Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Perceived Importance of Conversational Constraints

Abstract

This study investigates how cultural groups may differ in their perceptions about preferred communication behavior. It focuses on the importance attached to “conversational constraints” in conversation. For the primary goal of requesting, the following five conversational constraints are identified: (a) concern for clarity, (b) concern for avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings, (c) concern for nonimposition, (d) concern for avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, and (e) concern for effectiveness. Five hypotheses are formulated regarding the relationships between individualistic-collectivistic orientation (an important dimension of“culture”) and these five conversational constraints. Data were collected from 892 participants (undergraduates studying in Korea, Hawaii, and the mainland United States). After being presented at random with one of the six request situations, participants rated the perceived importance of each conversational constraint in that situation. The results indicate that the perceived importance of clarity was higher in the more individualistic cultures. On the other hand, the perceived importance of avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings and of minimizing imposition were higher in the more collectivistic cultures. The perceived importance of effectiveness and of avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, on the other hand, did not significantly differ across the three cultural groups. Theoretical as well as practical implications are discussed.