readers and listeners. 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. Carolyn Meyer (2017)[4]discusses the prototypes for communication in low-context and high-context cultures: Communicators in low-context cultures (such as those in Germany, Scandinavia, and North America) convey their meaning exclusive of the context of a situation. Comfort in knowing the rules; protocol important; sensitivity to position and age. The red line (Benrath-Linie) divides Low German and Middle German. For the replacement metaphor, an example is the ad for Contrex water, which features a Contrex water bottle looking at itself in the mirror (replacing a human person looking at his or her body shape). As the ads depicted individuals or individuals in interaction, they chose to measure the participants' personal achievement (i.e., leadership) and affiliation (i.e., friendship) evoked by the images as measures of implicit meaning. In contrast, when anthropologist Edward T. Hall developed the terms in the 1930s, his usage was far broader: The original theory compared different views on . The Influence of High-/Low-Context Cultu . https://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2017.1296985. To request a reprint or commercial or derivative permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below. However, to access this market and connect with German partners and clients, localization is essential.Developing a strategy based on a holistic cultural analysis can feel difficult, if not impossible, to do without an organized approach. The context refers to the information, with regards to communication and cultural issues conveyed via action, behavior, or speech. It describes the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a given culture, indicating the range of communicative abilities (verbal messages, gestures, etc.) It is hoped that more research attention will be paid to context culture in the area of culture and advertising. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future. The current study is the first empirical examination of context theory's role on message comprehension and liking. G~D6cA>`E4SR_.H@vuc_FT_+ QY6PCz~Y*MLH4+p} These countries are quite explicit and elaborate without having prior knowledge to each member's history or background. High-context cultures, on the other hand, depend on both the spoken words and the context of the situationincluding the shared values/assumptions of the groupto convey meaning. Getting the message across. A polite nod accompanied by a firm handshake is a common greeting, both in a business as well as social context; eye contact is made and held during a face-to-face conversation. A low-context culture is a culture in which people communicate explicitly. The Belgian and Dutch students did not differ in mean age (F (1, 287) = 3.67, p =.056) or in gender distribution (X2(1) = 3.27, p =.071). Many aspects of cultural behavior are not made explicit because most members know what . (2012). Phillips (Citation2000), for example, constructed ads in three versions. The ability to navigate successfully across cultures is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Studentsshould always cross-check any information on this site with their course teacher. Hall observed that "meaning and context are inextricably bound up with each other" (Hall, 2000, p. 36), and suggested that to understand communication one should look at meaning and context together with the code (i.e., the words themselves).By context, we refer to the situation, background, or environment connected to an event, a situation, or . Potential participants were invited to take part in an online study. Le Pair and Van Mulken (Citation2008, p. 289) stress that their choice to relate the findings on ad liking to participants' context culture is a tentative explanation, and Callow and Schiffman (Citation2002, p. 274) acknowledge, It would also be advantageous to measure context at an individualas opposed to a culturallevel.. Formal/Reserved In a business context, maintaining good relationships is second to getting the facts straight. Register a free Taylor & Francis Online account today to boost your research and gain these benefits: The Influence of High-/Low-Context Culture on Perceived Ad Complexity and Liking, Centre for Language Studies, Communication and Information Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Review of a 40-source debate in international advertising: Practitioner and academician perspectives to the standardization/adaptation issue, Ease of message processing as a moderator of repetition effects in advertising, The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations, The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-item measures of the same constructs, Implicit meaning in visual print advertisements: A cross-cultural examination of the contextual communication effect, A critique of Hall's contexting model: A meta-analysis of literature on intercultural business and technical communication, How to persuade Belgian, French and Dutch business people to listen to your presentation, Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium, A new approach to country segmentation utilizing multinational diffusion patterns, Conducting experiments on cultural aspects of document design: Why and how, Adapting consumer advertising appeals to cultural values: A meta-analytic review of effects on persuasiveness and ad liking, Foreign language display in advertising from a psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspective: A review and research agenda, High- versus low-context culture: A comparison of Chinese, Korean, and American cultures, Beyond culture or beyond control? Also remember that although cultures are different from one another, no culture or cultural characteristic is better or worse than any other. On the other hand, low-context culture does not have any such shared background. Culture and Interpersonal Communication. