Communication accommodation theory (CAT) attempts to explain how and why people adjust their communicative behaviors dependent on the actions of others (Giles, 2016). Factors of communication accommodation include verbal actions, such as accent, speech rate, loudness, vocabulary, grammar, and voice, and gestures, such as posture, arm movement, and hand movement (Dragojevic et al., 2015). People may accommodate their communicative behaviors to set a specific image, such as receiving approval and setting a positive image in front of the other party.
CAT puts forth there are two types of accommodation processes: convergence and divergence (Gallois et al., 2005). Convergence is the process by which a person adapts or makes a mutual adjustment to another’s communicative behaviors in order to reduce social differences (Giles & Gasiorek, 2013). Divergence is the process by which a person contradicts or moves apart from another’s communicative behaviors in order to emphasize any social differences (Giles & Gasiorek, 2013). Convergence and divergence can be mutual or nonmutual (Littlejohn & Foss, 2009). Mutual divergence occurs when both communicators come together or go apart mutually (Littlejohn et al., 2021). Nonmutual divergence occurs when one person attempts to converge while the other chooses to diverge (Littlejohn et al., 2021).
References
Dragojevic, M., Gasiorek, J., & Giles, H. (2015). Communication accommodation theory. The international encyclopedia of interpersonal communication, 1-21.
Gallois, C., Ogay, T., & Giles, H. (2005). Communication accommodation theory: A look back and a look ahead. In Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 121-148). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Giles, H. (Ed.). (2016). Communication accommodation theory: Negotiating personal relationships and social identities across contexts. Cambridge University Press.
Giles, H., & Gasiorek, J. (2013). Parameters of non-accommodation: Refining and elaborating communication accommodation theory. Social cognition and communication, 155-172.
Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2009). Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. SAGE Publications.
Littlejohn, S. W., Foss, K. A., & Oetzel, J. G. (2021). Theories of human communication. Waveland Press, Inc.
Hayden Coombs 