"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 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.

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 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.

In The Japanese Mind, Roger Davies offers Westerners an invaluable key to the unique aspects of Japanese culture. Readers of this book will gain a clear understanding of what makes the Japanese, and their society, tick. Among the topics explored: aimai (ambiguity), amae (dependence upon others' benevolence), amakudari (the nation's descent from heaven), chinmoku (silence in communication), gambari (perseverance), giri (social obligation), haragei (literally, "belly art"; implicit, unspoken communication), kenkyo (the appearance of modesty), sempai-kohai (seniority), wabi-sabi (simplicity and elegance), and zoto (gift giving), as well as discussions of child-rearing, personal space, and the roles of women in Japanese society. It includes discussion topics and questions after each chapter. All in all, this book is an easy-to-use introduction to the distinguishing characteristics of Japanese society; an invaluable resource for anyone--business people, travelers, or students--perfect for course adoption, but also for anyone interested in Japanese culture. Next in this series: Now available separately, Japanese Culture: The Religious and Philosophical Foundations is a fascinating journey through Japan's rich cultural history.

Duane Elmer offers the tools needed to reduce apprehension, communicate effectively and establish genuine trust and acceptance between cultures while demonstrating how we can avoid being cultural imperialists and instead become authentic ambassadors for Christ.