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions are Restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong. Therefore, empirical evidence was also found for H4, which means that participants' personal context scores indeed mediated the effect of nationality on ad liking. Produced by Will Reid and Michael Simon Johnson. Anchor Press/Doubleday. Eye contact, for example, which is encouraged in North America, may have ambiguous meaning or be considered disrespectful in certain high-context cultures. Figure1 visualizes the theoretical model of the role of context culture in perceived complexity and message liking that is under investigation. In . In an advertising context, the more effort is spent in deciphering an ad, the more satisfied consumers will be that they have succeeded in this deciphering. People tend not to smile in public with people they dont know. Finally, it is expected that the effect predicted in H3 is mediated by participants' context-culture scores (H4): H3: Participants from a higher-context culture like ads with visual metaphors better than participants from a lower-context culture. Multi-cultural teams need . Listen to business speaker Erin Meyer explain how cultural differences can affect communication. Wurtz, Elizabeth (2005). 7:00AM and 4:00PM CEST However, no country is low-context or high-context in absolute terms; instead, there is a mix of explicit & implicit communication everywhere. Even if not stated exactly, a speaker's intent will rarely be misunderstood. After completing this chapter, you will be able to: Now that we know, broadly, what culture is, lets discuss some ways to categorize aspects of different cultures. Small families with a focus on the parent-children relationship rather than aunts and uncles are most common. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. In public, space is less of a physical concept: people bump into each other in the street and push others when queuing; it is more a concept of the mind. [/footnote], Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits and Obstacles, Intercultural Communication in the Workplace, Additional Resources to Help you Format your Paper in APA Style. The frequent use of complex ads can be best understood when these ads are conceptualized as messages with rhetorical figures, such as visual metaphors (Forceville, Citation1996; Phillips, Citation1997). This, in turn, may make employers (particularly of smaller companies) very cautious and selective when hiring people. In two studies, they observed that participants' attitudes towards the product were affected by the source's expertise when the message was difficult to understand. Stylus Publishing. Designed and Developed by LLT Group. EJ]?SGfekI
NTj\*5~RGzN%#QeOJkLPvYwA9xCk9?FM~0xtCxjg-G3'Uw?g`#IcN!Yr%{U4`8sDUTEP^ #o2G]K(@Z1 In other words, messages should not be too complex. 6e`pS"\wFR-O/XXdg%8a'Gz:A9=w5G>+1 ) Goodwill Messages and Recommendations. Watch this video from international business expert Erin Meyer [1]. In the studies that did investigate the role of context culture in comprehension and persuasion, individuals' nationality was measured but not individuals' context culture. Seekprofessional input on your specific circumstances. Phillips & McQuarrie, Citation2004). zsOx
B*@ Wurtz found something similar while analyzing website design. i~^/NGu8Oc$j*$hd$BC+ji.9mkK"B?0m`d()-r//JQ ?7M!7|Q]pTX6w9 Social media have become important environments for people to express and explore their political views. In countries like Germany, it is a sign of respect and professionalism to speak clearly and leave no room for misinterpretation especially in a difficult conversation. Which countries have low context. In a low-context culture, communication occurs through explicitly spelled out and defined words, and listeners just have to interpret spoken or written words as they are. Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. While a lot of resources are in the realm of international relations and business, there are some valuable high and low context culture lessons to glean for community engagement. In the example above between the two sisters, they are using high-context communication; however, America is considered a low-context culture. In doing so, we followed current methodological advice (see Hayes, Citation2009; Rucker, Preacher, Tormala, & Petty, Citation2011) to employ bootstrapping as a mediation technique because of its benefits compared to conventional methods, such as bootstrapping's higher power to detect potential indirect effects (e.g., Baron & Kenny, Citation1986). However, be sure to consider that your communication style doesnt highlight instant gratification or a can-do emotion. For instance, See, Petty, and Evans (Citation2009) showed, in two studies, that people with a high need for cognition (who have a tendency to appreciate undertaking cognitive activities) were more motivated to process a complex rather than a simple message, and that people with a low need for cognition were more motivated to process a simple instead of a complex message.
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