How are core cultural values manifested in communication styles of Libyan postgraduate students in the UK?

Abstract

Cultural background can have an effect on communication styles which can be seen through actual behaviour and ways in which people interact with one another. In this study, it was hypothesized that notions of individualism-collectivism, selfconstruals and values have varying effects on Libyan students' communication styles with people of a British background. In particular, the more collectivistic the values of Libyan postgraduate students, the more interdependent their self-construals are; consequently, the more high-context (HC) communication styles they tend to use; and vice versa. It is also hypothesized that the predominant communication style of Libyan postgraduates tends to be HC. To test these hypotheses, a mixed method approach was used for this study (including open and closed-type questions). A selfadministered questionnaire was developed, based on Gudykunst et al. (1996), to measure low-context (LC) and high-context (HC) communication styles, selfconstruals (SC) and values. The results suggest that Libyan postgraduates tend to use LC communication styles, and their collectivistic values and interdependent selfconstruals mediate the extent of use of individualism and collectivism. On the other hand, independent self-construals and individualistic values mediate the influence of cultural individualism and collectivism in the use of LC communication styles. In general, Libyan students’ communication styles appear to be a mixture of both styles, but tend to be more LC, with an emphasis on sensitivity, over-directness, and preciseness, over silence. The findings also suggest that individuals’ self-construals and values are better reflections of LC styles of communication, rather than for HC communication styles, for Libyan students in the UK.