6.7: Culture and Communication

Cultural Dimensions of Communication

Russell (2021) explains that emotions are defined and explained through cultural dimensions. This means that each culture defines emotions and their characteristics according to that culture’s environment. Culture is a blend of our lived experience and includes our group memberships. This means that culture is not limited to our race, ethnicity, geographical locations, political affiliations, socioeconomic status, or the like, but rather includes who we are as people on the whole. Every culture is different and has its own set of norms, rituals, and customs. Even when we share a culture with someone, our interpretations and experiences shape them differently. For example, do you identify with a religion or spiritual practice? Have you had disagreements about your interpretations of what that means to people within that group (in-group) or someone outside of that group (out-group)? How do these differences shape what emotions you experience?

One of our authors shares this example:

I grew up with two uncles who are ministers. Each within the same religious community, but both had different interpretations of the doctrines of their religion. When my uncle earned his PhD in religious studies, he told me as he counsels his parishioners and his advice when it comes to infidelity is to always work through it. My other uncle would not suggest the same idea, but rather attempts to understand the details surrounding the infidelity and not to give advice. In this illustration, we have two people of the same faith, raised similarly, with different outlooks (“worldviews”) that would alter how they experience emotions, despite being in a similar predicament.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Woman in black knit sweater covering face with her hand by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Nonverbal Expression

As you learned in Chapter 4, we express our emotions nonverbally. When we do not have a cognitive connection to the emotion that we are experiencing, sometimes our nonverbal expression is an indicator of our emotional state. There are many forms of nonverbal expression. We have implicit and explicit forms of emotional expression that develop over time and are largely culturally based (Tracy, et al., 2013). For instance, in Western society, nonverbal expressions of overconfidence, particularly when we do not feel confident, are viewed as more positive (Tenney, et al., 2019). Explicit expression of emotion is connected to power and status (Shariff & Tracy, 2009)—meaning how we respond to the emotions we are experiencing can help earn or lose respect and power. Explicit and implicit expressions of emotions are seen from infancy and form dyadic nonverbal patterns (Harrison & Beebe, 2018). These patterns help us to fully understand messages being exchanged. We display explicit expressions through our nonverbals, specifically facial expressions and body language. We are both implicitly and explicitly communicating our emotional state with our relational partners.

Implicit expressions of emotions can be cognitively complex. As discussed, we may be aware of or lack awareness in our emotions and also our expressions of our emotions. Take for instance stress. When we experience stress, it tends to be implicitly expressed. Successful management of our stress can avoid negative effects, such as anger (Suzuki & Tanaka, 2021). For example, if you perceive that you am physically hot and it is harder to mask, this could imply that you are upset or angry. Perhaps if you were unaware of these expressions, I may not realize that you are truly angry. Becoming aware of our implicit and explicit expressions of emotions can help us to become more competent communicators.

Verbal Expression

Emotions are verbally expressed. We do not always explicitly verbally express our emotions, because we may not be aware of what emotions we are experiencing. However, we express ourselves verbally, and at times our emotions are evident. Take for instance, being asked if you are upset. You say “no!”—but your volume, tone, and nonverbals tell a contradictory story. We cognitively interpret many of our emotions. We know that we are experiencing an emotion, and this knowledge can help us or become destructive depending on how we react. One of our authors shares the following example:

When my son was in the hospital and we were not sure what was going to happen, there was a lot of uncertainty and the emotions were negative. It was stressful, scary, frustrating, heartbreaking, and overwhelming. I exhibited a range of expressions as a result of these emotions. I would lash out at my partner (verbal) who was out of town, and then stonewall (nonverbal). It was not my partner’s fault, but my anger and frustration were clear in my expressions. I would yell or become silent on the phone when explaining the latest update from the doctor to my family.

Silence is culturally seen as a positive or negative. In Western society, it is seen as largely negative, whereas in other cultures silence is an important tool without a negative perception. Our author reflects:

Internally, my stress and anxiety were high. I was not managing my fear and the situation, so it made the experience harder. Had I managed this stress and anxiety, I would have been able to communicate more effectively with the doctors and my family, and my nonverbal expressions would have been more productive.

We cover coping with challenging emotions, such as fear and anxiety, at the end of the chapter. There are many influences that affect our emotional expression.

Social Conventions and Roles

There are many unwritten rules of communication that discourage direct expressions of most emotions. As we said earlier, “being emotional” is largely seen as negative, and our roles in certain contexts are affected. For example, do you curse in the workplace? We attempt to be professional in workplace environments. This includes presenting ourselves as professionals, avoiding unacceptable language for that climate, and preserving face. Face concerns how we present ourselves to others and how we are seen by others. In the workplace, face is an important aspect of the climate. We want to preserve the face of others and avoid face-threatening behaviors (actions that would result in our communication partner losing face). Perhaps you have heard the phrase “saving face” used in this context before. Therefore, there are not only social expectations of us, but we also have processes of self-protection and protection of others.

We have many social and professional roles. How we interact within these roles relates to our environment and our relationships with our communication partners. Gender roles have a lot to do with how we interact with others as well as how we perceive ourselves internally. Keep in mind that biological sex, gender identity, and gender expression are different constructs. Gender identity refers to our internal perception of self, and how we see ourselves. Gender expression refers to how we showcase our gender identity through our appearance, clothing, and verbal and nonverbal expression. These traits relate to how we mask (when, why, and to preserve face) and our reluctance or openness to engage in conversations related to our emotions. Gender expression is also related to the cultural climate we were raised in and our lived experiences.

In a professional setting, we may mask more or avoid dialogue related to emotions, in an attempt to be seen as fulfilling a professional role. In a social setting or role, we may use masking or our decision to engage in discourse related to emotions to promote relational growth. For example, there are certain emotions that may be more often avoided by certain people in the workplace for a variety of reasons. Women, particularly women of color, are less likely to overtly showcase emotions of confidence, assuredness, or even sadness or anger in the workplace so as to not be deemed “too emotional,” because perceptions of assertiveness can turn into aggressiveness or confidence can be misconstrued as arrogance. When we deconstruct how different individuals are or are not “allowed” to experience emotions in different settings, we can start to draw out the stereotypes and biases within our social conventions and society roles.

With the many roles we take on, we utilize these tools to be communication competent. We should beware of emotional labor, the expectation to manage emotions in work environments. Some settings require a lot of masking, which can take a toll on us as individuals and within our interpersonal relationships. If we mask at work all day, we become exhausted. The more we mask or avoid engagement in our emotions, the more we experience emotional labor. Later in this chapter we will discuss identifying our emotions and using reappraisal as a strategy. The capacity to recognize and act on certain emotions decreases without practice.