The United States is a very diverse country filled with many cultures and ethnicities that interact with each other daily. Professionals, such as police officers, doctors, and the public in general, feel obligated to modify and adapt their communication with those they are interacting with. At times these accommodators are triumphal but there are those that deem their attempt as disgraceful and offensive. I shall explore deeper into the Communication Accommodation Theory in order to obtain a more complete understanding. This communication theory research paper will identify the theorist, his educational and professional background, along with other contributions that he has made. It will define the theory and explain it using tangible examples. …show more content…
Giles created the Communication Accommodation Theory. He outlines this theory as “when we do this [communication accommodation], how we do this, how we make our adjustments, why we make our adjustments and the social consequences of making those adjustments” (Ledbetter, 2014). More specifically () describes the communication accommodation as “… cognitive reasons for code-switching and other changes in communication as individuals seek to emphasize or minimize the social differences between themselves and their interlocutors” (). Communication accommodation can be made verbally and nonverbally, some examples of accommodating may be through terminology, accent, and fashion trend. If the communication is successful, it can then result in both parties demolishing social disparities and create closeness among themselves. In contrast, if the recipient of the accommodation feels insulted or degraded by a negative accommodation, it will result in dissociation. Giles describes the misconception of the communication accommodation theory “as the most interesting part of the theory” (Ledbetter 2014). Unfortunately, many of use assume we are accommodating effectively towards others but in reality we normally fail. Without a question, it t surprised me to hear Dr. Giles inform his interviewer how he became interested in communication accommodation, he responded “on the first year of graduate school my mentor said I needed a theory” (Ledbetter, 2014). Communication accommodation encompasses convergence, which can be described as intertwining in order to be socially embraced. Unlike convergence, divergence refers to a person differentiating themselves. Dr. Giles jokingly expresses the need for him to deviate from communication accommodation “otherwise it will drive me crazy”. (Ledbetter 2014) He does emphasize being on guard when an encounter calls for accommodation. It is necessary to carefully impose communication accommodation in situations where