SOCIAL COGNITION AND CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION: THE

IMPACT OF GENDER, CULTURE, AND SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS

“Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs”

– TOM WOLFE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION

• SOCIAL COGNITION

• POLITENESS

• CULTURE

• COMMUNICATION

• CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION

SOCIAL
COGNITION

Thus the study of the processes involved in perceiving each other and coming to “know
what we know” about the people in our world is essentially a question not only of what
behaviour we have seen, but of our cognition as individual perceivers-our social
cognition .
Social cognition, therefore, is the study of the mental processes involved in perceiving,
attending to, remembering, thinking about, and making sense of the people in our social
world.
(Gordon B. Moskowitz, Social Cognition: Understanding Self and Others)
QUESTIONS
ABOUT SOCIAL COGNITION

• How do we interpret other people’s feelings and emotions?

• How do we figure out what they are thinking or feeling?
• What cues or indicators do we use to make these assumptions?
• What influence do our thoughts have on our feelings?
• How do we develop attitudes?
• What role do these attitudes play in our social lives?
• How is self-concept formed and how does it influence our relationships with others?
• What mental processes influence person perception, or how we form impressions of
other people?
POLITNESS

Politeness theory, proposed by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson in

1978, is a framework that explains how individuals navigate the social
complexities of interpersonal communication to maintain face — the public
self-image of a person. It posits that individuals employ strategies to mitigate
face-threatening acts (FTAs) in order to minimize potential social friction.
These strategies are categorized into positive politeness, which seeks to make
the addressee feel good about themselves and their interests, and negative
politeness, which is aimed at minimizing impositions on the addressee. The
theory draws on Erving Goffman's concept of face and is foundational in
understanding the dynamics of social interaction and the role of courtesy and
tact in communication.
CULTURE
CULTURE

• Culture is a group which shapes a person’s

values and identity. Cultural identities can
stem from the following differences : race,
gender, class, religion , country of origin and
geographic region.
COMMUNICATION

• Two way process of reaching mutual

understanding, in which participants not only
exchange (encode-decode) information,
news, ideas and feelings but also create and
share meaning.
 Why Cross Culture
Communication is important ?
Globalization: Cross border movement of people, goods and data brings
more and more cultures into contact with one another and increases the
potential of cross culture communication.

◦ Business Opportunities
◦ Job Opportunities
◦ Improves the contribution of employees in a diverse
workforce
◦ Sharing of views and ideas
◦ Talent improvisation
◦ An understanding of diverse market
CULTURAL CONFLICTS IN WORKPLACE

Cultural conflicts arise because of the

differences in values and norms of
behavior of people from different
cultures. A person acts according to the
values and norms of his or her culture;
another person holding a different
worldview might interpret his or her
behavior from an opposite standpoint.
This situation creates
misunderstanding and can lead to
conflict.
Four Fundamental Patterns of Cultural Difference

What is different?

1. Communication Styles
2. Attitudes toward conflicts
3. Decision making style
4. Approaches to knowing

What is hidden below the surface?

1. Beliefs
2. Values
3. Expectations
4. Attitudes
VERBAL COMMUNICATION DIFFERENCES

1. Words

2. Voice

3. Tone
WORD CHOICE

1. Word
Asking for “pants” in the U.S. gets you trousers, but in the U.K., it might earn you some
funny looks as you’ve just asked for underwear/knickers.

2. Voice
The American tendency to pronounce ‘r’ in words can sometimes sound overly
enthusiastic to non-Americans, especially with words like “Murderer” sounding like
“Murderrrr.”

3. Tone
An American might enthusiastically say, “That’s awesome!” where a British person might
simply mutter, “Quite good, isn’t it?”
CROSS CULTURE

• Scenario I (Feedback): A manager gives

feedback to two different employees about • Scenario II (Cultural Perspective): During
their recent project presentations. The a multinational video conference, a
manager says, “Your presentation had a lot participant from a high-context culture (e.g.,
of detailed information.” Japan) remains silent for a significant portion
• Employee A (with high of the discussion.
self-esteem and a positive • Participant from a high-context
outlook) might interpret this as culture might understand the
praise for thorough research and silence as a respectful way of
preparation. listening intently and processing
• Employee B (with lower information before speaking.
self-confidence or previous • Participant from a low-context
negative experiences) might culture (e.g., the United States)
interpret the same comment as might interpret the same silence as
criticism that the presentation disinterest, confusion, or even
was overly detailed and hard to disagreement.
follow.
CROSS CULTURE

“Interpretation of Non-Verbal Cues”

