Article summary of Communication Accommodation Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication by Dragojevic et al. - Chapter

What are the principles of the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT)?

The principles of accommodation were described in Chapter 3. However, we shortly reflect on these principles. These principles include all the core features and propositions in CAT.

Perceptions, Motivations, and Behavior. This are the different topics of research. All are important for CAT. However, the background of a researcher decides what they emphasize. For example, a sociolinguistic may emphasize behavior, and a psychologist may emphasize perceptions and motivations. Thus, within the CAT, there is a lot of diversity.

This diversity led to some debate about what really is ‘communication’ in CAT. The researchers working with CAT have concluded that communication refers to what is intended by a speaker, understood by a receiver, and/or which provokes an interpretation, attribution, or evaluation. So, communication is a product and function of the participants in an interaction and their perceptions.

Through the use of principles, CAT studies perceptions, behavior, and their interaction.

Intergroup and Interpersonal Dynamics. The CAT is used to study intergroup relations as well as idiosyncratic or individualized interactions. This is also why CAT is different compared to other theories about interaction, which focus only on either intergroup or on interpersonal factors.

Nuances of (non)Accommodation. The authors state that it is important to remember that both accommodative and nonaccommodative communication can be enacted, for different reasons. They state that explicitly three points have to be kept in mind with regard to accommodation:

1. CAT is a theory which studies behavior, perceptions, and motivations. Perceptions influence the ways in which interlocutors try to behave and respond to behavior, but actual behavior underlies perceptions. So, it is important to study both.
2. CAT is a theory of interpersonal and intergroup communication. The emphasis si on conversations between people, so therefore interpersonal communication is important.
3. Accommodation and nonaccommodation can exist in different forms. Overaccommodation, underaccommodation, and counteraccommodation are all different forms of accommodation.

What are the three vistas of Accommodation?

CAT is strongly linked to the contexts and methodologies in which it is used. This creates certain issues and challenges. Next, three ‘vistas’ of accommodation will be described:

Contextual Vistas

A lot of features of the CAT are based on research in interethnic and intercultural encounters, intergenerational interactions, and communication in healthcare settings. Each of these contexts has its own intergroup and interpersonal characteristics, its own emphases, and own important points. For example, elderly people, often complain that their caregivers do not treat them as adults. So, in this context, accommodation means to move beyond stereotypes and to treat each other as individuals. Another example is that in health settings, both clients and health professionals believe that the relevant expertise and identities of all people should be recognized. This makes sense, because there is no reason to see a doctor expect for when you need their expertise. So, in this context, accommodation refers to staying in role and operating from social identities, but treating each other with appropriate respect and attention to individual needs. A last example refers to intercultural contexts. In some cultures, the group boundaries are very strong. Then, it may me most appropriate to emphasize differences between one’s own culture and the new one, as long as it is done with respect and a positive tone. Thus, for CAT, it is important to emphasize the role of context more clearly. Then, people in different contexts can use this theory.

Methodological Vistas

As is the case with the theory, the methodologies of CAT are also eclectic. The diversity of methodological approaches is a great strength of the theory, because this makes CAT more comprehensive and interdisciplinary. However, studies that have been conducted often cite other, similar studies. For example, experimental studies cite mainly other experiments, and sociolinguistic studies cite other sociolinguistic studies. So, the connections between approaches should be examined more clearly. One method to elucidate connections between academic papers would be social network analysis.

Newly developed software tools for language analysis will also contribute to an expansion of mixed method research. For example, content analysis tools provide quick summary information about the words people use, and provide visual summaries which are easy to understand and use. Concept-based, artificial intelligence tools, go beyond this and analyze concepts that occur together. The latter tools can be used to guide researchers in deciding which parts of their text should be analyzed in more detail. Discursis is another tool which is used for CAT. This tool adds visualization of conversations turn by turn. So, it is a good complement to conversation analysis or discourse analysis.

The developments in tools described can enhance research on CAT, which leads to that larger-scale work can be more integrative and programmatic.

Another point to make about methodological vistas is that CAT is a theory about interactions. Interactions are most often dyadic in nature. However, the quantitative studies in CAT have only limitedly used dyadic analysis. Therefore, the authors suggest to make more use of the ‘actor-partner independence model (APIM)’. This model includes bidirectional influences of members in an interactional dyad and uses collected data from both the individuals. When we use such models, we can assess how perceptions or motivations for a speaker’s and the partner’s behavior influence communicative and relational behavior for these individuals.

