High or Low?

 

I recently came across the concept of high and low context cultures and it blew my mind 🤯 Let me explain.

Culture is a way of life for any society. It is mostly subconscious and we are only aware of it when exposed to other cultures. Communication therefore differs from one culture to another. So, what is high culture, low culture and what really blew my mind?

In a high context culture, internal meaning is usually embedded deep in the information and therefore not everything is explicitly stated in writing or words. The listener is expected to be able to ‘read between the lines’ to understand the unsaid, thanks to their background knowledge.

A low context culture on the other hand, meanings are explicitly stated through language. People communicating usually expect explanations when something remains unclear and most information is expected to be in the transmitted message in order to make up for what is missing in the context. Low context culture is characterized by direct and linear communication and by the constant and sometimes never-ending use of words. Communication is direct, precise, dramatic, open, and based on feelings or true intentions.

Now, let’s narrow this down to family units as opposed to the people who brought these theories whose main scope of study was an entire community. We have our behavior patterns, beliefs and attitudes unique to each and every family unit. There is a way your family communicates that is distinctive to you such that an outsider might find difficulty decoding. Some families are high context cultures whereas others are low context cultures.

When we meet people from other cultures (families) in our normal interactions, we may find it difficult to understand them or end up terming them as difficult all because of this context phenomenon. Imagine the chaos when a person from a low context culture (who expects everything explained in black and white) holds a conversation or even a relationship with another person from a high context culture who expects them to read between the lines! It might lead to a breakup or constant clashes if not mitigated!

With that said, are you a high or low context person? In retrospect, are there people you had a falling out with because of this aspect? When we talk of communication problems in relationships, are we at times referring to the high and low contexts?

Is your mind blown like mine or is it just me who was not aware of this?