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Co-Cultural Theory

Co-Cultural Theory is primarily focused on the communication between different cultural groups and the communicative power relations between dominant cultural groups and marginalized communities. A co-culture is a non-dominant group that exists alongside a dominant culture in society or within a specific context. For example, in the United States, this would include people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people of lower socio-economic statuses, people with disabilities, and non-Christians. Dominant cultures establish the rules, styles and practices for communication. Non-dominant cultures have their own rules, styles and practices for communication that are different from that of the dominant culture. Because of this disparity, non-dominant cultures have adopted specific communication orientations as ways to communicate within the dominant culture.

Co-cultural theory proposes that there are six main factors that influence which communication practices a individual exhibits. There are nine communication orientations that the 26 specific communication strategies are classified under.The main idea of co-cultural theory is that each individual's experiences with the six key factors will determine their communication orientation, approaches, and practices. All of these factors contribute to an individual's communication outcome that is classified as either aggressive, assertive, or non assertive and fall into the categories of separation, accommodation, and assimilation. Because communication is situational, an individual decides which strategy to enact within that context.

Although members of co-cultural groups share inherent similarities due to their group status, they are not a societal monolith. Marginalized groups interact with dominant cultures everyday in a wide variety of situations and contexts. Such individuals tend to enact approaches and practices that enable themselves to succeed within the dominant framework.

History

Co-cultural theory is based on power imbalances with ideas rooted in feminism, and uses humanistic and interpretive understandings to explain the way people communicate with one another. Muted group theory and feminist standpoint theory are at the foundation of co-cultural theory, sharing the ideas of unequal power and its effect on communication. Muted group theory, in essence, posits that marginalized communities are excluded in a dominant society because of language and language barriers. Initially utilized to describe the divide between genders, marginalized groups have been able to apply themselves to the theory as well. Co-cultural members, or people of marginalized communities, are muted with the use of a language formed by dominant group members. As an example, muted group theory suggests that women and men see the world differently, with men being more dominant than women, causing women to come together to figure out ways to stop men from silencing them and their thoughts. Feminist standpoint theories suggest that one's own understanding of the world comes from their own experiences and place in society. For example, a woman whose education was suppressed due to a patriarchal society they come from might view education in a different light than a man, who, in that patriarchal society, was allowed an education. These two theories come together to lend ideas to co-cultural theory.

Co-cultural theory was first developed and used to understand communication conflicts between racial and ethnic groups by Mark P. Orbe in 1996. The main parts of CCT were developed through studies on communication and how cultures would interact with one another. Orbe was the first to come with with type categorizations for different communication styles and responses across co-cultural groups and even within co-cultural groups, the latter of which sometimes showed greater diversity than the former.

Five Core Assumptions

The five core assumptions of co-cultural theory stem from its origins in muted group theory and feminist standpoint theory. They provide a baseline understanding of the social barriers and contexts that contribute to a groups marginalization. These assumptions highlight how cultural differences develop in-grain themselves into societal structures. The five core assumptions are:

1. Societies have hierarchies and some groups benefit more from such hierarchies than others.
2. Dominant group members use their privilege and power to maintain such positions of power.
3. Communication ideas and norms between those in dominant groups and those who are not prevent progress of co-cultural group members because they are undervalued.
4. Co-cultural group members' often have shared similar positions in society that are undervalued and underrepresented.
5. Co-cultural group members may change their communication methods as a strategy to navigate societal structures.

Together these assumptions of co-cultural theory provide a framework for understanding the complexities of intercultural interactions and the role of power and privilege in shaping these interactions. These assumptions recognize that different cultural groups possess unique experiences and perspectives based on their social identities, and that the dominant culture holds more power and privilege than minority groups. This power dynamic can influence the way that cultural groups interact and can impact the opportunities and outcomes that different groups experience.

Also it acknowledges that cultural groups are not isolated from each other, but rather interact and influence each other in various ways. This means that cultural groups do not exist in isolation, but rather interact and influence each other through various forms of communication and social interactions. For instance, co-cultural groups may interact through shared spaces, media, or other forms of communication.

Furthermore, co-cultural theory recognizes that the experiences and perspectives of co-cultural groups are often misunderstood or ignored by the dominant culture. This can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications between cultural groups, as well as discrimination and bias against minority groups.

