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Mass Media Use and Interpersonal Communication in the Acculturation of International Students By Nan Zheng Master Student Claudia Rojo Master Student 3543 Greystone Drive Apt 2115I Austin, TX 78731 512-795-2460(H) 512-964-6904(Cell) [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
Submitted to: International Communication Division For the Markham Competition (Student Papers) 2005 AEJMC Annual Convention San Antonio
Abstract Results of an e-mail survey on international students showed: (1) a significant correlation between prior exposure to American mass media content and attitudes toward American culture, (2) a correlation between the type of TV show watched (news and talk shows) and views of American culture, (3) a higher level of interpersonal communication corresponds with a higher degree of acculturation on a behavioral level, and (4) a collective effect of interpersonal contacts and TV viewing on acculturation. Introduction For many immigrants in American society, traveling the path toward Americanization is an inevitable process in their life. Immigrants who are being exposed to a new or unfamiliar culture may have the feeling of "jumping into cold water". Through the process of understanding and adapting to a new culture, they may gradually "warm the water" by overcoming their language barrier and building a social circle. This process is identified as acculturation. Mass media, which are expected to be reflective of the new host culture, play an important role in facilitating acculturation. TV, with its relatively easy access and lower demand of language proficiency, becomes an ideal resource for new comers such as international students to learn the culture of host society. Interpersonal communication is another key factor in acculturation. It not only provides emotional support to immigrants who rely on it for their sense of security and well-being, but also provides feedback to help them with interpreting culture arributes.1 The present study focuses on the effect of mass media, especially TV, and interpersonal communication on the process of acculturation. Different from previous studies in this field, prior exposure to American media is considered as a factor which may influence the acculturation. Moreover, instead of approaching mass media use and interpersonal communication as separate contributions to acculturation, this study tended to examine their collective effect on acculturation. Theoretical Rationale Acculturation is the natural process of adaptation of an individual who has been socialized in one culture and who then moves to another culture.2 According to Kim, the communication-acculturation system is the basic mechanism in the acculturation process. She indicated that "among many forms of human communication, interpersonal communication and mass media consumption are the two most salient forms in the cultural learning process."3 Thus, communication and acculturation are inseparable processes, and a person's communication patterns are indicators of her or his acculturation level. Kim developed the "communication model of cross-cultural adaptation," 4 which suggests that if immigrants are to successfully adapt, they must increase their host communication competence by actively participating in the interpersonal and mass communication processes of the host society. The adaptive function of mass communication was clearly pointed out in Lasswell's formulation of the mass communication functions: (1) surveillance of the environment, (2) correlation of the components of society in making a response to the environment, and (3) transmission of social inheritance.5 Television, primarily because of its easy accessibility and pervasiveness of its messages, leads individuals to adopt beliefs that conform to the stereotyped and selective view of reality systematically portrayed on television.6 Moreover, Shapiro and McDonald have stated that mediated information is more likely to exert influence on those people who have had little or no direct contact with objects because they are lacking in a sufficient method of evaluating information.7 Thus, television viewing may predict a significant influence on the acculturation process. In addition to mass communication, interpersonal communication with members in a host society also plays an important role in the acculturation process. Although mass media may serve as a virtually pressure-free source of learning about the host culture, its adaptive function is weaker than interpersonal communication.8 It is because of the simultaneous feedback from the interpersonal environment such as gestures, words and silence of host nationals which may effectively help immigrants understand and correct their communication patterns. Literature review Acculturation is not a new area of study, since scholars have researched the area since the 1930s. Early studies in this field, which were mainly conducted by anthropologists and sociologists, have assumed communication variables as an incidental part of acculturation.9 In these studies, the focus was on immigrants' adjustment and acculturation to the host culture rather than on the patterns of communication through which adjustment takes place.10 However, many communication-oriented variables were introduced in these early studies. Graves 11, for instance, included items like having a TV set in one's possession as part of his index in measuring immigrant acculturation. A similar assumption was made for the adaptive function of radio by DeFleur & Cho 12, who used the amount of daily exposure of radio and TV as an indicator