Intercultural communication : a contextual approach / James W. Neuliep.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Chapter 1: The Necessity of Intercultural Communication -- The need for intercultural communication -- Benefits of intercultural communication -- Diversity in the United States -- Human communication -- The nature of human communication -- Human communication apprehension -- The nature of culture -- A contextual model of intercultural communication -- Intercultural communication and uncertainty -- Intercultural communication apprehension -- Fundamental assumptions about intercultural communication -- Chapter 2: The Cultural Context -- Individualism-collectivism -- Individualism -- Collectivism -- Individualism versus collectivism? -- So, who's an individualist and who's a collectivist? -- An intercultural conversation: individualistic and collectivistic cultures patterns of individualism and collectivism across the United States -- Communication consequences of individualism-collectivism -- Vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism -- Measuring individualism-collectivism -- The pancultural self -- High- and low-context communication -- Characteristics of high- and low-context cultures -- Communication consequences of low- and high-context cultural orientations -- An intercultural conversation: high- and low-context cultures -- Assessing high- and low-context communication -- Value orientations -- Schwartz's universal values -- Kluckhohn and Strodbeck's value orientations -- Power distance -- Measuring power distance -- Communication and power distance -- An intercultural conversation: large and small power distance cultures -- Uncertainty avoidance -- A theory of uncertainty orientation -- An intercultural conversation: weak and strong uncertainty avoidance -- Chapter 3: The Microcultural Context -- Microcultural group status -- Muted microcultural groups -- Microcultures in the United States -- Hispanics/Latinos -- African-Americans -- The Amish -- The Hmong -- Arab Americans.

Chapter 4: The Environmental Context -- Environments and information load culture and the natural environment -- Worldviews of the natural environment -- Culture and natural disasters -- The Built environment -- Cross-cultural comparisons of housing -- Japanese housing -- American Navajo housing -- Housing of the Marakwet of Kenya -- Privacy -- Assessing dimensions of privacy -- Perceptions of privacy in the United States -- Cross-cultural variations on privacy -- Monochronic versus polychronic time orientation -- Consequences of monochronic and polychronic orientations -- An intercultural conversation: monochronic and polychronic cultures -- Chapter 5: The Perceptual Context -- Culture and cognition -- A model of human information processing -- Cross-cultural differences in sensation and perception -- Cross-cultural differences in memory and retrieval -- Categorization and mental economy -- Stereotyping -- Racial and ethnic stereotypes -- American stereotypes -- Stereotypes and expectations -- An intercultural conversation: stereotyping -- Ethnocentrism -- A contemporary conceptualization of Ethnocentrism -- Ethnocentrism, intercultural communication, and interpersonal perception -- Ethnocentrism and communication in the workplace -- Ethnocentrism and racism -- Chapter 6: The Sociorelational Context -- Dimensions of group variability -- Membership and nonmembership groups -- Ingroups and outgroups -- Reference groups -- Role relationships -- An intercultural conversation: student/teacher role positions -- Role differentiation and stratification -- An Intercultural conversation: cross-cultural role positions -- Family groups -- Sex and gender groups -- Gender stereotypes -- Sex and gender roles across cultures -- Morocco -- Japan -- India -- Saudi Arabia -- Egypt -- China -- Mexico.

Chapter 7: The Verbal Code: Human Language -- The relationship between language and culture -- Sapir-Whorf hypothesis -- The structure of human language -- Sounds and symbols -- Syntax and universal grammar -- Universals of language -- Generative grammar -- Elaborated and restricted codes -- Cross-cultural communication styles -- Direct-indirect -- An intercultural conversation: direct and indirect speaking -- Elaborate, exacting, and succinct styles -- Personal and contextual style -- An intercultural Conversation: Personal and Contextual Styles Instrumental and Affective Style An Intercultural conversation: instrumental and affective speaking -- Language and ethnic identity -- Do you speak American? -- Chapter 8: The Nonverbal Code -- Definitions of nonverbal communication -- The relationship between verbal and nonverbal codes -- Formal versus informal code systems -- Channels of nonverbal communication -- Kinesics -- Paralanguage -- Proxemics -- Haptics -- Olfactics -- Physical appearance and dress -- Chronemics -- Nonverbal communication and dimensions of cultural variability -- Individualism-collectivism -- Power distance -- High and low context -- Nonverbal expectancy violations theory -- Cultural contexts and nonverbal expectancies -- An intercultural conversation: violation of nonverbal expectancies -- Chapter 9: Developing Intercultural Relationships -- Communication and uncertainty -- Anxiety uncertainty management theory of effective communication -- Uncertainty reduction and intercultural communication apprehension -- An intercultural conversation: uncertainty reduction and sociocommunicative Style -- Assessing sociocommunicative orientation/style -- Empathy and similarity in relationship development -- Empathy -- Similarity -- Perceptions of relational intimacy across cultures -- Eastern and Western cultures and relationships -- Marital relationships -- Intercultural and interracial marriages -- Mate selection and desirability across cultures -- Arranged marriages -- Marital dissolution and divorce across cultures.

Chapter 10: Intercultural Conflict -- Definitions of intercultural conflict -- A model of intercultural conflict -- An intercultural conversation: Kim's model of intercultural conflict -- The concept of face, facework, and communication conflict styles -- An intercultural conversation: dominating and third-party conflict styles -- Individualistic and collectivistic approaches to conflict -- Conflict resolution in high- versus low-context cultures -- Chapter 11: Intercultural Communication in Organizations -- Intercultural management -- The cultural context -- An intercultural conversation: clashing cultural concepts on the job -- The environmental context -- The perceptual context -- The sociorelational context -- Verbal and nonverbal codes -- An intercultural conversation: misinterpretation of common U.S. phrases intercultural relations -- Japanese management practices -- German management practices -- Mexican management practices -- Commerce in the Middle East -- An intercultural conversation: business communication in the Middle East -- Chapter 12: Acculturation, Culture Shock, and Intercultural Competence -- Acculturation -- Acculturative stress -- A model of acculturation -- Modes of acculturation -- Acculturation in the United States -- Culture Shock -- W curve models of reentry culture shock -- Strategies for managing culture Shock -- Intercultural communication competence -- A Model of intercultural competence -- The knowledge component -- The affective component -- The psychomotor component -- Situational features.

This comprehensive, user-friendly introduction takes a current approach to cultural differences, and guides students through the key concepts of communication and culture.