| This dissertation examines Mongolian and American young adults' perceptions of prior experiences of intergenerational communication. The cross-cultural comparison looks specifically at the reports of age stereotypes, norms of respect, beliefs about intra- and intergenerational communication, and communication satisfaction. As the age of targets increased from young adult to middle-aged and older adults, so did attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; conversely, attributions of personal vitality, and communication satisfaction decreased linearly. Regression analysis showed that in both settings, young adults' reports of politeness toward the middle-aged and older adults predicted communicative respect, while communicative avoidance was predicted by norms of deference. The avoidant communication of both Americans and Mongolians negatively predicted communication satisfaction and enjoyment. When speaking to middle-aged adults, both samples reported that satisfaction was also negatively predicted by avoidant communication, but overall enjoyment was predicted by respectful communication. Analysis of intragroup communication revealed that identification with one's own age group significantly predicted communication satisfaction and enjoyment in the American sample, but this was not the case for the Mongolian sample. Only stereotypes of young adult vitality predicted communicative enjoyment in the Mongolian sample. |
