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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 1
Publication Date: January 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/assrj.101.13841.
Shafiullah, M. (2023). Psychocultural Model of Transcultural Communication. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, Vol -
10(1). 537-545.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Psychocultural Model of Transcultural Communication
Mohammed Shafiullah
University of St. Gallen
ABSTRACT
Analysis of the dynamic interplay of philosophical, social, and psychological
processes informs us about the underlying mechanisms of transcultural
communication. The current paper proposes a novel psycho-cultural model based
on an understanding of the interplay of cultural and psychological processes in
communication between cultures. Analysis of the dynamic interplay of
philosophical, social, and psychological processes informs us about the underlying
mechanisms of transcultural communication.
Keywords: Psychocultural, Transcultural, Communication, Model, Distributed Cognition
PSYCHOSOCIAL NETWORK MODEL
To redress the shortfall of established thinking patterns when it comes to international and
intranational contacts this study offers a new interdisciplinary approach to transcultural
communication, cutting across the disciplines of cultural studies and psychology. It examines
the deep structure of transcultural communication from the psycho-cultural perspective by
proposing a new psycho-cultural model based on an understanding of culture as a process
creating normality, meaning, the ability to act through orientation, plausibility, and sense- making (cf. Schütz and Luckmann 1979). The following sections will first outline the new
psycho-cultural model of Chinese business communication; then examine the five fundamental
psycho-cultural domains— (1) indigenous values and practices, (2) attitudes, (3) thought, (4)
emotion and (5) perceptions—respectively; and finally analyse the Chinese perspective on
business contacts in different contexts.
The Psycho-cultural Network Model (PNM) to explain the dynamic network of five fundamental
psycho-cultural domains is essential for the ever-changing processes of business
communication. The psycho-cultural domains include the following: (1) indigenous values and
practices; (2) attitudes to commerce and business communities; (3) thought; (4) emotion; and
(5) perceptions of self and others. They are distributed among the five psycho-cultural domains
as the circulation and storage of descriptive and action-related information units. This study
constitutes a novel attempt to bring the above mentioned five domains together to understand
their interactive effects on communication.
We need an approach equally sensitive to both indigenous and universal elements that can help
us visualise the dynamic interactions of these elements. This paper proposes a new model
called Psycho-cultural Network Model (PNM) to explain the dynamic network of five
fundamental psycho-cultural domains essential for the ever-changing processes of business
communication. The psycho-cultural domains include the following: (1) indigenous values and
practices; (2) attitudes to commerce and business communities; (3) thought; (4) emotion; and
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 1, January-2023
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
(5) perceptions of self and others. Fundamental cognitive processes in memory, attention, and
language do not feature in the PNM as independent domains. They are distributed among the
five psycho-cultural domains as the circulation and storage of descriptive and action-related
information units.
Numerous intercultural studies have separately explored the transcultural specificities and
commonalities of these domains (e.g., Yik, 2010, Bond, 1993; Kulich and Zhang, 2010; Bond,
1996; Kwan et al. 2010; Luk and Bond, 1992; Liu et al. 2010; Chiu, 1972; Nisbett, 2003; Shi-xu,
2006).
This study constitutes a novel attempt to bring the above mentioned five domains together to
understand their interactive effects on communication which aims to create culture in the
context of business settings.
Figure 1. The five fundamental psycho-cultural domains are dynamically interconnected with
each other. The figure shows the individual level network of psycho-cultural domains
presented in the Psycho-cultural Network Model.
The above mentioned five domains correlate to the primarily localised areas of the human
brain. These areas are distributed and overlapped in different parts of the brain. Human
communication demands a network of efficient interaction between these areas. For example,
Platek et al. (2004) reported areas of the brain specifically involved in the processing of the
perception of self and others. Lou et al. (2010) presented a TMS (Transcranial Magnetic
Stimultation) data showing specialised regions of the brain involved in self-awareness.
Rodriguez-Moreno and Hirsch (2009) and Goel and Donal (2004) reported fMRI (functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging) data showing functionally specified yet distributed areas of the
brain responsible for reasoning. Achtziger et al. (2009) reported differentially distributed areas
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Shafiullah, M. (2023). Psychocultural Model of Transcultural Communication. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, Vol - 10(1). 537-545.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.101.13841
of the brain involved in purposeful thinking and daydreaming. Koenigberg et al. (2010)
demonstrated functionally specified areas of the brain for emotional processing. Croft et al.
(2010) reported clinical case studies of patients with brain damage. The results indicated that
two specific parts of the brain are primarily involved in culturally based moral judgement of
strangers. Knustan et al. (2007) reported specified areas of the brain being significantly active
during gender and racial attitudinal processing. Guyer et al. (2009) reported brain areas
specifically involved in forming social attitudes towards other people.
The Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is an innovative technique used in Cognitive
Neuroscience. Strong magnetic fields are beamed to localized parts of the brain to interfere with
their normal neural activities. This interference demonstrates the functional specialization of
the different parts of the brain.
This interconnected network of psycho-cultural units’ functions on both the individual and
group levels. The networks of individual level units are subordinate to the group level units.
The cluster of individual level networks interacts with the group level network of a particular
group. The inclusion of functionally separate units for the individual and the group is coherent
with the importance of the individual level relationships and trust building in any group
communication and negotiation (March and Wu, 2007). Western models of communication
largely ignore the relationship development on an individual level while favouring group level
interactions.
Figure 2. At the group level each domain-specific psycho-cultural unit for each individual
interconnects to others in the group. Key: A = attitude; E = emotion; IVP = indigenous values
and practices; P = perception of self and others; T = thought.