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2. pleasure, 5. action.
3. attitude influence,

COMMUNICATION CONTEXTS
Communication is influenced by the context in which it occurs. There are several
dimentions of context, including numerical, physical, social, chronological, and
cultural.

Numerical background contexts:
1) two-person, 4) public,
2) interviewing, 5) organizational, and
3) small-group, 6) mass communication.

While each of these contexts has some particular characteristics, all six share in
common the process of creating a meaning between people. And all six may involve
intercultural communication.
Two-person or dyadic communication, the basic unit of communication, includes
most of the informal, everyday exchanges that we engage from morning till night. This
communication involves a lot of very informal and superficial and at the same time intimate
relationships.
Interviewing usually involves two people and is considered a special form of dyadic
communication. It can be defined as a process of dyadic, relational communication with a
predetermined purpose designed to interchange behavior and involving the asking and
answering of questions". It is more targeted toward accomplishing a specific purpose.
Since it is a stylized form of communication, there are specific techniques to accomplish the
interviewer's purpose.
Small-group communication is defined as "face-to-face communication among a
small group of people who share a common purpose or goal, feel a sense of belonging to
the group, and exert influence upon one another" (Beebe and Masterson).
Public communication is often referred to as public speaking. It occurs in public
places. It is relatively formal and structured. It is usually planned in advance. There are
relatively clear-cut behavioral norms.
Organizational communication is defined as "the flow of messages within a network
of interdependent relationships" (Goldhaber, 1990: 11). Pace (1982) states:
Incomplete or unorganized information places a heavy strain on the ability of
people… Their performance of a job depends on having the necessary
information…
Mass communication involves communication that is mediated. Mediated
encounters differ from personal encounters. The source of a message communicates
through print or electronic media. The message is intended for mass. It is the most formal
and expensive. Feedback is severely limited. The audience is large, heterogeneous, and
anonymous to the source. Communication experience is characterized as public, rapid, and
fleeting.
Intercultural communication occurs between members of different cultures. Culture
is a way of life developed and shared by a group of people and passed down from
generation to generation. "Whenever the parties of a communication act bring with them
different experiential backgrounds that reflect a longstanding deposit of group experience,