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Communication Accommodation Guide

This document provides an overview of Communication Accommodation Theory, which examines how and why people adjust their communication styles during interactions. It describes accommodation as modifying one's behavior in response to another. The theory is based on research showing that through convergence, divergence, and overaccommodation, people communicate social identities and seek to manage impressions. It assumes speech and behaviors convey social statuses and group memberships that interactions aim to navigate.

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Joylene Faith Mina
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194 views14 pages

Communication Accommodation Guide

This document provides an overview of Communication Accommodation Theory, which examines how and why people adjust their communication styles during interactions. It describes accommodation as modifying one's behavior in response to another. The theory is based on research showing that through convergence, divergence, and overaccommodation, people communicate social identities and seek to manage impressions. It assumes speech and behaviors convey social statuses and group memberships that interactions aim to navigate.

Uploaded by

Joylene Faith Mina
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COMMUNICATION

ACCOMMODATION
THEORY

Based on the research of Howard Giles


WHAT IS ACCOMMODATION?

defined as the ability to adjust, modify, or regulate


one’s behavior in response to another.-
Outline • What is Communication Accommodation
Theory?
• Social Psychology and Social Identity
• Assumptions of Communication
Accommodation Theory
• Ways to Adapt
– Convergence
– Divergence
– Overaccommodation
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION
ACCOMMODATION THEORY?
- underlying motivations and consequences of what
happens when two speakers shift their communication styles.
During communication encounters, people will try to
accommodate or adjust their style of speaking to others.
Social • Recognizing the importance of the self and its
relationship to group identity, Henri Tajfel and
Psychology John Turner (1986) developed Social Identity

and Social
Theory. This theory suggests that a person’s
self-concept is comprised of a personal

Identity identity as well as a social identity.


• Social identity, then, is primarily based on
the comparisons that people make between
in-groups (groups to which a person feels he
or she belongs) and out-groups (groups to
which a person feels he or she does not
belong).
ASSUMPTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
ACCOMMODATION THEORY
• Speech and behavioral similarities and dissimilarities exist in all
conversations.
• The manner in which we perceive the speech and behaviors of
another will determine how we evaluate a conversation.
• Language and behaviors impart information about social status
and group belonging.
• Accommodation varies in its degree of appropriateness, and
norms guide the accommodation process.
Ways • Convergence: Merging
to Thoughts Ahead

Adapt • Divergence: Vive la Différence


• Overaccommodation:
Miscommunicating With a
Purpose
CONVERGENCE

Strategy whereby individuals adapt to each other’s communicative


behaviors. People may adapt to speech rate, pause, smiling, eye gaze,
and other verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
DIVERGENCE

When there are no attempts to demonstrate similarities between


speakers. In other words, two people speak to each other with no concern
about accommodating each other.
OVERACCOMMODATION

A term attributed to people who, although acting from good


intentions, are perceived, instead, as patronizing or demeaning.
Overaccommodation

Sensory • overly adapting to others who


are perceived as limited in their
overaccom abilities (physical, linguistic, or
modation other)
Overaccommodation

• which occurs when a speaker


Dependency places the listener in a lower-
overaccomm status role, and the listener is
odation, made to appear dependent on
the speaker.
Overaccommodation

Intergroup • occurs when speakers place


overaccom listeners in cultural groups

modation without acknowledging


individual uniqueness
end

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