IngentaConnect An African American Perspective on Conversational Improvement Str...

Authors: Martin J. N.¹; Moore S.¹; Hecht M. L.²; Larkey L. K.³

Source: Howard Journal Of Communications, Volume 12, Number 1, 1 January 2001 , pp. 1-27(27)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

This study investigates conversational strategies used by African Americans to communicate with European Americans. This research is based on a model of interethnic communication developed in previous research by Hecht, Larkey, and Johnson; Hecht, Ribeau, and Alberts; and Hecht, Ribeau, and Sedano. This model assumes that interethnic and inter-racial communication is problematic and comprises four components: ethnic / racial identity, communication issues, conversational improvement strategies used to deal with the communication issues, and communication satisfaction. This multimethodological study further elaborates one component of the model-conversational improvement strategies. First, 133 African Americans were asked to identify and describe conversational strategies used to deal with seven specific communication issues identified in previous research (acceptance, understanding, negative stereotyping, goal attainment, powerlessness, expressiveness, and authenticity). Respondents reported using 12 conversational strategies, ranging from accommodating strategies (e.g., be friendly, treat as Individual) to more divergent strategies (e.g., Assertiveness, Avoidance, Confrontation). Second, the results were further confirmed by interviews conducted with 10 African Americans concerning their inter-racial interaction in a specific context: an organizational setting. Both survey and interview results confirm the basic model and reveal interesting relationships among the communication issues and the conversational strategies. That is, accommodating and divergent strategies are used in response to intergroup communication issues, whereas accommodating strategies are used to deal with interpersonal communication issues. Implications of results for future research are discussed.

Keywords: INTER-RACIAL; COMMUNICATION; EFFECTIVENESS; COMPETENCE; CONVERSATIONAL; STRATEGIES

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA 2: The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA 3: University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

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An African American Perspective on Conversational Improvement Strategies