Not available / text

The study of self-disclosure has been developed and elaborated mainly in the United States, and only a few studies have directly examined self-disclosure in the Japanese cultural context. This study was designed to extend the study of self-disclosure to Japanese culture, and using the concept of ingroup and outgroup relationships, examine the relationship between the level of self-disclosure and perceived social attraction in initial interaction between Japanese strangers. Based on the literature on self-disclosure and features of Japanese culture and communication, two hypotheses were constructed: Hl: For the ingroup members, the high discloser will be perceived to be more socially attractive than the low discloser. H2: For the outgroup members, the low discloser will be perceived to be more socially attractive than the high discloser. As respondents, a total of 328 Japanese college graduate and undergraduate students living in the Kansai area in Japan participated in the research. The data collection instrument consisted of McCroskey and McCain's (1974) social attraction scale and a culture-specific scale of social attraction constructed by the researcher. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and ~ tests were used to test the two hypotheses and interaction between the two variables. In addition, to test gender effects, the data were analyzed by using three, three-way ANOVAs. The results of the data analyses revealed that in initial interaction between Japanese strangers, the level of self-disclosure was a main factor in determining the stranger's perceived social attraction. Low self-disclosure led to positive evaluation of perceived social attraction, and high self-disclosure led to negative evaluation of perceived social attraction. The results also suggested that the stranger's group identification mediated the relationship between the stranger's level of self-disclosure and perceived social attraction. Ingroup membership produced greater perceived social attraction than did outgroup membership. Thus, the highest perceived social attraction was produced by the low disclosing stranger identified as being an ingroup member. Further, Japanese subjects distinguished ingroup and outgroup membership for low self-disclosure, but not for high self-disclosure. No significant effects due to gender were found in this study.

Increasing globalization and transnational trends in business have resulted in greater contact with people from different cultures. However, in any cross-cultural encounter, miscommunication and misunderstandings are likely to occur. In a workplace setting, these can seriously undermine job performance and employee relations. The Intercultural Sensitizer is a cross-cultural training tool that is designed to increase the likelihood that trained individuals will make accurate interpretations concerning behavior observed in individuals from other cultural groups (Albert, 1983) . The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to identify cultural differences between Americans and Japanese that can lead to misunderstandings in the workplace and hinder communication, and (2) to construct an intercultural sensitizer that will enable the two cultural groups to interact more effectively with each other. The study's five-phase research design was based on Albert's (1983) delineation of the construction of an intercultural sensitizer. Twenty-four episodes were constructed and statistically analyzed to determine if there was a difference in the way the two cultural groups responded to a given situation. Nine episodes yielded critical values significant at the .05 level. The study concluded that there while there are differences in the cultural perspectives of American and Japanese business professionals, the two groups also share common cultural assumptions. The study's findings have numerous implications for cross-cultural corporate training and higher education.

This study attempted to explore one aspect of the communicative styles of Japanese and Americans: their approach to discourse. In a literature review, four distinctive characteristics were surveyed: linear/nonlinear presentation, inductive/ deductive reasoning, explicit/implicit communication, and analytical/emotional statements. The American style of argument was characterized by: 1) a linear presentation as evidenced by its preference for a sequential paragraph development, its reliance on logic, and its direct introduction of the subject. 2) either inductive or deductive reasoning. 3) explicit communication as shown by its emphasis on the use of concrete language, definite qualifiers, clearly stated conclusions and a wider perspective. 4) analytical and objective statements. The Japanese style of argument is characterized by: 1) its nonsequential presentation, noncontiguous paragraphs, its apparent disregard of logic and indirect introduction of the subject. 2) neither inductive nor deductive reasoning. 3) implicit communication as shown by its emphasis on the use of ambiguous language, the frequent use of conditional qualifiers, implied conclusions and a narrower perspective. 4) emotional and subjective statements. The literature review corroborated the author's hypotheses that Japanese express themselves in an ambiguous manner, whereas Americans express themselves in a more clearly defined manner. The differences of style of arguments were tested in a statistical setting using content analysis of current newspapers.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Hons.))-University of Western Sydney, 2007. / A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Education, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Honours). Includes bibliographical references.

The field of intercultural communication has recently been introduced to Japan from the United States. The theories and concepts of this field have been developed based on Western social sciences, and they are likely to be culture-bound. This thesis investigates the possibility that modifying Western ideas in the field of intercultural communication would make the study of this subject more effective for Japanese learners.

This study is an empirical analysis of communication styles in Japan and the United States. In particular, the study deals with communication styles in Japanese and American television commercials as a reflection of human communication styles in the two countries.

This thesis is a review of relevant literature on business negotiation between Japanese and American and an analysis of cultural differences in negotiation from an intercultural perspective. The following four key issues are explored and analyzed with intercultural communication concepts: 1. major differences in approaches to the process of business negotiation between the United States and Japan; 2. potential friction between Japanese and Americans in business negotiation that is attributable to Japanese and American cultural differences; 3. the applicability and usefulness of an intercultural perspective in enhancing business negotiation skills; and 4. main factors affecting the use of an intercultural perspective in cross-cultural business negotiation and the degree to which they are manifested in the u.s.-Japan business negotiations.

This study set out to explore how multinational corporations incorporated the issue of culture into the planning process for crisis management. The research used a case study method with unstructured interviews conducted via email, phone and in person, and focused on the U.S. and Japan. Four of the interview subjects were established public relations professionals with experience in both countries, and one subject is a professor of intercultural communications in Japan. All interviews were transcribed and approved by the interview subjects before being analyzed and catalogued into themes. Those themes were then reviewed compared to the intercultural communications theoretical framework of power distance, high-context vs. low-context communications, and individualism vs. collectivism. Results revealed three main themes, including differences in PR between Japan and the United States, belief that culture should play a more substantial role in crisis communications, and actual use of culture in crisis communications. Responses showed that, regardless of a collective belief that culture should play a substantial role in crisis r;;- management, intercultural communication components often take over in emergencies. In conclusion, while all interview subjects saw value in cultural response, the broad scope of what that entails made it an impractical endeavor. Further, responses showed that the planning stage is not the most effective place to integrate culture into crisis communication. Research did suggest, however, that an updated PR model, adapted from the R.A.C.E. method, that incorporates elements of cultural communication consideration between the Action Planning and Communication stages could beneficial.

This study focuses on confrontational behavior patterns exhibited by Japanese and U.S. college students in the Portland Metropolitan area. Four questions are addressed: 1) is there a difference Japanese and U.S. confrontation styles? 2) do Japanese use differing confrontation styles depending upon whom they are interacting with? 3) do U.S. individuals use differing confrontation styles depending upon whom they are interacting with? and 4) is there a significant gender difference between Japanese and U.S. confrontation styles? In addition, correlations between the Japanese and U.S. reported confrontation styles and their demographic data are examined.