What is a cause of cross-cultural miscommunication?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Opening with a broad framing, we examine what cross-cultural miscommunication entails and then assess each choice against that understanding.
Option a: 'When people from different cultures try to communicate unsuccessfully.' This statement points to the outcome (unsuccessful communication) but does not identify the underlying cause. It describes a scenario rather than causation; miscommunication can occur for reasons beyond cultural difference, such as noise, ambiguity, or misinterpretation within the same culture. So while related, it’s not precisely the cause.
Option b: 'When the receiver speaks the same language as the sender.' Paradoxically, sharing a language can still fail to prevent miscommunication due to differences in cultural norms, pragmatics, or nonverbal cues. However, this option emphasizes language similarity rather than the core causal mechanism of miscommunication arising from cultural differences. It describes a condition that can mitigate, not cause, miscommunication, making it an unlikely general cause.
Option c: 'When a sender’s intended message is not decoded correctly due to cultural differences.' This option identifies the root mechanism: cultural differences alter interpretation, leading to misdecode of the message. It directly ties cause (cultural difference) to effect (miscommunication) through the decoding process, which is the core definition of cross-cultural miscommunication.
In summary, option c correctly isolates the causal link between cultural differences and misinterpretation of the intended message, while options a and b either describe outcomes or conditions that do not capture the fundamental cause. The key misconception in a is treating miscommunication as an inevitable outcome without naming the decoding barrier, and in b it reverses the role of language commonality by implying it cannot be a factor, which it can be when paired with different cultural contexts.

ME Mod4 Intake 4B - 10 Nov 2025 - 30 Jan 2026 Activity 5.5A - Tutorial Assessment Preparation B

What is a cause of cross-cultural miscommunication?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Adler provides some recommendations for effective cross-cultural communication. Match the different parts of these recommendations together. 1: describe and observe 2: assume difference 3: check with others 4: try role reversal 5: give explanation as a guess

Studies based on individualistic versus collectivist values that explain how communication styles vary from culture to culture are an example of

Multi-active cultures often:

Low-Context cultures prefer:

In low-context culture, communication is considered respectful when it is:

Part 1________ refers to a situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts some human value at stake. Part 1 A. Acculturation B. Cross-cultural risk C. Country risk D. Socialization E. Critical incident analysis

Which of the following describes a high-context culture?

Which of the following statements regarding language is NOT true?

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler

ME Mod4 Intake 4B - 10 Nov 2025 - 30 Jan 2026 Activity 5.5A - Tutorial Assessment Preparation B

What is a cause of cross-cultural miscommunication?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Adler provides some recommendations for effective cross-cultural communication. Match the different parts of these recommendations together. 1: describe and observe ____ 2: assume difference ____ 3: check with others ____ 4: try role reversal ____ 5: give explanation as a guess ____

Studies based on individualistic versus collectivist values that explain how communication styles vary from culture to culture are an example of

Multi-active cultures often:

Low-Context cultures prefer:

In low-context culture, communication is considered respectful when it is:

Part 1​________ refers to a situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts some human value at stake. Part 1 A. Acculturation B. ​Cross-cultural risk C. Country risk D. Socialization E. Critical incident analysis

Which of the following describes a high-context culture?​

Which of the following statements regarding language is NOT true?

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Making Your Study Simpler

Adler provides some recommendations for effective cross-cultural communication. Match the different parts of these recommendations together. 1: describe and observe 2: assume difference 3: check with others 4: try role reversal 5: give explanation as a guess

Part 1________ refers to a situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts some human value at stake. Part 1 A. Acculturation B. Cross-cultural risk C. Country risk D. Socialization E. Critical incident analysis

Which of the following describes a high-context culture?