of adaptation. Additionally, Nagata13, compared to the above studies, investigated the most communication variables in her study of Japanese immigrants in Chicago, and concluded there was a progressive increase in degrees of communication participation by immigrants in the host society. In addition, the literature showed pursuing interpersonal relationship with the host people as a necessary condition for effective adjustment to the host culture. A study of international students in the United States showed that those more actively involved with Americans expressed more satisfaction in their sojourn experiences and had more favorable attitudes toward the United States.14 Further, the linkage between the number of host nationals in relation networks and cross-culture adaptation was found in studies of foreign students and visitors in the United States and elsewhere.15 A synthesis of the previous studies led to a theoretical development of acculturation. Kim, as a predominant scholar of cross-cultural adaptation, built an acculturation model with a central focus on the communication experiences of individual immigrants.16 In her study on Korean immigrants in the Chicago area17, the communication patterns were conceptualized on cognitive and behavioral levels. The cognitive level is based on immigrants' cultural knowledge of the host society; the behavioral level is observed by the immigrant's involvement in the host society. Three determinate factors of immigrants' communication patterns are language proficiency, acculturation motivation, and accessibility to host communication channels. The major conclusions were: (1) acculturation motivation, language fluency, and interpersonal and mass media channel accessibility are strongly correlated with an immigrant's intercultural communication behavior; (2) the four independent variables do not affect one's cognitive complexity directly, but are mediated by one's interpersonal and mass communication experiences in the host society; (3) the influence of interpersonal communication exceeds that of mass media usage in developing a complex cognitive system in perceiving the host society; and, (4) educational background, sex, time among the host society, and age at the time of immigration are the key determinants of one's language competence, acculturation motivation, and accessibility to host communication channels. When it comes to the acculturation studies and TV viewing, most of the findings point to Gerbner's cultivation theory which indicated that TV viewing creates a stereotyped view of host society. For instance, Tan18 found that watching an American television program was correlated to accepting stereotyped traits about Americans. Since a television program was the only or primary source of information about American culture, his study showed that the most watched American television programs in Taiwan and Mexico, such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty", were cultivating a negative image of the U.S. In a recent study of international college students, the connection between levels of acculturation, daytime TV talk-show viewing, and beliefs about social reality was examined. The results indicated that international students who were heavy viewers of day-time TV talk shows and scored low on acculturation in the United States held the most negative views and attitudes of American society. 19 General agreements among above studies are: First, immigrants who tend to seek interpersonal relationships with Americans in social situations have not only a greater potential but also actually achieve a higher level of acculturation; second, the use of American mass media is positively related to the immigrant's acculturation.20 Besides the studies on general immigrant groups, scholars have exhibited considerable interest in examining acculturation among international students. Similar influence from mass media use and interpersonal communication was found on acculturation as it occurs among international students.21 Despite the wide-spread report of difficulties international students encounter, the majority of international students make reasonable adaptation to their cultural and institutional demands.22 Although there were numerous studies on communication pattern of acculturation, two areas have not been explored thoroughly. First, prior host media exposure may have influence on immigrants' attitude toward host society. A series of interviews with Korean-Americans residents revealed that pre-immigrants experience with images of the United States in movies, television programs, and magazines shaped their post-immigration response to the reality life.23 Second, in order to examine the acculturation as a complex social-cultural process, mass media use and interpersonal communication should not be considered separately. Kim, for example, indicated that the greater the participation in host interpersonal communication, the greater the participation in host mass communication.24 Thus, this study also tended to further explore the relationship between mass media use and interpersonal contacts with host society members through the process of acculturation. Based on previous literature and theoretical consideration, this study was designed to answer the following questions: Q1 Does exposures to American media content prior to arriving in the U.S. affect acculturation among international students?
Q2 How does TV viewing affect acculturation and international students' views toward American society after they come to the U.S.?
Q3 How does international students' interpersonal communication may affect acculturation?
