Intercultural Competence in Interpersonal

Relationships
Components of uncertainty & Anxiety
Management
 What is uncertainty ?

 What is anxiety ?

 Causes of uncertainty and anxiety

 Expectations about future interactions with another
person
 Incentive Value
 Degree of deviance
Consequences of uncertainty and anxiety
management

 What is expectancy violations theory

 Positive consequences
 Informational
 Emotional
Strategies for reducing uncertainty and anxiety

 Passive strategies

 Active strategies

 Interactive strategies
Sharing oneself with people from other cultures

 Self disclosure
 European Americans
 Japanese
 US Americans
 Chinese Culture
 African Americans
 British, French, Germans
 Valence
 Timing
 Target
Handling differences in intercultural relationships

 Conflict resolution

 Issues of disclosure

 Face maintenance

 Difference between high context cultures and low

context cultures

 Face threats
Handling differences in intercultural relationships

 Characteristics of conflict in high and low context

 Why ?
 When ?
 What ?
 How ?
Interpersonal relationships and intercultural
competence

 What is competence ?
 Difference between interpersonal and intercultural
terms
 Face needs
 Expectations about the self disclosures
 Alternative relational dynamics
 Conclusion