Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

David W. Worley

Second Advisor

Debra Worely

Third Advisor

G. Vonne Meussling

Abstract

This case study investigates the broad cultural differences in the preferred ways of communicating in situations of interpersonal conflict within the setting of a multicultural cloistered community of women religious. The participants consisted of fourteen individuals from seven countries residing within the United States in a community with permanent relationships. The linkage of cultural individualism and collectivism (VC), independent and dependent self-construal, and low and high context communication were analyzed in order to evaluate the influence of culture on the communication styles. The findings confirm established theory regarding the differences between individualism and collectivism. The study also measured the preference for five conflict styles as identified in extant theory: integrating, obliging, compromising, avoiding, and dominating. The dominating and avoiding styles were the most frequently preferred conflict styles and compromising was the least preferred style. Individualism and collectivism had no significant linear effect on the preference of a conflict style . . Participants had similar interpretations of the integrating and obliging styles, but individualists and collectivists differed in their interpretations of the dominating and the avoiding styles. The results indicate that certain beliefs regarding the association of culture with conflict communication styles may not be valid. Key words: Cloistered and contemplative culture, individualism and collectivism, independent and interdependent self-construal, low and high context communication, conflict styles and dual concern model.

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