Understanding each other may mean, "reorganizing [our] thinking...and few people are willing to risk such a radical move." Edward T. Hall

Definition:

Cultural messages, simply, are what everyone in a group knows that outsiders do not know. They are a series of lenses that shape our perceptions, interpretations, boundaries, and values.

Users:

Anyone involved in a cross-cultural conflict. This includes not only people from different countries, but also people from different gender, age, ethnic, religious, regional, even different professional groups. (One might speak of the engineering culture or the business culture, for example.)

Description:

Culture is an essential part of conflict and conflict resolution. Cultures are powerful and often unconscious.

How Cultures Work

Cultures are a shifting, dynamic set of starting points that orient us in particular ways. Everyone has multiple cultures that dictate what is normal. When others do not meet our expectations, it is often a cue that their cultures are different. We may mistake differences for evidence of bad faith or lack of common sense, not realizing that common sense is also cultural. What is common to one group may be counterintuitive to another.

Here are some implications of the cultural dimensions of conflict:

1. Cultural generalizations are not the whole story. There is no substitute for building relationships.
2. Culture is constantly in flux. Cultural groups adapt in unpredictably. Therefore, no comprehensive description can be formulated about a particular group.
3. Culture is elastic -- knowing the cultural norms of a given group does not predict the behavior of an individual, who may not conform. Therefore, taxonomies (e.g. "Italians think this way," or "Buddhists prefer that") are of limited utility.
4. Culture is under the surface -- it is not easy to access these symbolic levels, since they are largely outside our awareness. Therefore, it is important to use many ways of learning about culture, especially indirect ways, i.e. stories, metaphors, and rituals.
5. Culture becomes important depending on context. When a cultural identity is threatened, it's importance increases.

Culture and Conflict: Connections

For any conflict that touches us where we're vulnerable, where we make meaning or influence our identities, there is always a cultural component. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for example, is not just about land - it's also about identity. Conflicts between teenagers and parents are shaped by generational culture and conflicts between spouses are influenced by gender culture. Cultures shared by dominant groups often seem to be "normal" -- "the way things are done." We only notice the effect of cultures that are different from our own.

Culture and Conflict: How to Respond

Cultural fluency is key for disentangling cultural conflicts. It includes awareness of:

• Communication,
• Ways of managing conflict,
• Approaches to meaning making,
• Identities

Communication

Communication determines how we relate with others. We communicate differently from day to day. Context, personality, culture and mood influence communication, as well as our relationship with others. Do they understand what we are trying to say? Are they listening? Are we listening? Do their responses show that they understand? Is the mood positive? Is there trust between us? Are there divergent goals or fundamentally different ways of seeing the world?

The challenge is that even with all the good will in the world, miscommunication is likely to happen. Miscommunication aggravates conflict. It can come from different understandings of time, space and personal responsibility. Nonverbal communication is also important, and can vary widely between cultures. We tend to look for nonverbal cues when verbal messages are unclear. We use different systems of gestures, posture, silence, spacial relations, emotional expression, touch, physical appearance, etc. Some elements of nonverbal communication are consistent across cultures. For example, research has shown that pleasure, anger, fear, sadness, disgust, and surprise are expressed similarly around the world. Differences are which emotions are acceptable to display, and by whom. For instance, it may be acceptable in the United States for women to show fear, but not anger, and for men to display anger, but not fear.

Managing Conflict

Ways of managing conflict also vary across cultures. For those accustomed to subdued, calm discussion, an emotional exchange among family members may seem threatening. However, the family may see their exchange as a normal airing of differing views. Is an event a skirmish, a provocation, an escalation, or a mere trifle? The answer depends on the perspective. In multicultural contexts, parties' expectations of how conflict should be addressed may vary, further escalating an existing situation. As with communication, different understandings of time, space, nonverbal cues, equality, gender, etc. can strongly influence negotiation. Everything from when to take breaks during a meeting, to how much eye contact to use can vary according to culture.

Identity and Meaning

We are meaning-making creatures, telling stories that preserve our sense of self and give us purpose. Identity and meaning are part of every human life. If we make fundamentally different meaning of the world, then all of our attempts to improve communication or expand the pie of our material resources will fail because we cannot address deeper differences that fuel conflicts. When worldviews are not acknowledged, stronger parties in conflict may advertently or inadvertently impose their worldviews on others.

The imposition of another worldview can entirely destroy a way of life. Consider your response to someone with an idea that seems "outrageous." Those who challenge the dominant worldview are often dismissed with a joke or puzzled head shaking, and rarely invited to elaborate. If the majority suspended their disbelief and inquired further, they might find some important nuggets in the "far-out" suggestion. As people become aware of the existence of different worldviews, the other side's "outrageous" ideas become sensible when seen from their point of view. By looking at the stories, rituals, myths, and metaphors used by a group, we can learn about group members' identities and meanings. Shared meanings may arise as people create new stories, design new rituals, and find inclusive metaphors.

Examples:

One common cultural difference is between what is commonly called "high-context" and "low-context" cultures. These terms refer to the degree to which speakers use nonverbal cues to convey their messages. High-context cultures communicate with messages that assume a lot-they depend on an understanding of the context of the message in order to be understood. Low-context cultures spell everything out in the message itself. They stand alone more easily, without depending on a knowledge of the context. A high-context message of disagreement might be expressed to a spouse by the words chosen or the way they are spoken, even if no disagreement is explicitly voiced.

All of us engage in both high-context and low-context communication. There are times we "say what we mean, and mean what we say." This is low-context communication. At other times, we may infer but not speak. This is high-context communication.

As people communicate, they move between high and low context. It is important to understand whether nonverbal or verbal cues are the most prominent. Without this understanding, those who tend to use high-context starting points may be looking for shades of meaning that are not present, and those who prefer low-context communication may miss important nuances of meaning.

Individualism and communitarianism is a second dimension important to culture and conflict resolution. In communitarian settings, group members are rewarded for allegiance to group values and cooperation. Individualist patterns involve ideas of the self as self-directed, and autonomous. Children raised in this milieu are rewarded for initiative, personal achievement, and leadership. They may be just as close to their families as a child raised in a communitarian setting, but they may feel more free to choose their individual preference. Duty, honor, and deference to authority are less prominent for those with individualist starting points than communitarian ones.

Applications:

People need to be aware of cultural differences whenever they interact with people from other cultures. It becomes especially important when these people are involved in a conflict, where misunderstandings become more likely and potentially more costly.

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