Communication Accommodation Theory

Communication is all-pervasive, and it enables all things possible in our social world. It is both process and outcome. In the process of communicating with one another, people manage and negotiate identities and relationships with one another. In interpersonal and intergroup encounters, individuals generally adjust communicative behaviors to each other verbally and nonverbally so that they can have successful communication outcomes. Intergroup communication includes group membership–based communication; hence, it includes intercultural communication and requires intercultural competence. Broadly stated, interpersonal and intergroup situations are the two primary contexts of communication in everyday life. Communication accommodation theory (CAT) provides a theoretical explanation of how and why individuals accommodate (adjust) to each other in both interpersonal and intergroup contexts. CAT explicates social, psychological, and communication processes to promote ...