Howard Giles

Definition

Howard Giles is a renowned communication scholar best known for his work in interpersonal communication and social psychology, particularly regarding language and identity. His research emphasizes how individuals adjust their communication styles to others, influencing interpersonal relationships and social dynamics.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Howard Giles introduced the Communication Accommodation Theory in the 1970s, which revolutionized the understanding of how people adjust their communication styles based on their interaction partners.
2. His research showed that accommodation can enhance social bonds or create distance, impacting relationships and group dynamics.
3. Giles emphasized that factors like ethnicity, age, and social status significantly influence how people choose to accommodate during interactions.
4. He conducted experiments demonstrating that people are more likely to converge when they perceive similarity with their conversation partner, such as shared interests or backgrounds.
5. Giles' work extends beyond language, influencing fields like sociolinguistics, intercultural communication, and the study of identity formation.

Review Questions

• How does Howard Giles' Communication Accommodation Theory explain the adjustments people make during interpersonal interactions?
  • Howard Giles' Communication Accommodation Theory explains that individuals adjust their communication styles based on their perception of their conversation partners. This adjustment can manifest as convergence, where one mimics the other's speech patterns for social approval, or divergence, where one emphasizes differences to assert individuality. By understanding these dynamics, we gain insight into how relationships are formed and maintained through communication.
• What role do factors such as ethnicity and social status play in Giles' research on language accommodation?
  • In Howard Giles' research on language accommodation, factors like ethnicity and social status are crucial as they influence individuals' decisions on whether to converge or diverge in their communication. For example, people may adjust their speech to align with peers from similar backgrounds or choose to maintain distinct language features to assert cultural identity. This interplay between social characteristics and communication styles highlights the complexity of interpersonal interactions.
• Evaluate how Howard Giles' theories could be applied in modern communication contexts such as social media interactions.
  • Howard Giles' theories can be critically evaluated within modern contexts like social media, where users often adapt their communication styles to fit various online communities. For instance, individuals might converge their language with trending slang or emojis to enhance relatability and engagement with peers. Conversely, users may choose divergence by maintaining formal language to establish professionalism in workplace settings. This application illustrates the ongoing relevance of Giles' work in understanding identity expression and relationship management in digital communication landscapes.

Related terms

Communication Accommodation Theory: A theory developed by Howard Giles that explains how and why individuals adjust their speech patterns and behaviors in social interactions to either converge with or diverge from their conversation partners.

Convergence: In the context of Communication Accommodation Theory, convergence refers to the process where individuals adapt their speech and behavior to become more similar to their communication partner, often to enhance social approval or solidarity.

Divergence: Divergence is the opposite of convergence; it occurs when individuals emphasize differences in speech or behavior to highlight individuality or express disapproval toward their conversation partner.