Human Values in Intercultural Communication: Japan Compared to the U.S.A.

Autor/inn/en	Ishii, Satoshi; Klopf, Donald W.
Titel	Human Values in Intercultural Communication: Japan Compared to the U.S.A.
Quelle	(1987), (13 Seiten)Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Attitude Measures; Communication Research; Comparative Analysis; Cross Cultural Studies; Cross Cultural Training; Cultural Influences; Culture Conflict; Ethnocentrism; Females; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Intercultural Communication; International Communication; International Relations; Values; Japan; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kommunikationsforschung; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Interkulturelle Orientierung; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Kulturkonflikt; Ethnozentrismus; Weibliches Geschlecht; Ausland; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Interkulturelle Kommunikation; Internationale Beziehungen; Wertbegriff; USA
Abstract	Values are the evaluative and judgmental facet of a culture's "personal orientation system," helping its members determine what is right or wrong, good or bad, important or unimportant. However, the values which are of primary importance to citizens of a particular country may be of only secondary or tertiary importance to citizens of another country, a difference which can lead to problems in international communication. A comparison study demonstrated this problem by examining the differences in values held by Americans and Japanese. A survey was administered to 230 students at Nihon and Otsuma Women's University in Japan and to a similar number at West Virginia University. The students were asked to rate 42 values as being of primary (i.e., worth dying for) secondary, or tertiary value, or of no value. Results showed that the American students attached primary value to independence, individuality, human dignity, democracy, and loyalty, while the Japanese felt only peace was of primary value. Some of the values Americans felt were of secondary importance include hospitality, firstness, aggressiveness, and money, while the Japanese listed independence, individuality, hospitality, and democracy as being of secondary importance. Differences such as these need to be taken into account during intercultural exchanges, and representatives of each culture should make an effort to understand the other's values to avoid hostility and communication breakdowns. (Eighteen references are included.) (JC)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC