Self-construals and conversational indirectness: A Dutch perspective

Individuals of different cultures vary in terms of how they use language in verbal interactions. In a previous study by Hara and Kim [(2004). The effect of self-construals on conversational indirectness. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28, 1–18] it was found that people's self-construals were related to the expression and interpretation of verbal messages. Their findings showed a positive relation between people with more interdependent self-construals and more indirectness in conversations, while the relation between people with more independent self-construals and the tendency to speak indirectly was negative. A limitation of their study was that it relied solely on data from students taking courses on speech communication. Moreover, to enhance cross-cultural validity of their results data should be gathered among people of other ethnic backgrounds as well. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study was to replicate their findings by making use of another kind of student sample within a different culture. A total of 548 students at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, participated in this study. In general, the results confirmed the previous findings by Hara and Kim [(2004). The effect of self-construals on conversational indirectness. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28, 1–18], enhancing the cross-cultural validity of the relation between self-construals and conversational indirectness. However, while Hara and Kim [(2004). The effect of self-construals on conversational indirectness. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28, 1–18] could not establish a relation between independent self-construal and indirectness in interpreting verbal messages, in this study a positive relation was found. Possible explanations for these contradictory results are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.