Myron W. Lustig

Regional patterns of communication in the United States: A theoretical perspective

This paper provides the rationale for a systematic study of regional patterns of communication in the United States (US). Regionalism is conceptualized, regional influences on communication are examined, and their significance is established. Next, the regional development of the US is described through an account of regional history and an examination of forces that cause the decay, maintenance, and reestablishment of distinct regions. Finally, a program of regional research on US communication is proposed. Deficiencies in prior research are examined, rudimentary research efforts are considered, boundaries are described, and future research directions are provided.

Communication curricula in the multicultural university

This essay argues that it is important for communication faculty to develop and adapt curriculum that responds to an increasingly multicultural student body. In addition, a multicultural perspective in curricular content is necessary to encourage theory development that is generalizable beyond the U.S. Anglo population. Typical problems facing students entering an educational system outside their own cultural context are presented. The dominance of a U.S. Anglo perspective in communication skills, theory, and methods courses is described. The essay concludes with five suggestions for developing communication curricula appropriate to a multicultural university.

Intercultural communication problems as perceived by Saudi Arabian and American managers

Abstract Research on Saudi Arabian communication patterns is inadequate. The present study reviews the literature on Saudi Arabian cultural and communication patterns and reports the results of data collected in Saudi Arabia on the perceived problems of Saudi Arabian businessmen when communicating with Americans. While large differences exist in the perceptions of the communication problems, both the Saudi Arabians and the Americans targeted differences in the patterns for organizing ideas as a major intercultural problem. Implications for intercultural training are provided.

Changes in latitude, changes in attitude: The relationship between climate and interpersonal communication predispositions

This study examines the relationship between climate and cultural communication predispositions within the United States. It is proposed that climate affects culture and communication in systematic ways. Three hypotheses are developed that posit a relationship between climate and cultural measures of interpersonal arousal, interpersonal power, and interpersonal affect. Results indicate that 42% of the variance in cultural interpersonal arousal can be accounted for by average temperature, two multivariate climate indices, and sunshine. Cultural interpersonal power predispositions can be explained (53% variance) by latitude, rainfall, storminess, and a multivariate climate index. Finally, cultural predispositions in interpersonal affect can be partially explained (24% variance) by latitude. Overall, in an additive model almost 75% of the variance in all three communication dimensions is explained at the cultural level by latitude. These results are discussed in light of theory and future research implications.

Computer analysis of talk‐silence patterns in triads

Research on talk‐silence patterns has been hampered by the laborious procedures required for data collection and analysis. This paper provides computer‐assisted techniques for analyzing talk‐silence behaviors that are applicable to groups larger than two. A data‐based study on triads is provided to demonstrate the practical utility of the approach. Subjects with differing levels of communication apprehension were assigned to mixed‐sex triads for a conversation. Each persons voice was tape‐recorded on separate channels. The channels were simultaneously sampled four times per second to determine if a vocalization was occurring. Results demonstrate that high‐apprehensives talked less, less often, and were interrupted less often than low‐apprehensives. Implications for the analysis of talk‐silence behaviors; are discussed.

WSCA 2005 Presidential Address: Toward a Well‐Functioning Intercultural Nation

I would like to speak today to our students--the up-and-coming generation--and to those among us who can help to prepare them to live in an intercultural twenty-first-century USA. The current generation has a relational and a national task, an obligation, a requirement that, whether it prefers it or not, it must undertake. The task of the current generation can be summarized very succinctly: to create a well-functioning intercultural nation. We have no choice about whether the USA will become an intercultural nation. It already is one. Our only choice is whether we take actions that will help us to become a well-functioning intercultural nation. Because if it is left to chance or to happenstance, such a desirable outcome is not very likely. There are just too many examples of intercultural nations that function poorly, that discriminate based on a persons culture, that sustain deep-seated hatreds and prejudices, that in its milder forms perpetuate an underclass based on cultural membership, and in the extreme lead to ethnic cleansing, genocide, or apartheid. Indeed--and here is the tough nut to confront without flinching or turning away in despair--to the best of my knowledge such a nation does not now exist; nor, perhaps, has it ever existed. But this does not mean that the task is an impossible one, and therefore unachievable; there must always be a first time for everything. Indeed, the idea and the reality of a nation built upon the concepts of freedom, equality, individual rights, and shared responsibilities did not exist until those who preceded us founded the USA. So it is the task of the current generation to invent, and then to build, something that perhaps has heretofore never existed--a well-functioning intercultural nation--and in so doing to reinterpret what it means to be a US American, what it takes to sustain the vibrancy of various US cultures, and what it means to be patriotic. In my remarks today I want to explore, in just a brief and general way, the nature of this obligation, and I want to provide some hints about how it might be conceptualized. A well-functioning intercultural nation: what does that mean? Lets focus for a few moments on this phrase, beginning with the easiest term to define: nation. Nation obviously refers to the USA. A well-functioning nation is one in which there is vibrancy and vitality within various US cultures, and competence and cordiality in the relationships that occur among them. To me, the term well-functioning also includes both the reality and the perception of equality among the various US cultural groups, as well as a sense of fairness in their treatments and experiences. A well-functioning intercultural nation must be culture-appreciative rather than culture-blind, must recognize what differences matter and when they need to be considered, and must know when differences ought not to make a difference in how we respond both legally and interpersonally. Now for the term intercultural nation: what is that? The obvious answer is: one nation, the USA, which contains many different cultural groups residing within its national borders. One nation, many cultures. One nation, many cultures. The not-so-obvious corollary is this: there is no such thing as US culture. One nation, many cultures. There are many cultures in the USA--African American, European American, various Asian American cultures, Latino culture, many Native American cultures, and literally dozens of other cultures in this intercultural mix that is one nation containing many cultures. In a well-functioning intercultural nation, none of these cultures ought to have the primacy or supremacy of being elevated above all others and called American culture. Currently, however, what should probably be referenced as European American culture is often called American culture, in a continuation of the hegemonic dominance accorded one of the cultures within the USA, such that its cultural patterns are typically unmarked; assumed to characterize the whole of the pattern of US beliefs, values, norms, and cultural practices; and thereby conflated with the term nation. …

Theorizing about human communication

The literature on communication theory building, while providing information about the nature of communication phenomena, does not provide students of human communication with a procedure by which theories are developed and tested. The present article offers a classroom‐tested systematic procedure that can be applied to a variety of communication phenomena. From instructions about making the initial observation through a discussion of techniques to develop and test competing theoretic explanations, the present article provides a logical set of alternatives for theorizing about human communication events.