User:WoodySaints/Communication accommodation theory
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[edit]Howard Giles' communication accommodation theory (CAT), "seeks to explain and predict when, how, and why individuals engage in interactional adjustments with others,”[1] such as a person changing their accent to match the individual they are speaking with. Additionally, CAT studies “recipients’ inferences, attributions, and evaluations of, and responses to, them."[2] This means when speakers change their communication style, listeners are interpreting such alterations. For example, when the speaker adjusts their accent to match the listener's, the recipient may interpret this positively, perceiving it as the speaker trying to fit in, or negatively—questioning whether they are mocking them. The concept of accommodation focuses on the communication changes individuals make to reduce the social distance between themselves and others and how the listener reacts to such changes.[3]
The basis of CAT lies in the idea that people adjust (or accommodate) their style of speech and nonverbal behavior to one another,[4] this is considered convergence. Convergence is a form of accommodation, can be observed when there are changes in the kinesics (face and body motion), haptics (touch), physical appearance, chronemics (time use), artifacts (personal objects), proxemics (personal space), oculesics (the study of eye behavior), paralanguage (vocal qualities),[5] to more similarly mirror the style of the person with whom they are speaking.[6] In contrast, divergence "is a communication strategy of accentuating the differences between you and another person."[7] For example, when a native French speaker uses complex terms that a novice learner might not understand, this divergence highlights the difference in competence between the speaker and the listener.[8] By using difficult terminology, the native speaker is highlighting their proficiency while emphasizing the novice's inexperience. This creates a barrier that separates them, conveying the message, "We're not the same." Both of these are active processes that can occur either subconsciously (without the speaker recognizing what they are doing), or consciously, where the speaker intentionally makes these nonverbal and verbal adjustments.
The body of CAT is full of "Accommodative norms, competences, resources, and energies are fundamental characteristics of social interaction and communication in social media and those involving other new technologies, allowing the individuals and groups involved to manage variable conversational goals, identities, and power differentials between and among themselves."[9]
New Applications of CAT
[edit]A study conducted by Tamburrini, Cinnirella, Jansen, and Bryden, Twitter (currently X) users were found to change their language or word usage when conversing with different partners on the app.[10] Another study examined emoticon use in internet chat rooms.[11] Researchers discovered that women use more emoticons when it comes to texting. When flirting with women, the men reciprocate their partner’s use of emoticons.[12] Another study regarding social media found that brands that interact and accommodate users online received positive assessments from recipients.[13] The same can be seen when politicians converge and accommodate users on social media through online interactions.[14] This can be seen through commenting, using similar online diction and syntax, as well as making posts that follow the trends.[15] Divergence can occur through digital messaging as well. A study done by Christopherson discovered that when receiving requests from library constituents, librarians were more apt to use professional language in their responses compared to the causal dialogue of the sender.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ Giles, H., Edwards, A., & Walthar, A. (2023). Communication accommodation theory: Past accomplishments, current trends, and future prospects. Language Science, 99.
- ^ Giles, H., Edwards, A., & Walthar, A. (2023).
- ^ Giles, H., Edwards, A., & Walthar, A. (2023). p. 7.
- ^ Griffin, E. A., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. G. (2023). Communication Accommodation Theory of Howard Giles. A First Look at Communication Theory (11th ed., pp. 328-339). McGraw Hill.
- ^ Lardbucket. (2012). A primer on communication studies, 1. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-on-communication-studies/s04-02-types-of-nonverbal-communicati.html.
- ^ Bernhold, Q. S., & Giles, H. (2020). Vocal Accommodation and Mimicry. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 36(5).
- ^ Griffin, E. A., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. G. (2023).
- ^ Giles, H., & Ogay, T. (2007). Communication Accommodation Theory. In B.B. Whaley & W. Samter (Eds.), Communication accommodation theory. Explaining communication: Contemporary theories and exemplars. (pp. 329). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- ^ Giles, H., Edwards, A., & Walthar, A. (2023).
- ^ Tamburrini, N., Cinnirella, M., Jansen, V.A.A., & Bryden, J. (2015). Twitter users change word usage according to conversation-partner social identity. Social Networks, 40, 84–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2014.07.004.
- ^ Fullwood, C., Orchard, L.J., & Floyd, S.A. (2013). Emoticon convergence in internet chat rooms. Social Semiotic, 23 (5), p. 23–24. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263597500_Emoticon_convergence_in_Internet_chat_rooms/link/55c240f108aeca747d5dcaa2/download?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIn19.
- ^ Fullwood, C., et al. (2013). p. 23-24.
- ^ Jakic, A., Wagner, M. O., & Meyer, A. (2017). The impact of language style accommodation during social media interactions on brand trust. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 28(3), 418–441.
- ^ Jost, P. (2023). How politicians adapt to new media logic. A longitudinal perspective on accommodation to user-engagement on Facebook. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 20(2), 184–197.
- ^ Jost, P. (2023).
- ^ Christopherson, L. (2011). Can u help me plz?? Cyberlanguage accommodation in virtual reference conversations. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 48 (1), p. 7. https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.2011.14504801080.