Q4 Is there a collective effect of interpersonal contacts with Americans and mass media use through acculturation among international students? Methodology All registered International students (total 4,506) at a large public university in the southwest were contacted by email and invited to complete a Web-based survey, in which mass media use, interpersonal communication, and acculturation questions were asked. The following measurements were used to answer the research questions. Prior Exposure to American Mass Media. Respondents' American mass media exposure before they came to the U.S. was measured by the questions designed as "Before you came to the U.S., how many days a week would you say you would watch American TV shows; read the newspaper for U.S. news; listen to radio for American content; use the Internet for U.S. news or entertainment." There were five response categories to all these four types of mass media: "never", "1-2 days" "3-4 days" "5-6 days" "everyday". The categories from "never" to "everyday" were assigned a number from "1" to "5". Respondents' scores on this question were a sum of numbers that assigned to their choice on each type of mass media use. In the later analysis, respondents were grouped as "heavy" or "light" users of American mass media by their scores. TV Viewing After Arrival to the U.S. The amount of time spent on TV viewing after international students came to the U.S. was measured with the question: "Since you arrived in the U.S., on average, how many hours a day would you say you spend watching TV." There were seven response choices, ranging from "less than 1 hour" to "more than 5 hours." If the respondents answered one hour or more, they were asked a follow-up question to determine the frequency of a particular type of TV programming they watched: news, drama, music, comedy, sports, weather, reality, talk shows, and other. Three response options were provided: "often", "sometimes", and "seldom or never." The respondents were also asked "What would you say is the main reason that you watch TV in order to identify respondents' motivation for utilizing a particular mass medium. Four responses were given as "For fun", "Get information", "Learn English" and "Other". Interpersonal Communication with Americans. Time spent on interpersonal communication was measured by asking "Since you arrived in the U.S., on average, how many hours a day would you say you spend talking to your friends/family?" Seven choices, ranging from "less than an hour" to "more than 5 hours" were provided. Consequently, the responses to these two questions were summed and categorized into "heavy" and "light" users of the interpersonal communication. Number of interpersonal contacts with Americans was measured by asking "How many of your friends are American citizens?" with three response choices of "most or all," "some," and "few or none." Interpersonal communication based on mass media use was measured by the question "How often do you talk about TV shows with your friends?" Three response choices were provided: "most of the time or always", "sometimes" and "rarely or never". Acculturation Variables. Both attitude and behavior related to acculturation were assessed. On the attitudinal level, participants' attitudes of cultural themes that are portrayed on TV were measured by an index of statements ("I like the way friendships are portrayed on TV.";"I like the way TV portrays American families."; "I like the way Americans discuss their sexuality on TV";"I like the way Americans are dressed on TV." "I like the way that women are portrayed on American TV.") With the index, there are five response categories to all items "strongly agree", "agree", "undecided", "disagree", and "strongly disagree". Consequently, score on these items were summed to create two categories of attitude: positive and negative. In addition, participants' attitudes on American culture were directly assessed with the question "How much do you like American culture?" Response choices were given as "very much", "somewhat", and "not much/not at all". On the behavioral level, four behavioral questions such as "Do you own a T-shirt with state (or school) logo?" "Have you ever attended a sports event?" were asked. The more behaviors they reported in this matrix question, the higher scored on the behavioral level of acculturation. In assessing the immigrant's English proficiency, respondents were asked to estimate their own ability to speak and understand English when they used the English mass media and communicated with natives. (e.g., "How much English would you say you understand when you watch TV?" "How much English would you say you understand when you listen to conversation between your American friends?").In addition, the survey also asked international students to report their TOEFL score. The correlation coefficient between the self-report English efficiency and self-reported TOEFL scores was .54 (P<.001). Respondents were asked to report how long they have been lived in the U.S.. The length of the respondents stay was broken into three categories (1=1 to 2 years, 2=2.1 to 4.5 years and 3=4.6 to 26 years). Results Sample Profile Total 178 respondents have evenly split between males and females. Half of the respondents have lived in the U.S. for less than three years. High