Abstract

This paper discusses the value of integrating the construct of personality into the study of intercultural communication. Heretofore, intercultural communication researchers have analyzed the communication process almost exclusively from the perspectives of the cultures represented by the communicators and have not given sufficient theoretical or empirical attention to the unique characteristics of the communicators as influencing the communication behavior. The authors point out the potential problems that may arise when intercultural communication researchers steadfastly rely on cultural stereotypes based on normative data to interpret the communication which takes place between individuals who share in various degrees the “typical” behavior patterns of the cultures that they represent. The authors propose that intercultural communication researchers adopt a new perspective which views the communication process as resulting from the dynamic interplay between the cultures of the communicators, their unique response dispositions, and the situational context in which the communication takes place.

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