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21 - Perceptual Representation

An Etic Observational Category for Guiding Intercultural Communication Adaptation

from Part IV - New Interdisciplinary Approaches to Intercultural Training

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Milton J. Bennett
Edited by
Dan Landis  and
Dharm P. S. Bhawuk
Dan Landis
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii, Hilo
Dharm P. S. Bhawuk
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii, Manoa
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Summary

Building on concepts introduced by Edward Stewart in the original 1971 edition of American Cultural Patterns: A Cross-Cultural Perspective and expanded by Milton Bennett and him in its 1991 revision, this chapter presents an observational framework for comparing typical forms of “perceptual representation” among a broad range of regional cultural groupings. The underlying idea is that sensory stimuli can be experienced at various levels of abstraction, and cultural groups that need to coordinate meaning and action will represent experience in ways that systematically differ from some other groups. The labeling of different modes of perceptual representation is presented as an etic observational category, which means that the category is not suitable for describing single cultures or individuals. Etic categories allow observation of the interaction among cultures – both the abstract dynamic of contrasting cultural patterns and the concrete interactional space that is opened when people with different cultural worldviews attempt to communicate. For intercultural professionals, etic categories allow useful comparisons among cultural worldviews for purposes of training and coaching. For participants in cross-cultural encounters, etic categories can form doorways into the experience of alternative worldviews. That empathic experience allows events to be perceived differently and the resulting alternative experience to guide more interculturally adaptive behavior.

Keywords

intercultural communicationcross-cultural communicationcross-cultural perceptionintercultural experienceintercultural sensitivityperceptual stylecommunication stylecognitive style
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Intercultural Training , pp. 617 - 639
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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