intercultural communication an interdisciplinary approach when neurons
and evolution joined the discourse
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Complete Samenvatting Van Het Boek Intercultural Communication: An Interdisciplinary Approach, ISBN: 9789462985414 Cross Cultural Awareness
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Summary Intercultural
Communication
Chapter 1: The Survival of the most Cultured
Humans are a part of the environment. They are not victims of the environment (determinism) and
do not force on the environment (possibilism). Culture is here a strategy to interact with nature.
There are subgroups in cultures because culture is a surviving mechanism; people can steal your
innovative ideas, which means that you are at greater vulnerability. So, you only share your
information with the people around you; and there you have a subgroup. You can also make sure to
communicate with the person and work together.
Language is used as a regulator, to keep your ideas within your group and negotiate with other
languages.
When we see similarity in a person from another group, we assume they have the same coping
strategies and that we therefore can trust them. This is called the ingroup bias: we favour persons of
our ingroup.
Paragraph 1.3
Genes are still needed, even though there is a power transition from genes to culture. Genes are still
needed because they turn cultural values into genetic traits and vice versa. The gene-culture co-
evolution theory states that culture determines the expression of genes, genes influence the
formation of cultural values.
The interaction of culture and genes is a circle:
- if it is in the culture long enough, it will become in the genes
- genetic traits will enforce certain cultural aspects that would not have come up without genes.
Neural functions in the brain are shaped by culture. This is also why you can have a hard time when
you are exposed to a totally new culture.
Neurons are connected with each other by synapse clefts. This is an open
space between the neurons where in an axon (the end of the neuron) sends
neurotransmitters to the dendrites (beginning of the neuron) of the other
neuron.
How we remember when we practice over and over again:
every time you practice, more neurotransmitters will be sent through the synapse cleft. Because
there are more neurotransmitters, there also have to be more station for the neurotransmitters to
arrive in. these stations are called receptors. the more receptors, the bigger the neuron will get and
the more information you can remember.
To support the neuron, glia cells will create a protective layer around the axon, so that information
can travel faster.
Also, the neurons will be physically closer to each other, reducing the synapse cleft.
The thoughts you do not think about every day will disappear. Every synapse connection that is not
used frequently is marked by a protein. When you sleep, more than half of your brain cells (60%)
shrink so that other can grow. The synapse connections that are marked by a protein also disappear.
,This growing and deleting means that our brain has plasticity: it can develop. Because our brain has
plasticity, we can understand and know multiple cultures in our mind. This means you can adapt to a
new culture.
Brains do not have a female form and a male form, but there are some distinctions. These
differences between the brains of the gender depart from cultural differences. As the brain can
constantly evolve, cultural influences depend how the brain is developed.
Our genes influence our behaviour via DNA, but our behaviour also is able to change DNA. The
behavioural epigenetics tries to answer the question how nurture shapes nature. Everything we
see, do and experience can shape our DNA: if you have a trauma, you will most likely have kids
with a higher level of stress hormones.
By social learning, our behavior reflects and reshapes cultural values.
there are 5 factors that explain the diversity between cultures:
1. Environment
shapes diversity and is shaped by culture and behavior
2. Genes
control behavior but evolve with culture.
3. Brain
grows as the culture and environment demands
4. Behaviour
guided by culture but also changes culture and genes
5. Culture
humans make culture and are made by culture.
All these factors are multidimensional.
Paragraph 1.4
The better the environment, the higher the chances are on subgroups, as they don’t need a lot of
sharing to survive. But also, big groups seemed to work. No matter what the environment is, a good
management of the nature can lead to the dividing and merging of groups.
Recent studies have found that the nature of humans is good; we want to live in groups. However,
for us to live peacefully, we are aggressive against other groups. (this is why a lot of scientists always
thought the nature of humans was bad.) War is supposed to be necessary in order to live peacefully
(ironic isn’t it?)
Because of cultural differences and that we have to cooperate with people totally different from us,
is has become our instinct to welcome strangers into our group.
The caring economy is the new economy that shifts from industrial to post-industrial and that we
want a healthier world. Because of this economy, the ingroups have become bigger and bigger,
leading to globalization: ‘the ultimate stage of a cultural adaption process that endows with the
psychological capacity to cope with effective resource management, diversity and other problems in
the course of existence.’. technology is a great influence in the development of globalization. The
speed of change is now very high. Toffler came with the ‘future shock’ which happens if there is too
much changing it a short period of time.
, Culture thus leads us to be diverse while at the same time cooperate.
Chapter 2: The Evolving Culture
There are 3 parts of culture:
1. Fundamental concerns
2. Values
3. Outward expressions
These parts can be seen as a tree: the fundamental concerns are the trunk and the roots; the values
are the branches and the outward expressions are the twigs and leaves.
1. Fundamental concerns
The fundamental concerns are the foundations of our culture. They are universal features
that do not directly affect our survival but enhance our being and doing, which makes the
chances of survival bigger. Examples of fundamental concerns are hope and negotiation,
which are found in religion and language.
2. Values
Our values show our fundamental concerns. To indicate these, one should ask ‘How
important is X in a society?’.
3. Outward expressions
the outward expressions of fundamental concerns and values are object, symbols and
behaviour and are always visible.
Theories on the speed and nature of cultural change have 2 ways:
The static paradigm
culture is stable. Because the whole world changes at the same speed, it relatively stays the
same (in comparison to the rest).
The dynamic paradigm
Culture is dynamic. Culture develops under the influence of humans and we think this theory
is true.
The context can predict the change in culture. We want to know what culture is and how it responds.
Every culture is paradoxical, as there are always aspects of both sides in every culture. (The
Americans see British as neat; we see them as hooligans)
Culture as situated cognition: when one side of the paradox is activated and influences individuals.
The context determines this by activating particular neurons. From this we can derive that we have a
multi-cultural mind: in our head we are more than 1 culture.
When a stimulus enters our minds, it goes to both the cerebral cortex and the amygdala (emotion).
The amygdala decides whether or not we like the stimulus, even before the cerebral cortex can figure
out what it actually is.
Our minds work in binary ways: it is either 0 or 1, but the world is often both. Think: individual vs
collective but cultures can be both.
Culture is dynamic, but also stable in a way. Fundamental concerns change the least and the slowest.
Values a bit faster and our outward expressions the most.
The values are expressed by the outward expressions, but from studying the outward expressions we
cannot see the complete value. That is why you also need to study the values and concerns.
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