The Influence Of Ethnic Identity And Intergroup Contact On Intercultural Communication

Ethnic identity and intergroup contact are mostly studied from the perspective of social psychology. Their roles in intercultural communication have not received sufficient attention either in emic or etic study.This thesis examines the influence of ethnic identity and intercultural contact on the perceived communication effectiveness of three groups in China: the Uygur, Mongolian and Tibetan minorities. The inclusion of Chinese samples in the present thesis is intended to fill in a research gap, since there are few studies using Chinese ethnic groups to study intercultural communication effectiveness.The context of the study will be addressed at the beginning the present thesis. Then relevant theories and studies both in social psychology and the intercultural communication field will be identified: namely, ethnic identity intercultural contact, Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory (AUM) and communication satisfaction. Based on the discussion on the connections of the eminent studies in these fields, several hypotheses and a research question have been developed. Then, the thesis develops a survey study at a university for Chinese ethnic minorities to examine the influence of ethnic identity and intercultural contact on anxiety/uncertainty management and communication satisfaction. Next, subjects, procedures and measures have been illustrated in detail. The research results lead to a discussion on the dual purposes of the present thesis: the universality of AUM in the Chinese context, and findings in regarding to the role of ethnic identity and intergroup anxiety in intercultural communication. The thesis ends with a summary, the limitations and implications of the present study, and suggestions for future study.