By understanding and acknowledging the experiences and perspectives of co-cultural groups, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society. This may involve promoting diversity and inclusion in various settings, such as the workplace, schools, and other social institutions. By actively seeking out and understanding the perspectives of minority groups, we can create a society that is more inclusive and equitable for all.

Key Concepts

Previous research on co-cultural communication found 26 different strategies for communicating as a co-cultural group member. Analysis that followed this research came to the conclusion that there are six main factors important to co-cultural communication, which are:

1. Field of experience: A person's experiences that shape the way they view the world.
2. Abilities: The ability to utilize different strategies of communication.
3. Communication approach: The way a person approaches communication (nonassertive, assertive, aggressive).
4. Preferred outcome: The expected result of interactions (assimilation, accommodation, separation)
5. Perceived costs and rewards: The expected consequences of interactions, both positive and negative
6. Situational context: Where an interaction takes place, including factors of time, location, environment, and histories between present and absent cultures.

These factors are inherently interdependent as they are all rooted in an individuals background and personal experiences. Additionally, the study found that there not only is a difference in communication between co-cultural members and dominant society members, but there is even more diversity within even one co-cultural group.

Theoretical Framework

Co-cultural theoretical framework is situated upon nine co-cultural orientations stemming from combinations of three attitudes (nonassertive, assertive, aggressive) and three approaches (separation, accommodation, assimilation). Co-cultural orientation, in essence, is the stance or attitude that people of co-cultural groups take in interactions with other people, particular people of dominant cultures. Additionally, each orientation style can be indicators to different communication styles and practices. Below are the nine co-cultural orientations and the communicative practices that fall under these categories:

Co-cultural Theoretical Framework

	Separation	Accommodation	Assimilation
Nonassertive	- Avoidance - Isolating oneself	- Combatting stereotypes	- Censoring oneself - Questioning oneself
Assertive	- Exemplifying strengths - Reclaiming sterotypes	- Educating - Communicating ones needs - Working with liaisons and authorities	- Overcompensation - Rationalizing - Over-preparing
Agressive	- Sabotaging/intimidating others - Attacking	- Confronting - Seeking advantages	- Dissociating. - Deceiving others - Negative self talk

Applications

Co-cultural theory is generally applied through understanding the struggle of unequal communicative power between dominant groups and non-dominant groups. A co-cultural theoretical framework was first utilized in studying and describing interracial/interethnic conflict by Orbe in 1996. Although, recent research has expanded to include other marginalized communities such as people with disabilities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. Although it proves especially useful for analyzing conflicts around race, ethnicity and gender because many cannot hide their co-cultural membership due to some of their physical qualities. These factors are important in applying co-cultural theory because of their effect on an individuals communication approach and practices.

There is a wide variety of practical applications of co-cultural theory that have been explored in peer-reviewed research articles. Research has focused on marginalized groups within a specific communication context. Generally, these studies use a co-cultural theoretical framework to first understand the specific experiences of marginalization that their chosen group faces within that context. The five core assumptions then aid researchers in their understanding. Next, researchers are able to learn from community members by observing and studying their communicative practices. Afterwards, they are able to ask community members directly about their cultural background and experiences. When analyzing the results, researchers able to use to theoretical framework to categorize and understand their information. Ultimately, the researchers can draw their own conclusions from the data and apply those conclusions practically.

Examples of current applications of co-cultural theory include first generation college students, women on college campuses, and various ethnic or racial groups. Each of these communities have contributed valuable information in understanding co-cultural theory in everyday situations and contexts.

Criticisms and Strengths

Co-cultural theory has been developed relatively inside of Western Culture, mainly derived from the Western part of the world. This means the theory is easily implied within the "western, individualistic orientation," but not necessarily in other parts of the world. This is just another opportunity to expand the theory, but also means most people might not understand the values of it just yet. Another criticism of the theory would be the oversimplification of the dominant group and co-cultural groups. For example, one could pose the question of who would be the dominant in a scenario with an African American male and white woman? People are not able to identify which would be more critical to the situation based on race and gender, as there are circumstances and factors that have to be considered when observing this. These criticisms are important to the development and relatability of the theory for more application to real-life.

The theory holds much of its strength in recognizing the diversity of our everyday world. It highlights and pursues the importance of understanding how marginalized groups and communities communicate amongst one another. This allows us as individuals to acknowledge their methods of communication and perceive them with open minds. This also enables dominant groups and communities to assess and review their own communication styles, which creates a more equitable society as a whole.