3. Comment on Spitzberg’s model of intercultural competence. How has it affected your understanding of competent communication?

Intercultural communication competence – an impression that behavior is appropriate and effective in a given context.

- appropriateness (behavior is viewed as legitimate for, or fitting to, the context)

- effectiveness (the accomplishment of value d goals or rewards relative to costs and alternatives)

- efficiency (concerned with communication that is “direct, immediate, and to the point”)

- context (implies several levels, including culture, relationship, place, and funkion)

Depends on:

1) relationship between the interactants

2) place, or the physical environment

3) function, or what the communicators are attempting to do

4) interaction quality

Minimizing communication – the one of low quality, inappropriate and ineffective → sufficing style (sufficient to meet the minimum demands on the situation)

Maximizing style – a person tries to achieve everything, even if at the expense if others.

A model of intercultural competence:

- individual’s motivation to communicate

- knowledge of communication in context

- skills in implementing their motivation and knowledge

Individual system

 As Communicator Motivation Increases, Communicative Competence Increases / Motivation increases as…

…communicators confidence increases

…reward-relevant efficacy beliefs increase

…communicators approach dispositions increase

…the relative cost-benefit ratio (соотношениезатративыгод) of a situation increases

 As Communicative Knowledge Increases, Communicative Competence Increases / Communicator knowledge increases as…

…task-relevant procedural knowledge increases

…mastery of knowledge acquisition strategies increases

…identity and role diversity increases

…knowledge dispositions increase

 As Communicator Skills Increase, Communicative Competence Increases / Communicator skills increase as…

...conversational altercentrism increases

…conversational coordination increases

…conversational composure increases

…conversational expressiveness increases

…conversational adaptation increases

Episodic system

 As Actor’s Communicative Status Increases, Co-Actor’s Impression of Actor’s Competence Increases…

…Actor’s motivation, knowledge and skills increase

…contextual obstruction of Actor’s performance increase

…Actor’s receipt of valued outcomes increases

…Actor’s extant attributed communicative status increases

 Co-Actor’s Impression of Actor’s Competence Is a Function of Actor’s Fulfillment of Co-Actor’s Expectancies…

…Actor’s fulfillment of positive Co-actor expectancies increases

…Actor’s normative violation of Co-actor’s negative expectancies increases

…Actor’s fulfillment of Co-actor’s competence prototype increases

…Actor’s normative reciprocity (взаимность) of positive affect and compensation of negative affect increases

…Actor’s normative compensation of power relations increases

Relational system

 Relational competence increases as…

…mutual fulfillment of autonomy and intimacy needs increases

…mutual attraction increases

…mutual trust increases

…access to social support increases

…relational network integration increases