“Email Tone Misinterpretation”
• Scenario: A speaker at a conference
• Scenario: A supervisor sends an
smiles frequently during their
email to a team member saying,
presentation.
“Please see me in my office at your
• Audience Member A (from a
earliest convenience.”
culture where smiling is a sign
• Team Member A, who is
of warmth and friendliness)
anxious about workplace
interprets the smiles as the
stability, might interpret this
speaker being approachable
as an ominous sign, possibly
and passionate about the topic.
about job performance or
• Audience Member B (from a
impending layoffs.
culture where excessive
• Team Member B, who has
smiling is viewed with
a secure and open
suspicion or as lacking
relationship with the
seriousness) might interpret
supervisor, might interpret it
the same behaviour as the
as an invitation for a routine
speaker being unprofessional
check-in or discussion about
or not taking the subject
new opportunities.
matter seriously.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
DIFFERENCES
• Social perception is defined as the study of how we form impressions of and make
inferences about other people.

• To learn about other people we rely on information from their physical appearance
and verbal and non-verbal communication.

• Nonverbal communication is defined as the way in which people communicate

intentionally or unintentionally without words -
including through facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position, and
movement, touch, and gaze.

• Nonverbal behaviour is used to express emotion, convey attitudes, communicate

personality traits, and facilitate or modify verbal communication.

• Nonverbal behaviour may be facilitated by a special kind of brain cell called a

mirror neuron.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
DIFFERENCES
Ways of
Talking
Pause, Stress
on words
Sounds Posture
(e.g., (e.g.,
Language) Slouching)

Closeness
Head
(e.g., Invading
Movement
someone’s
(e.g., Nodding)
space) Body
Language

Body Contact Hand

(e.g., Shaking Movement
hands) (e.g., Waving)

Facial
Eye Movement
Expression
(e.g., Winking)
(e.g., Frown)
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
DIFFERENCES

• The study of personal space

and physical distance in
communication is known as
PROXEMICS.
• The study of body language,
including gestures and facial
expressions is known as
KINESICS.
• The study of how time affects
communication is known as
CHRONEMICS.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
DIFFERENCES
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
DIFFERENCES
Case In Point :
Eye Contact

In some cultures, looking people in the eye is assumed to indicate honesty and
straightforwardness; in others it is seen as challenging and rude.
HIGH CONTEXT AND LOW CONTEXT CULTURES

High Context Culture:- Cultures that rely heavily on non-

verbal and subtle situational cues in communication.

Low Context Culture:- Cultures that rely heavily on words to

convey meaning in communication.
BLOCKS TO CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

1. Ethnocentrism : Inability to accept another culture's world view;

"my way is the best."

2. Discrimination : Differential treatment of an individual due to minority

status; actual and perceived; e.g., "we just aren't equipped to serve people
like that."

3. Stereotyping : Generalizing about a person while ignoring presence of

individual difference; e.g., "she's like that because she's Asian – all Asians are
nonverbal."
 4.Cultural Blindness: Differences are ignored and one proceeds as though
differences did not exist; e.g., "there's no need to worry about a person's
culture

5. Cultural Imposition: Belief that everyone should conform to the

majority; e.g., "we know what's best for you, if you don't like it you can

go elsewhere."

6. Tone Difference : Formal tone change becomes embarrassing and

off-putting in some cultures.
Improving Cross Culture Communication
 Skills To Overcome Differences
• Understanding Body Language
United States of America
•Americans tend to refrain from greetings that involve hugging and other close
physical contact.
•When sitting, U.S. citizens often look very relaxed. They may sometimes sit with the
ankle of one leg on their knee .

Arab Countries
•The lefthand is considered unclean in the Arab countries.
•When sitting, keep both feet on the ground.
•The "thumbs up" sign is offensive throughout the Arab world.

South Korea
•Bows are used for expressing appreciation, making apologies and requests, as well as
for greetings and farewells.
•When the Japanese want to give the impression that they are in deep thought, they
will sometimes fold their arms.
Things To Remember While Interacting And Connecting With
People
Business Attire
Selecting andPresenting Business
How do you do it?

• The hand shake should be firm.

• While shaking hands establish eye contact and always smile.
The person who initiates the handshake is the person is the one closes
•

the conversation.
Welcome Topics & Topics to Avoid
during Conversation in workplace
WHAT TO DISCUSS AND WHAT NOT TO

Topics to Avoid

Topics to Discuss • Personal Opinions on

Politics or Religion
• Project Updates • Sensitive Company
• Industry Trends Information
• Professional Development • Gossip About Colleagues or
• Technical Challenges and Competitors
Solutions • Off-Colour Jokes or
• Collaboration Comments
Opportunities • Personal Problems or Health
• Feedback and Constructive Issues
Criticism • Unsubstantiated Speculation
Success
Rate Will
Increase