Applying a Critical Metatheoretical Approach to Intercultural16 Relations: The Case of U.S.–Japanese Communication

U.S. Americans scholars initially researched U.S.–Japanese communication in the 1970s (Condon & Saito, 1974, 1976; Barnlund, 1975). They emphasized differences in patterns of self-disclosure and in values between members of the two cultures. Since that time, the research approach to U.S.–Japanese communication has hardly changed. Intercultural scholars still focus on cultural differences between the two nations along dimensions such as individualism/collectivism (Yamaguchi, 1994).