The Intercultural Mind

"A fascinating and important book about understanding cross-culturalism. Lively, well-written, incisive, and fun to read." - Robert Whiting, Pulitzer Prize nominee and bestselling author of Tokyo Underworld In this pioneering book, Joseph Shaules presents exciting new research from cultural psychology and neuroscience. It sheds light on the hidden influence of culture on the unconscious mind, and helps people get more out of their intercultural journeys. The Intercultural Mind presents new perspectives on important questions such as: What is culture shock, and how does it affect us? Why are we blind to our own cultural conditioning? Can cultural differences be measured? What does it mean to have an international mindset? Illustrated with a wealth of examples and memorable stories, The Intercultural Mind is a fascinating look at how intercultural experiences can transform the geography of our minds.

There is an odd contradiction at the heart of language and culture learning: Language and culture are, so to speak, two sides of a single coin—language reflects the thinking, values and worldview of its speakers. Despite this, there is a persistent split between language and culture in the classroom. Foreign language pedagogy is often conceptualized in terms of gaining knowledge and practicing skills, while cultural learning goals are often conceptualized in abstract terms, such as awareness or criticality. This book helps resolve this dilemma. Informed by brain and mind sciences, its core message is that language and culture learning can both be seen as a single, interrelated process—the embodiment of dynamic systems of meaning into the intuitive mind. This deep learning process is detailed in the form of the Developmental Model of Linguaculture Learning (DMLL). Grounded in dynamic skill theory, the DMLL describes four developmental levels of language and culture learning, which represents a subtle, yet important shift in language and culture pedagogy. Rather than asking how to add culture into language education, we should be seeking ways to make language and culture learning deeper—more integrated, embodied, experiential and transformational. This book provides a theoretical approach, including practical examples, for doing so.

This breakthrough volume brings together cultural neuroscience and intercultural relations in an expansive presentation. Its selected topics in reasoning, memory, and other key cognitive areas bridge the neuroscience behind culture-related phenomena with the complex social processes involved in seeing the world through the perspective of others. Coverage ranges beyond the familiar paradigms of acculturation and cultural differences to propose new ideas of potential benefit to the new generation of immigrants, negotiators, executives, and other travelers. Taken together, these chapters offer a deeper understanding of issues that can only become more important as the world becomes smaller and our global family larger. Among the topics featured: Intergroup relationship and empathy for others' pain: a social neuroscience approach. The neuroscience of bilingualism: cross-linguistic influences and cognitive effects. Cross-cultural reading the mind in the eyes and its consequences for international relations. Implications of behavioral and neuroscience research for cross-cultural training. Intercultural relations and the perceptual brain: a cognitive neuroscience perspective. How social dynamics shape our understanding of reality. With its elegant perspectives and empirical depth, Neuroscience in Intercultural Contexts is a forward-looking reference for researchers in the cultural sciences (cross-cultural psychologists, anthropologists, etc.) and in social, affective, and cognitive neuroscience.

Cross-Cultural Management: With Insights from Brain Science explores a broad range of topics on the impact of culture in international business and vice versa, and the impact of businesses and individuals in shaping a culture. It provides critical and in-depth information on globalization, global/glocal leadership, cross-cultural marketing, and cross-cultural negotiation. It also discusses many other topics that are not typically found in the mainstream management textbooks such as diversity management, bias management, cross-cultural motivation strategies, and change management. While most literature in the field is dominated by the static paradigm, that is, culture is fixed, nation equates to culture, and values are binary, this book takes a different approach. It regards national values as a first-best-guess and balances it with an introduction of the dynamic paradigm. This school of thought posits that culture is not static, context is the software of the mind, opposing values coexist, change is constant, and individuals can develop a multicultural mind. A unique feature of this book is the contribution of an interdisciplinary approach. It’s the first textbook of cross-cultural management that incorporates latest findings from the emerging discipline of cultural neuroscience and evolutionary biology in the discussion. Such a holistic approach is meant to help readers gain a deeper and broader understanding of the subjects.

"This book presents a structured yet flexible methodology for developing intercultural competence in a variety of contexts, both formal and informal. Piloted around the world by UNESCO, this methodology has proven to be effective in a range of different contexts and focused on a variety of different issues. It therefore can be considered an important resource for anyone concerned with effectively managing the growing cultural diversity within our societies to ensure inclusive and sustainable development. Intercultural competence refers to the skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to improve interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity, and so on) or across borders. The book serves as a tool to develop those competences, presenting an innovative adaptation of what could be considered an ancient tradition of storytelling found in many cultures. Through engaging in the methodology, participants develop key elements of intercultural competence including greater self-awareness, openness, respect, reflexivity, empathy, increased awareness of others, and in the end, greater cultural humility. This book will be of great interest to intercultural trainers, policymakers, development practitioners, educators, community organizers, civil society leaders, university lecturers and students -- all who are interested in developing intercultural competence as a means to understand and appreciate difference, develop relationships with those across difference, engage in intercultural dialogue and bridge societal divides"--

A young Korean girl and her family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.

Books on intercultural communication are rarely written with an intercultural readership in mind. In contrast, this multinational team of authors has put together an introduction to communicating across cultures that uses examples and case studies from around the world. The book further covers essential new topics, including international conflict, social networking, migration, and the effects technology and mass media play in the globalization of communication. Written to be accessible for international students too, this text situates communication theory in a truly global perspective. Each chapter brings to life the links between theory and practice and between the global and the local, introducing key theories and their practical applications. Along the way, you will be supported with first-rate learning resources, including: • theory corners with concise, boxed-out digests of key theoretical concepts • case illustrations putting the main points of each chapter into context • learning objectives, discussion questions, key terms and further reading framing each chapter and stimulating further discussion • a companion website containing resources for instructors, including multiple choice questions, presentation slides, exercises and activities, and teaching notes. This book will not merely guide you to success in your studies, but will teach you to become a more critical consumer of information and understand the influence of your own culture on how you view yourself and others.

This is a straightforward guide to understanding the hidden cultural challenges of adapting to life abroad. Combining intercultural theory with the lived experiences of sojourners, it reviews key concepts, introduces a cultural learning model, explains hidden barriers to intercultural sensitivity, and brings clarity to debates about globalization and cultural difference. This is an essential resource for sojourners and educators. It presents a clear model for understanding intercultural adaptation. It uses sojourners' experiences to illustrate intercultural learning.