Proculturation: Self-reconstruction by making “fusion cocktails” of alien and familiar meanings

Abstract

This paper considers mental processes unfolding during humans’ movement in a foreign environment and aims to overcome theoretical discrepancies concerning culture and acculturation between sociocultural anthropology and cross-cultural psychology under the frame of cultural psychology. I propose to perceive culture as a multi-self-centered semiotic field, which is populated by signs and meanings, necessarily emphasizing its heterogeneity and incoherence. Cultures have hazy boundaries and are embedded into the wider web of meanings. In fact, there is one big global culture and all humans are involved in mediating it through intersubjective interactions. Further, the term proculturation is used to fill the gaps left by mainstream acculturation research, which has been mainly oriented on measuring ontologized trait-like characteristics in terms of bidimensional mechanic relationship between cultures and related correlations. Namely, proculturation specifically reflects real-life human experiences and the role of (inter)subjectivity in the process of adaptation in emigration or elsewhere in any unfamiliar environment. Most importantly proculturation implies triadic semiotic relations and the possibility of the creation of novel fusions of meanings, by mixing various ingredients in the process of mediation between familiar and unfamiliar ideas and experiences. Proculturation is catalytically conditioned by references to temporal dimensions and essentially is ever-continuing process.

Parallelization: the Fourth Leg of Cultural Globalization Theory

“…Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to not stress the interdependence of these processes and peoples (Riesebrodt 2014 ). That these individuals and groups interact and influence each other is likely, why the hybrid or proculturation potential is present (Pieterse 2015 ; Gamsakhurdia 2019 ). The main point is that the two major patterns, regardless of outcome at a later step, are parallel.…”

Overcoming the Binary Logic in Biculturalism

“…Although the sense of belonging is an inherent aspect in the just-described models, it has received less attention as a concept on its own in acculturation and bicultural identity research (Murdock, this volume). Also, these theories have not provided explanations for underlying processes of how people actually develop a sense of belonging when migrating (Gamsakhurdia, 2019).…”

Culture & Psychology: 25 Constructive years

“…The newest innovation in Culture & Psychology is the emerging theory of proculturation (Gamsakhurdia, 2018, 2019). It is an extension from the well-established discourses on acculturation which have been limited by the notion of adaptation to the given social system.…”

“…The task of proculturation studies should be the identification of those particular experiences (mediation of particular unfamiliar signs) which contribute to the significant reconstruction of the self. (Gamsakhurdia, 2019, p. 167)Gamsakhurdia’s developing Proculturation Theory builds links with semiotic perspectives in cultural psychology. All social roles people take on in movement from one society to another—immigrant, guest worker, tourist, missionary, trader, conqueror—are set up as meaningful hyper-frames for setting the stage for proculturation processes to proceed.…”

“…The task of proculturation studies should be the identification of those particular experiences (mediation of particular unfamiliar signs) which contribute to the significant reconstruction of the self. (Gamsakhurdia, 2019, p. 167)…”