Communication correlates of individualism and collectivism - Talk directedat one or more addressees in family conversations

Conversations in 12 European and 12 Chinese families in New Zealand were re corded and a sample of 15,988 turns of talk was coded under single- and mul tiaddressee turns. As predicted, the two types of turns varied with cultura l individualism/collectivism in. both inter- and subcultural comparisons. S ingle-addressee turns were more common in European (individualistic) than i n Chinese (collectivistic) families, and in high (individualistic) than in low (collectivistic) acculturated Chinese families; the reverse was true fo r multiaddressee turns. The predicted relationship was confirmed by an indi vidual-level comparison: Members of Chinese families who were highly accult urated used more single- and fewer multiaddressee turns when compared with less highly acculturated members. This relationship was unaffected by langu age (English or Chinese) or age of family members. In a separate analysis o f the effect of turn types on turn taking, it was found that multiaddressee turns were associated with more false starts (two or more members started talking simultaneously). Implications of the results for cross-cultural and communication research were discussed.