Conceptualizations of Friendship Between Chinese International Students and U.S. Nationals
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Conceptualizations of Friendship between Chinese International Students and U.S. Nationals by Yijia Huang, B. A. A Thesis in Communication Studies Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved Amy N. Heuman Chairperson of the Committee Bolanle Olaniran Narissra Punyanunt-Carter Fred Hartmeister Dean of the Graduate School December, 2008 Texas Tech University, Yijia Huang, December, 2008 Table of Contents Abstract...........................................................................................................................v Chapters I. Introduction..................................................................................................................1 Research Questions..................................................................................................5 Terminology ............................................................................................................5 Organization of Chapters .........................................................................................8 II. Literature Review......................................................................................................10 Overview ...............................................................................................................10 Friendship Formation.............................................................................................11 Friendship Patterns.................................................................................................13 Friendship Patterns in the United States .............................................................13 Friendship Patterns in China ..............................................................................16 Cultural Variations.................................................................................................18 Intercultural Adaptation .........................................................................................23 Conclusion.............................................................................................................26 III. Methodology ...........................................................................................................29 Participants ............................................................................................................29 Procedures .............................................................................................................31 Data Analysis.........................................................................................................32 IV. Friendship Conceptualization...................................................................................35 Level of Friendship ................................................................................................36 Best friends........................................................................................................37 ii Texas Tech University, Yijia Huang, December, 2008 Chinese conceptualizations of best friends......................................................38 U.S. conceptualizations of best friends. ..........................................................39 Close Friends .....................................................................................................41 Chinese conceptualizations of close friends....................................................42 U.S. conceptualization of close friends...........................................................43 Casual friends ....................................................................................................44 Acquaintances....................................................................................................45 Functions of Friendship..........................................................................................47 “Help” in Chinese Friendship.............................................................................47 Quality of friendship ..............................................................................................50 Socially Constrained vs. Socially Mobile ...........................................................50 Long-term vs. Short-term Friendship..................................................................52 Individualism vs. Collectivism ...........................................................................54 Direct vs. Indirect...............................................................................................56 Forgiveness vs. Remembrance ...........................................................................57 Communicative Challenges....................................................................................59 Communicative Challenges of Chinese students.................................................59 Communicative Challenges of U.S nationals......................................................64 V. Implications and Future Directions............................................................................69 Implications of the Current Research .....................................................................69 Advice from Participants........................................................................................72 Advice to Americans..........................................................................................72 Proactively pursue friendship. ........................................................................72 Understand the special situation of Chinese students. .....................................73 Show an interest in Chinese culture................................................................73 Be tolerant to the cultural differences. ............................................................74 Advice to Chinese..............................................................................................74 iii Texas Tech University, Yijia Huang, December, 2008 Build up confidence. ......................................................................................74 Be willing to adjust to American culture.........................................................75 Improve communication skills........................................................................76 Limitations and Future Directions ..........................................................................77 Conclusion.............................................................................................................80 References.....................................................................................................................81 Appendices A. Consent form ............................................................................................................93 B. Preliminary Questionnaire – Chinese Participants .....................................................95 C. Preliminary Questionnaire – U.S. Participants...........................................................98 D. Interview Guide – Chinese participants...................................................................101 E. Interview Guide – U.S. Participants........................................................................103 F. Description of Participants......................................................................................105 iv Texas Tech University, Yijia Huang, December, 2008 Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study is to add to the understanding of intercultural friendships between Chinese students and United States nationals. The following research questions are posed: 1) How do Chinese international students and U.S. nationals conceptualize friendship, 2) how do these conceptualizations of friendship impact intercultural relationships of Chinese international students and U.S. nationals, 3) what types of communicative challenges do Chinese students face in developing friendship with U.S. nationals, and vice versa, and 4) what other factors hinder Chinese international students from making friends with U.S. nationals, and vice versa? Twenty-two Chinese international students and U.S. nationals participated in in-depth interviews. The results revealed friendship conceptualizations in both Chinese and U.S. cultures from three main aspects: level of friendship, function of friendship, and quality of friendship. The study also explores future directions for research in the areas of intercultural friendship. v Texas Tech University, Yijia Huang, December, 2008 Chapter I Introduction This current study is significant for a number of reasons. First, with the growing number of Chinese international students in American universities, research is needed to investigate their interpersonal relationships with people in the host culture. Second, although intercultural friendship has been discussed in several disciplines, few studies have focused specifically on students who are originally from a Chinese culture and study in American universities. Therefore, this paper aims to specify this particular group of ethnic students. Third, considering the definition and experience of friendship vary from person to person, qualitative research provides the possibility to discover various meanings of friendships. Fourth, the current study takes both Chinese students and U.S. nationals’ perspectives of developing friendships. Both Chinese and U.S. concepts of friendship are investigated. With the increasing internationalization and globalization of the world,