Nakane's Theory and Communication

Introduction

  • Chie Nakane's theory has helped me make sense of much of what I have experienced at KGU. I hope it helps you too.

  • My primary purpose is to explain some comunicative tendiecies of Japanese students and suggest some strategies for dealing with them. In the process, I hope to shed some light on the nature of Japanese universities.

Nakane's Theory

  • We can identify ourselves by either frame or attribute.

  • Japanese society is characterized by stress on frame as opposed to attribute.

Structural reinforcement

  • "Enterprise unions" illustrate the emphasis on frame.

  • The threat that attribute poses to the integrity of the frame is literally "contained."

  • Lifetime employment also strengthens frame.

  • This is further reinforced by the practice of intraorganizational transfers.

Affective reinforcement

  • Initiation ceremonies foster a general sense of membership.

  • This is very different from a job description.

  • Parties and trips reinforce a feeling of belonging.

Hierarchy and authority

  • The hierarchy is organized primarily by seniority, not merit.

  • Stress on merit, an attribute, might threaten the frame.

  • Weak leaders take care of subordinates in exchange for help from them.

Implications for Communication

Maintaining appearances

  • Language patterns require speakers to constantly "pay homage" to the leader.

  • Opinions are often expressed in private.

  • Ambiguity and subtle expressions allow alert listeners to catch a speaker's drift, while providing the speaker with plausible deniability.

Controlling logic

  • Emotional intelligence (EQ) is often more important than adherence to abstract rules of logic.

  • Here too, maintaining appearances is paramount.

  • Idealization of logic is idealization of the perspective of the outsider and hence anathema to the frame.

  • The listerner's habit of reading a great deal into each statement makes "thinking aloud" difficult and dangerous. (A "particularistic" world view makes abstraction difficult.)

  • Thus, emphasis on frame leads to:

    • concern about how one's statements will be interpreted by others;

    • need to become acquainted with others before communicating;

    • preference for ambiguous statements;

    • tendency to take criticism personally;

    • hesitancy to disagree openly with others;

    • inclination to consider ideas carefully before voicing them;

    • a disinclination to think in abstract or purely logical terms.

HOME