Conceptual Vistas

The authors further suggest three important conceptual points for future research with CAT.

Accommodation as Communication Competence. Most of the researchers in CAT criticize traditional training programs in communication competence and intercultural and interprofessional training programs. They state that these programs typically emphasize interpersonal features of communication, and ignore intergroup features. Also, these programs often assume that people are motivated to communicate as effectively as they can. However, sometimes, people do not hold the goal to be cooperative, and can even be anti-social. For example, people may want to win a zero-sum conflict, or deprecate another group. So, in these cases, competent communication may lead to negative outcomes, which is exactly what these traditional training programs try to avoid.

Gallois stated that sometimes, the better people’s communication skills are, the less positive their communication is. He explained that this happened because the intergroup context may be negative, so that members of each group are actually motivated to misunderstand each other. If this is the case, political or social work must be conducted before traditional communication competence skills training can have much impact.

The most important goal of communication competence programs is to break down bridges between individuals and groups, and to communicate more honestly. However, there are many situations in which this is not realistic, and may even have negative outcomes. Sometimes, bridges between people are what is needed. For example, people with high status positions have come a long way. And this investment leads to a strong sense of identity. When they are then asked to abandon this identity, and act as any other individual, may be threatening and unrealistic. So, instead of breaking down bridges, it is more important to build people’s confidence in their identities and ways of communicating within these identities, so that they are more resilient in conflict situations.

The authors suggest the trainers in intergroup communication competence to follow these Principles:

• Analyze the training situation via CAT in intergroup and interpersonal terms. So, look at: what is the history, what are influential current events, what are the main goals, what are the relevant stereotypes?
• Foreground the nature of the context. So, look at whether it is more or less intergroup, more or less hierarchical, formal, or role-related.
• Highlight the most relevant sociolinguistic strategies in this context. So, decide whether approximation (convergence, divergence) is important and relevant. Also look at which of the nonapproximation strategies are implicated and how.
• Train in perceiving and interpreting others’ behavior, and in drawing lessons for future interactions.

Using these principles, training programs can be more theory-based, and can emphasize moving beyond bridges (group identities) with respect and understanding, instead of eliminating them.

What are the Biophysical Underpinnings of Accommodation?

In recent years, there has been an increase in the study of biological and neurological mechanisms of interpersonal communication. For example, research has shown that certain communicative acts, such as affection and social support, are related to neuroendocrine activity (cortisol and oxytocin levels), which protect the body from stress. Another finding is that synchronization of communication is linked to neural activity and relational outcomes. Also, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers found that framing an idea by adopting words that are associated with social interactions, triggers activity in the temporoparietal junction in the brain. This activity is associated with ‘mentalizing’, which is defined as the capacity to relate to the mental states of others. It also influences participants’ own communication. So, increased mentalizing when exposed to a novel idea makes it more likely that in subsequently describing the idea to others, individuals will use more social words to frame their description.

Neuroscientific advances and methods have also appeared in the study of intergroup relations. An example is that victory in sport for sport fans increases their self-esteem and can also be construed as a personal success. It also activates the pleasure center in the brain. These kind of effects in relation to interpersonal accommodation-nonaccommodation are important for the further development of CAT.

How is Accommodation related to the Digital Age?

Technological advancements in computer-mediated communication needs to be followed by CAT researchers. Because, it is important to determine, what is appropriate and accommodative communication when we communicate through electronic media. They might also look at how our ability to accommodate is affected by the constrains and structural elements of the social network platforms that people use. For example, will communication mode become a more significant aspect of perceiving, understanding, and responding to nonaccommodation in context?

Another issue related to digital technology involves the nature of a message’s audience. For example, most of the social networks platform move from a dyadic context or one-to-many communication, to ‘many-to-many’ interactions. Our messages are received and perceived by unknown audiences. We also have little control over our messages, after we post them. So, how do accommodative motives and relevant outcomes operate in this kind of context?

What is the conclusion?

The basic question in CAT is: how do people adjust their speech in interaction to indicate their attitudes toward their interlocutors? Later, social groups were added to this question. After, CAT has grown in complexity. So, what will CAT look like in the future? The authors suggest that there should be a greater emphasis on the difference that communication accommodation makes to other aspects of social relations. Also, there should be a stronger emphasis on intergroup communication competence. CAT can be used to improve communication in many contexts.