High-context and low-context cultures

High-context and low-context cultures are terms used to classify different societies on how they communicate. The definitions were developed in the 1970s by anthropologist Edward T. Hall as a means of categorizing intercultural communication. High-context cultures tend to be more indirect and nonverbal. Examples of these types of societies include many Asian and African nations. Low-context cultures are just the opposite, focusing on more direct and verbal communication. The United States and many European nations are low-context cultures. No society is completely high context or low context; all societies contain elements of both. For example, in the low-context United States, communication within family units is often high context.

Background

Edward T. Hall was an American anthropologist who pioneered the field of intercultural communication. In the 1930s, Hall worked in the southwestern United States, observing the Navajo and Hopi peoples. Hall noted that the Navajo and Hopi had different cultural concepts of time than people of Western societies. They did not understand time in "hours" or "days" but rather as recurring cycles of passing time. This resulted in some confusion when members of the two cultures tried to communicate.

After serving in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II (1939–1945), Hall returned to the United States and taught anthropology at the University of Denver and Bennington College in Vermont. In the 1950s, he worked for the State Department in Washington, DC, and performed research at the Washington School of Psychiatry. Hall compiled information from years of observations in the 1959 book The Silent Language, which explored his theory of explicit and implicit forms of communication. Implicit communication is unspoken and understood, similar to the way some longtime married couples may interact; explicit communication is straightforward and direct.

The Silent Language became a best seller and was highly influential in founding the field of intercultural communication. Hall continued to study cultural communication and published several more works on the subject. Much of his focus was on how different cultures process concepts of time and personal space. In 1976, Hall published the book Beyond Culture, in which he introduced the concepts of high-context and low-context cultures.

Understanding the cultural differences between high-context and low-context cultures is critical in twenty-first-century workplaces. In a high-context culture, for example, a business owner may prefer to build a relationship with an interested investor before discussing official business. Therefore, it is essential for employees working in diverse organizations and teams to be aware of relevant cultural nuances that may occur.

High-Context Cultures

According to Hall, a high-context culture is one that relies primarily on implicit communication. Close social bonds are common in high-context cultures. These interactions lead to an instinctive understanding of cultural rules that do not need to be communicated within the society. Individuals are defined by their place in the larger social group, and there is a clear distinction between members of the group and "outsiders." As a result, communication between high-context cultures and those unfamiliar with their rules can be difficult.

Relationships in high-context cultures can be slow to develop and depend on trust between individuals. Once established, however, these relationships tend to be stable. People do not seek out individual accomplishments but rather see themselves as an integral part of a family, community, or work group. These groups have a social structure that is highly centralized with a clear authority figure working for the common good.

Because high-context cultures have strong social bonds, personal space is considered to be community space. When speaking, people usually stand closer to one another with little regard for privacy. Information and feelings may be expressed by nonverbal means, such as body language, gestures, eye contact, or tone of voice. Verbal communication tends to be indirect, with a person's context more meaningful than the actual words. For example, if someone says he is hungry, that may be a cue that he would like someone to prepare food for him. The sensitive nature of such cultures means people are more attuned to disagreements. Personal offenses are taken seriously and must be resolved or avoided to ensure harmony within the group.

Tradition is an essential element in high-context societies and change is slow to occur. Communities tend to be close-knit and long-lasting, having occupied the same geographical areas for several generations. Time is thought of as a more casual concept. Day-to-day life moves along at its own pace, without the need of time constraints. Individual or group considerations often take precedence over the need to conform to a strict schedule. As a result, it is not as important when something gets done but rather that it eventually gets accomplished.

Knowledge is considered part of the overall fabric of society and is passed down through group experience. Thinking is more logical and deductive with knowledge evolving from the general to the specific. While learning is important, how well a person learns is also valued. People learn by watching others, and develop their skills by practicing the observed knowledge. For example, in Africa, some young people are temporarily sent away from the whole group to learn about life skills from older group members.

China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian nations are some examples of high-context cultures. These societies have a long history of tradition with little change in their cultural demographics. African societies rooted in tribal customs are also high-context cultures. Other examples include cultures from Muslim nations, India, Latin America, the Pacific islands, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Russia. In the United States, Native Americans and Hawaiian Islanders are also high-context societies.

Low-Context Cultures

Low-context cultures exhibit many of the opposite attributes of high-context cultures. According to Hall, they rely on explicit communication between members. Words are more important than meanings in low-context societies, with the culture's rules and expectations required to be defined in advance. Such cultures tend to be more goal-oriented with individual achievements taking precedence over group accomplishments.

Smaller social groups within low-context cultures have boundaries that are not well-defined. People can come and go from a social group without causing much disruption. Relationships can form quickly and last only for a short time. For example, dating is more casual in low-context cultures where people may have numerous personal relationships over a lifetime. Some relationships are formed with a specific goal; the association ends once that goal is reached. A person may enter a business relationship that lasts only until a product is delivered or the work is done. In most cases, highly detailed legal contracts are required before a business transaction can occur. Authority within a social group is decentralized, with several tiers of community and government leaders establishing the rules and responsibilities for the group.

Individuality and privacy are highly valued in low-context cultures. Community intrusions into personal business are discouraged. When people communicate, they tend to stand farther apart out of respect for another's personal space. Messages are more direct, with the use of nonverbal cues kept to a minimum. Communications are expected to be spelled out in clear language and expressed by written or spoken word. Communication serves a purely functional purpose and is meant as a means of exchanging ideas and information. Disagreements are generally not personalized. Conflict is often resolved by avoiding the problem or finding a logical solution to the issue.

Time is a highly regulated concept in low-context cultures. Tasks and events are expected to follow a schedule and be finished within a specific time frame. The increased focus on time management can often mean efficiency is one of the most highly valuable commodities in performing tasks. Life in low-context societies moves at a faster pace and can change quickly. As a result, styles, trends, and socially accepted norms can vary over a relatively short period. Individuals are responsible for managing their own time and need not conform to a group dynamic.

Knowledge is highly compartmentalized, and learning is often achieved through a single source of information. For example, college students learn about specific subjects in individual classes. Other people may learn a new skill by taking a class or reading an instruction manual. In most cases, learning is achieved by following highly detailed directions. Thinking tends to be inductive, a method in which answers are discovered after reviewing evidence. Thinking also usually progresses from the specific to the general. As is true with most aspects of low-context cultures, the speed and efficiency with which a person learns are considered valuable.

Most European and North American nations are examples of low-context cultures. These include the United States, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Canada. In many cases, these nations developed fairly recently from a historical perspective and may have been formed by migrations and transplants from other cultures.

Bibliography

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