English proficiency was shared by around 80% of the respondents.25 The average amount of time for daily TV viewing was one hour. Prior Exposure to American Mass Media and Acculturation. Table 1 shows that there is a relationship between American media use prior to coming to the U.S. and respondents' views on American culture. For international students who had access to American media before they came to the U.S., heavy American media users (84%) are more likely than light users (45%) to report that they very much or somewhat like American culture. Table 1 Relationship Between American Media Use Prior to Coming to the U.S. and View on American Culture (%) American Media Use Prior to Coming to the U.S. Light Heavy View on American Culture Like it Very Much/ Somewhat Like It 65 84 Not Like It much/ Not Like It at All 36 17 Valid cases 93 79 X2=8.623 df=2 P<.05 While a relationship was found between media use and views on American culture, no such relationship was found between prior exposure to TV, specifically, and international students' views of American culture. TV Viewing After Arrival to the U.S. and Acculturation. Although no significant correlation is found between total TV viewing time and any acculturation variables, news and talk show viewing yield significant results for respondents' view on American culture. Analysis revealed that international students who often watch talk shows are more likely to have a positive view on cultural themes portrayed on TV. Compared to 20% who seldom or never watch talk show, 47% of international students who often watch talk shows hold a positive view on cultural themes portrayed on TV. Eighty percent of participants who seldom or never watch talk shows have a negative view on TV-portrayed cultural themes. (X2=10.916 df=2 P<.01) A similar result is observed on TV news viewing. Compared to 49% who seldom or never watch news, there are 69% of respondents who often watch news on TV hold a positive view on TV-portrayed cultural elements. (X2=8.393 df=2 P<.05) International students' length of stay in the U.S. is significantly correlated with their motivation of TV viewing. (See Table 2) International students who stayed longer tended to use television for information seeking, while those who had only lived in the U.S. for one to two years, reported watching television mainly to learn English. Table 2 Relationship Between International Students' Length of Stay in the U.S. and Motivation of TV Viewing (%) Length of Stay in the U.S. Motivation of TV Viewing 1-2 years 2.1-4.5 years 4.6-26 years Watching TV for Fun 9 3 2 Watching TV for Information c 13 11 25 Watching TV for Learning English c 86 14 0 Watching TV for Other Reasons 2 3 2 Valid Cases 64 64 49 X2=16.411 df=8 P < .05 Table 3 examines the relationship between respondents' attitude on TV-portrayed cultural themes and their view on American culture. International students' attitudes toward cultural themes portrayed on TV corresponded with their attitudes toward American culture. For example, international students who had a positive view of cultural themes portrayed on TV tended to like American culture more than those who had negative view toward such themes. Twenty-one percent of respondents who held a positive view of cultural themes reported liking American culture very much, while only 8% of those who had a negative view provided the same answer. Table 3 Relationship Between International Students' Attitude on TV-portrayed Culture Themes and Views on American Culture (%) Attitude on Cultural Themes Portrayed on TV Positive Negative View on American Culture Like it very much 21 8 Somewhat like it 64 54 Not like it much/ not like it at all 16 38 Valid cases 88 84 X2=12.996 df=2 P<.01 Interpersonal Communication and Acculturation. Having American friends is also related to views on American culture. International students who said "most of all" (38%) of their friends were Americans were more likely than international students who said "some" (18%) or a "few or none" (2%) of their friends were Americans to say they very much like American culture. (See Table 4.) Table 4 Relationship Between the Number of American Friends and View on American Culture (%) Number of American Friends Most of All Some A Few or None View on American Culture Like It Very Much 38 18 2 Somewhat Like It 63 62 53 Not Much Like It 0 20 46 Valid Cases 28 82 66 X2=34.455 df=4 P<.01 Additionally, international students who spent more time talking with their friends and families are considered heavy users of interpersonal communication. This group of people is more likely to score high on the behavioral level of acculturation. Compared to 29% of light users of the interpersonal communication who scored high on behavioral level of acculturation, 45% of heavy user scored high on behavioral level of acculturation. (X2=4.338 df=1 P<.05) Collective Effect of Interpersonal Contacts and TV Viewing on Acculturation. Frequency of talking about TV shows with friends was found as an intervening variable26 between number of American friends and view on American culture. To determine frequency of talking about TV shows with friends as a consequences of number of American friends and determinant of view on American culture, one must first establish that significant relationship exist between each two-variable