Some Conceptual and Theoretical Challenges for Cross-Cultural Communication Research in the 21st Century

This essay details select conceptual and theoretical challenges facing intercultural and cross-cultural communication research in the present and future. Notable challenges include defining culture and studying culture in a manner consistent with this definition. Issues related to the unit of analysis and conceptual equivalence are discussed. Regarding theory, some implications of individualism and collectivism are considered, and relational models theory is considered as a viable alternative. Finally, the issue of small effect sizes in studies of cross-cultural differences is addressed. Given current trends in globalization, meeting these challenges and moving forward is more important than ever. Keywords: CultureCross-Cultural CommunicationIntercultural CommunicationTheoryMethodology Notes Note [1] We do not have a universal objection to the use of college students as research participants, and we certainly do not see research on non-student samples as inherently more valuable than student-based research. Instead, we see the extent to which findings generalize from one group to another as a theoretical and empirical question worthy of serious thought and valid test. Further, we almost always prefer a conceptually and methodologically solid finding with narrow generality, to a finding that is conceptually lacking, methodologically suspect, or both. Simply put, if one cannot have confidence in a finding, generality is moot. Finally, sometimes the college sophomore is treated as if he or she were a member of a different species, having little biologically or culturally in common with the rest of humanity. This is, in the opinions of the current authors, far from the case. College students are a convenient and useful source of research participants, but they cannot be the only category of individuals studied. Additional informationNotes on contributorsTimothy R. Levine Timothy R. Levine is a Professor, Hee Sun Park an Assistant Professor, and Rachel K. Kim a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University.