Communication is just one of the places where you really can see culture at work. In cultural contexts that promote more interdependent views of the south, like in many parts of east asia, the emphasis is really on maintaining personal harmony and fitting in. The communicators that we admire and respect most are the ones who can do this. So oftentimes communication in east ageent contexts is less direct and more thoughtful of the other person's perspective.
“In companies, you’re interacting with other people who come from different cultural contexts, and in order to be effective, you have to understand how much of your own communication and other people’s communication is shaped by their cultural ideas and their cultural values.” On this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, host Matt Abrahams sits down with Jeanne Tsai, an associate professor of Psychology at Stanford and director of the Culture and Emotion Lab. Jeanne’s research focuses on cultural influences on psychological and social processes related to emotion. Jeanne discusses why wearing a mask is more accepted for some cultures, and seen as prohibiting communication in others.
“Communication is just one of the places where you really can see culture at work,” she says. “In cultural contexts that promote these more independent views of the self, the core goal of communication is to express yourself, to express those beliefs, preferences and desires that define who you are.”
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