FUNDAMENTAL THEORIES
OF
INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Lecture 3
CULTURALLY SHAPED PERCEPTIONS
ACROSS CULTURES
INTRODUCTION
TO OBSTACLES OF PERCEPTION
Attribution is the ability to look at someone’s social
behavior from our own culture’s view.
Perception is the internal process of becoming
aware of, knowing, or identifying by means of the
senses, by which we select, evaluate, and organize
the stimuli of the outside world.
The categories of perception that commonly cause
difficulties in intercultural communication are
divided into:
 culturally shaped perceptions,
 personal perceptions within a cultural framework.
CATEGORIES OF PERCEPTION
CAUSING DIFFICULTIES
IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Culturally Shaped
Perceptions
 Preconceptions
 Collectivism vs.
Individualism
 Low- vs. High-context
 Face and Face Saving
 Hierarchy
 History and Experience
Personal Perceptions
within a Cultural
Framework
 Uncertainty and
Anxiety
 Attitude
 Ethnocentrism
 Sensitivity and
Adaptability
CATEGORIES OF PERCEPTION
CAUSING DIFFICULTIES
IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Culturally Shaped
Perceptions
 Master Symbols
 Power
 Gender
 Social Class
 Rules
 Social Organization
CATEGORIES OF PERCEPTION
CAUSING DIFFICULTIES
IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Culturally Shaped
Perceptions
 Thought Patterns
 Values
 Worldview