pair: number of American friends and view on American culture; number of American friends and frequency of talking about TV shows with friends; frequency of talking about TV shows with friends and view on American culture. If significant relationships are found, the variable that is hypothesized as intervening must be held constant and the statistical relationship between number of American friends and view on American culture must vanish. Significant relationships between the three pairs of variables were found. Respondents who have more American Friends held a more positive view on American culture(See Table 4), and also tended to talk about TV show more frequently (See Table 5). The frequency of talking about TV shows is positively related to respondents' view on American culture. (See Table 6) Table 5 Relationship Between the Number of American Friends and Frequency of Talking About TV Shows with Friends(%) Number of American Friends Most of All Some Few or None Frequency of Talking About TV Shows (%) Always 4 2 4 Sometimes 79 55 37 Rarely or Never 17 42 59 Valid Cases 24 83 70 X2=14.332 df=4 P<.05
Table 6 Relationship Between the Frequency of Talking About TV Shows and Views on American Culture (%) Frequency of Talking about TV Shows Always Sometimes Rarely or never View on American Culture Like It Very Much 0 22 8 Somewhat Like It 83 63 53 Not Much Like It 17 16 40 Valid cases 6 88 78 X2=16.755 df=4P<.05 Partial support for an intervening variable was found in the category of "always" talking about TV shows with friends. Thus, when the respondents reported to "always" talk about TV shows with their friends, the frequency of talking about TV shows served as an intervening variable between the number of American friends and their views toward American culture. Discussion For many international students who have not lived in the U.S., it is often the case that the American media content is the only or main source of information they receive about American culture. Therefore, not surprisingly, the current study revealed a significant correlation between international students' exposure to American mass media prior to arriving in the U.S. and their views of American culture. In this study, the cultivation effect of TV viewing was observed in the acculturation process. International students' attitudes toward themes of American culture presented on TV were consistent with their view about American culture. A relationship between particular types of TV show and acculturation was also found. Both TV news and talk shows were positively correlated with international students' views of American culture. Moreover, the current study revealed that the length of stay in the U.S. had influence on international students' motivation of TV viewing. International students who lived in the U.S. for a shorter period of time tended to use TV as a language learning tool. Since language proficiency is a key element in acculturation process, this finding indicated that mass media use was closely related with international students' cultural adaptation. Kim found that interpersonal channels have greater adaptation function than the mass media.27 Results of the current study supported this statement. While mass media use correlated to attitudinal level of acculturation, interpersonal communication was found related to both behavioral and attitudinal levels of acculturation among international students. The sufficient feedback provided by interpersonal communication may help international students improve their understanding of a particular host culture, thus heading toward a higher level of acculturation.28 The discovery that talking about TV shows with friends as an intervening variable between international students' numbers of American friends and their view on American culture is the most striking finding in this study. This collective effect of mass media use and interpersonal communication in the acculturation process suggest that aside from functioning independently, mass communication and interpersonal communication can also intertwine in the process of acculturation. Two issues should be considered upon the evaluation of the finding. Although a correlation between mass media use and acculturation is found in the study, there is no conclusive evidence of cause and effect. Perhaps Gudykunst and Y. Kim29 best summarized their relationship: the degree to which strangers adapt to the host culture depends on their personal and social communication processes. At the same time, the adaptive changes that have already taken place are reflected in the strangers' communication patterns. As a study of international students, the sample's two unique characteristics 30 must be considered when interpreting the results. Since some international students' reason for studying abroad is that the foreign country can offer them something that their native country cannot, they may concede some partial superiority to the host society. This may explain why this group tends to have a positive view on American culture. Further, usually well-educated, international students tend to have a more realistic view of the host society than other immigrant groups. This is why their perception of the host society may not be so easily affected by TV's unrealistic portrayal of the host society. With a generally good English proficiency, the language proficiency's impact on acculturation is not observed in this study. In order to test and modify the communication model of acculturation, future research should be conducted on different immigrant groups' acculturation to different types of cultures. Moreover, the way of measuring acculturation should be continually molded to better represent new developments in acculturation research and the transient nature of cultures. NOTES 1.Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory (Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters LTD,1988), 107 2. Young Yum Kim. "Toward an interactive theory of communication-acculturation," Communication Yearbook. 3(1979): 435-453. 3. Young Yum Kim, "Communication patterns of foreign immigrants in the process of Acculturation," Human Communication Research 4 (1,1977): 66-77. 4.Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory (Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters LTD,1988), 79, figure 6 5. Harold D. Lasswell, "The structure and function of communication in society," The communication of ideas, ed. Lyman Bryson, (New York: Cooper Systems,1948/1964):37-51 6. Denis McQuail, McQuail's Mass Communication Theory (4th Ed.) (London: SAGE Publication 2000), 465 7. Michael A. Shapiro and Daniel G. McDonald. "I'm not a real doctor, but I play one in virtual reality: Implications of virtual reality for judgments about reality," Journal of Communication 42(4, Autumn 1992): 94-114. 8. Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory, 115 9. Giyoshi Nagata, A statistical approach to the study of acculturation of an ethnic group based on communication oriented variables: The case of Japanese Americans in Chicago. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1969). 10. June Ock Yum, "Communication Diversity and Information Acquisition among Korean Immigrants in Hawaii", Human Communication Research 8(winter 1982): 154–169. 11. Theodore D. Graves, "Acculturation, access, alcohol in a tri-ethnic country," American Anthropologist 59(1967):306-321. 12. DeFleur, M.L., & Cho, S.C., "Assimilation of Japanese born women in an American city," Social Problems 4(1957):244-257. 13. Giyoshi Nagata, A statistical approach to the study of acculturation of an ethnic group based on communication oriented variables: The case of Japanese Americans in Chicago. 14. and 15 see Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory p109 16. Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory, 79 figure 6 17. Young Yum Kim, "Communication patterns of foreign immigrants in the process of Acculturation," 18. Alexis S. Tan, Sarrina Li, and Charles Simpson, "American TV and social stereotypes of Americans in Taiwan and Mexico," Journalism Quarterly 63(winter 1986): 809-814. 19. Hyung Jin Woo and Joseph R.Dominick, "Acculturation, cultivation, and daytime TV Talk shows," Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 80 (1,2003):109-128. 20. Paul N.Lakey, "Acculturation: A review of the literature," Intercultural Communication Studies 7 (2, 2003):103-118 21.Flora Keshishian, "Acculturation, Communication, and the U.S. Mass Media: The Experience of an Iranian Immigrant," The Howard Journal of Communications 11(2000):93–106, 22. Church, Austin. T.: 1982, "Sojourner adjustment", Psychological Bulletin 9:540–572. 23. Paul Messaris and Jisuk Woo, "Images Vs.reality in Korean-Americans' responses to mass-mediated depictions of the United States," Cultural studies in Mass Communication 8 (1991):74-90 24. Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory,76 25. Eighty percent of the respondents scored 600 or more on paper-based TOEFL test (perfect score 677), 79% who take the computer-based TOEFL test (perfect score 300) scored 260 or higher. On the self-report English proficiency, the average score is 4.00, with the perfect score 5. 26. Morris Rosenberg, The logic of survey analysis(New York: Basic Bookks, Inc.1948),54-56. The logic status of an intervening variable is that it viewed as a consequence of the independent variable and as a determinant of the dependent variable. To establish a variable as intervening, it may be noted, requires the presence of three asymmetrical relationships: (1) the original relationship between the independent and dependent variables;(2) a relationship between the independent variable and the test factor;(3) a relationship between the test factor and the dependent variable. When the test factor is controlled, the significant relationship between independent and dependent variable should be vanished. 27 Young Yum Kim. "Toward an interactive theory of communication-acculturation," Communication Yearbook.(1979) 28 Young Yum Kim, Communication and cross cultural adaptation: an integrative theory (Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters LTD,1988),106-113 29. William B. Gudykunst and Young Yum Kim, Communicating with strangers: An approach to intercultural communication. (New York: Random House 1984), 220 30 Pool, Ith iel de Sola, "Effects of cross-national contact on national and international ima ges." In International behavior: A social psychological analysis, edited by Kelman, Herbert C.,106-129. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.
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