A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Communication Orientations between Americans and Taiwanese

This study investigated the differences in communication orientations between Taiwanese and Americans. To this end, a total of 615 undergraduates studying in Taiwan (n = 311) and the United States (n = 304) participated in this study. Participants filled out a battery of questionnaires, including the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, Willingness to Communicate scale, Self-Perceived Communication Competence scale, Argumentativeness scale, and General Disclosiveness scale. The results indicated that Taiwanese are more apprehensive and less willing to communicate, and have lower self-perceived competence in communication and argumentativeness than Americans. The amount and depth of self-disclosure are higher among Taiwanese than Americans. The largest communication difference between these two groups concerns willingness to communicate. In addition, the magnitude of gender differences in communication is slightly higher among Americans than Taiwanese. The implications of these findings were further discussed.