Intergenerational Communication and Age Boundaries in Mongolia and the United States

Abstract

This article examines Mongolian and American young adults' perceptions of prior experiences of intergenerational communication. Irrespective of culture, as age of targets increased from young adulthood to older adulthood, so did attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; conversely, stereotypes of personal vitality decreased linearly. Mongolian youth expressed more stereotypic personal vitality and less normative politeness, yet more normative deference and less communicative avoidance toward older adults. In addition, differences were revealed across the nations with regard to when young adulthood and middle age begins and ends, and when elderliness begins.

Keywords:

• Age Norms
• Age Stereotypes
• Aging/Intergenerational Communication
• Communication Accommodation Theory
• Intercultural Communication

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Tamara Afifi and Rene Weber for their comments and assistance in this article, and to both Christine Park and Tulga Enhbaatar, in Mongolia, for their assistance in the data collection process.

Notes

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

The findings were only modestly impacted by gender to the extent that women were found to generally be less interpersonally avoidant and more socially normative.

To obtain the details of the questionnaire please contact the first author.

An associate of the first author translated the questionnaire into Mongolian. Tulga Enhbaatar is an ethnic Mongolian businessman who has been educated in the United States and currently operates a tourism company throughout Mongolia.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charles W. Choi

Charles W. Choi (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2010) is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Arts Department, George Fox University.

Gholam Hassan Khajavy

Gholam Hassan Khajavy (MA, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, 2012) is a PhD candidate of TEFL at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

Howard Giles

Howard Giles (PhD, DSc, University of Bristol, England, 1971, 1996) is a Professor in the Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Christopher Hajek

Christopher Hajek (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2003) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Texas, San Antonio.