Chapter 1 General Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Personal Concern and Research Importance 3
1.3 The Research Objectives 5
1.4 The Problem Defined and Research Questions(RQ) 8
1.5 Organization of the Book 8
Chapter 2 Cultural Variability and Its Influence on Communication 11
2.1 Cultural Influences on Communication 11
2.2 Basic Approaches to the Study of Culture and Communication 12
2.3 Communication:the Western Cultural Orientation vs.the Eastern Cultural Orientation 14
2.4 Dimensions of Cultural Variability 16
2.5 Application of the Dimensions of Cultural Variability 20
2.6 Individual-Level Factors that Mediate the Influence of Culture on Communication 22
2.7 Communication Styles 31
2.8 Summary 35
Chapter 3 The Socio-Cultural and Political History of China 36
3.1 Some Facets of China's History 36
3.2 Socio-Cultural Background of Multiethnic China 54
3.3 Summary 59
Chapter 4 The Chinese Cultural and Philosophical Orientation to Relationships and Communication 61
4.1 Chinese Philosophical Principles and Religion 61
4.2 Core Values of Confucianism 76
4.3 Impact of Confucianism on Behaviour 78
4.4 Summary 86
Chapter 5 Communication and Communication Competence Research in the West 88
5.1 Communication Competence from the Western Perspectives 88
5.2 Summary 102
Chapter 6 Research Design and Methodology 103
6.1 Introduction 103
6.2 Research Design and Research Strategy 103
6.3 Methodology 105
Chapter 7 A Cross-Cultural Survey of Self-Perceptions of Communicative Competence,Communication Apprehension,Interdependence and Independence,Academic Performance and Chinese Values 122
7.1 Aims ofthe Study 122
7.2 Participants 123
7.3 Data Analysis and Results 126
7.4 Discussion 152
Chapter 8 Administration of Classroom Observations 172
8.1 Aims of the Study 172
8.2 Participants 172
8.3 Materials and Procedures of Classroom Observations 174
8.4 Data Analysis and Results 175
8.5 Discussion 181
Chapter 9 Conclusion 185
9.1 Overview of the Study Findings 185
9.2 The SPCBPVQ Questionnaire 190
9.3 The Classroom Observation 200
9.4 Limitations to this Study 203
9.5 Implications for Practice 206
9.6 Implications for Future Research 208
References 210
Appendix 1 Self-Perception of Communication Behavior,Performance and Values Questionnaire 228
Appendix 2 VPBCS-Based Observation Form and Keys to VPBCS-Based Observation Form 236
Appendix 3 Reliability Tests of SPCBPVQ Questionnaire 240
Appendix 4 Factor Scree Plots 247
Appendix 5 Reliability Tests of Factor Analysis 250
Appendix 6 Results of Multiple Regressions 262
Appendix 7 Results of MANOVA:Chinese Sample vs.British Sample 275