The approaches to culture and conceptual taxonomies presented here provide frames of reference that allow us to use culture-specific knowledge to improve our intercultural awareness and competence. As you study these approaches to cultural patterns, we encourage you to keep in mind that individual members of
a culture may vary greatly from the pattern that is typical of that culture. Martin and Nakayama (2001) note that an underlying problem with cultural tax-onomies is the tendency to “essentialize”people. In other words, “people tend to assume that a particular group characteristic is the essential characteristic of given group members at all times and in all contexts...this ignores the hetero-geneity within any population...[or] the contexts when interacting”
 
  Hall (1976) contends that cultures differ on a continuum that ranges from low to high context. Information and rules are explicit in low-context cultures that use linear logic and a direct style of communication. In contrast, information and rules are implicit in high-context cultures that draw upon intuition and utilize an indirect style of communication. People using high-context communication tend to be extremely reserved, with much more being taken for granted and assumed to be shared, thus permitting an emphasis on under-statement and nonverbal codes.

  Hall (1976) notes that in high-context cultures,the commitment between
people is very strong and responsibility to others takes precedence over respon-sibility to oneself. In low-context cultures, the emphasis is placed on the indi-vidual, with the bonds between people being more tenuous and the extent of involvement and commitment to long-term relationships being lower. Thus, in high-context cultures meaning is couched in the nature of situations and relationships are very important, whereas in low-context cultures meaning is explicit and dependent on verbal codes and group memberships change rapidly with individualism being valued. Examples of high-context cultures include Asian, Latin American, and African countries, whereas low-context cultures include the United States and Western European countries.

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