American and South Korean Engineering Students’ Communication Motives and Their Student–Instructor Communication Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to compare American and South Korean engineering students’ motives (i.e., relational, functional, excuse-making, participatory, and sycophantic) for communicating with their instructors and their student–instructor communication satisfaction. The second purpose was to examine the extent to which both American and South Korean engineering students’ motives for communicating with their instructors are related to their student–instructor communication satisfaction. Undergraduate students (N = 168) recruited from public universities in the United States and South Korea participated in this study. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), an independent sample t-tests, a series of zero-order Pearson correlational analyses, and Fisher z-tests revealed significant cultural differences and that the relationship between students’ communication motives and their student–instructor communication satisfaction largely are consistent between the two cultures.

Keywords:

• Communication Motives
• Communication Satisfaction
• Culture
• South Korea
• Engineering Students