This paper examines intercultural communication as a multidisciplinary field, defining how people from different cultural backgrounds communicate, behave, and perceive the world. It outlines the co-cultural affiliations relevant to the Chinese-American experience, including ethnic heritage, religion, social groupings, education, profession, and gender. The paper then analyzes common stereotypes applied to Asian-Americans — such as the "perpetual foreigner," the "model minority," academic superiority, and misogyny — evaluating each for accuracy and sociological basis. Drawing on scholarship in sociology, psychology, and cross-cultural communication, the paper highlights how stereotypes emerge from in-group and out-group dynamics and how globalization is gradually reshaping some of these perceptions.
In its most basic form, intercultural communication is a way of understanding how people from different cultures communicate, behave, and perceive the world. One scholar defines it as the "interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ from each other in respect to the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behavior" (Knapp in What is Intercultural Communication?, 2011).
Culture is a learned set of values that is passed down and communicated through a variety of forms: parents, relatives, peers, school systems or learning environments, and society. Typically, its power focuses on the reinforcement of behaviors through positive responses and discourages inappropriate actions or responses through negative responses. Because of this learning transference, it is possible for a person to communicate, adapt, and even become part of another cultural experience — multicultural communication.
The idea of multicultural communication is multidisciplinary, drawing on psychological, sociological, linguistic, political, historical, economic, and anthropological measures which, when combined, form a more holistic approach to culture (Gudykunst, ed., 2003).
When examining intercultural communication in a specific context, it is useful to identify the co-cultural affiliations that shape an individual's identity and communication style. For Chinese-Americans, the following dimensions are central to understanding their co-cultural experience:
In general, a stereotype is a popular belief about a group, person, or culture that may or may not be true, but has come to hold certain cultural meanings from one group to the next. Essentially, stereotypes are standardized and rather simplistic conceptions of groups that are often based on prior assumptions.
The sociological dynamics of stereotyping are based on the concepts of groups and group norms — those who are in-groups and those who are out-groups. Oftentimes, these norms are not based on written dogma, but on culture and tradition. As a result, they often morph into stereotypes about the "other" or the outsider without adequate consideration of truth or new experience (McGarty, et al., 2002).
Asian-American stereotypes tend to be more generalized than those applied to other ethnic groups; many Americans do not see a difference between a Korean-American and a Japanese-American, even though there is a wide cultural gulf between the two. Some examples of the Asian-American stereotype go back generations, some have evolved over time, and some are surprisingly accurate (Lee, et al., 2009).
Asians are perpetual foreigners. Regardless of how long an individual has lived in America, the physical characteristics of Asian-Americans often prompt assumptions of being foreign rather than American. This is a clear false stereotype: one cannot tell by looking at a person how long they have been in America, whether they are a citizen, or how many generations of their family have lived in America.
The model minority. This stereotype attributes more positive traits than negative ones to Asian-Americans: hard work, low criminal activity, and strong family values. This characterization may have held broader currency until Asian urban gangs became more visible. In general, Asian-Americans are regarded as hardworking, financially prudent, and family-oriented.
Asians are smarter and more studious. Asian-Americans are commonly thought to be better students, more intelligent, and more highly educated than the general population. This perception has some basis in data — approximately 25% of Asian-Americans over the age of 25 hold a university degree, compared to 15% of the general population — but the degree to which this holds true depends significantly on individual family values and emphasis on education.
"Four Asian-American stereotypes examined for accuracy"
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