Abstract
This book aims to take a step further towards constructing the developmental theoretical model of intercultural dynamics. We start our consideration by recognising that contemporary intercultural psychology faces the necessity to overcome methodological and conceptual reductionism of mainstream acculturation research tradition, which considers mental states and cultural elements as static ontological entities and is essentially non-developmental (Gamsakhurdia, 2018, 2019a). In our quest to reflect the developmental features, we get inspiration from classic and contemporary anthropsychological studies of the dynamics of cultural diffusion, which provide an interesting basis for understanding how people make sense of unfamiliar foreign data. However, Bartletian and Moscovician views cover only certain parts/level of intercultural mental dynamics, and it is necessary to advance towards the more comprehensive reflection of the holistic and systemic organisation of the self and cultures interrelationship.
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Notes
- 1.
As far as we know for the moment.
- 2.
Similar idea is considered by Luca Tateo who elaborates on the concept of “semiotic horizon” from semiotic-philosophical perspective; however, as I aim to stay in the frame of Vygotskyan terminology and achieve conceptual continuity with Spear-Ellinwood’s approach, I tend to use the concept of “zone of distant development”.
- 3.
In multicultural environments this structure might involve more dimensions.
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Gamsakhurdia, V.L. (2022). Introduction: Towards a Developmental and Systemic Understanding of Intercultural Mental Dynamics. In: A Theory of Proculturation. SpringerBriefs in Psychology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06301-5_1
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