The Problem of Cross-Cultural Communication in Foreign Researches

Background. Intercultural interaction is the basis of positive development in the modern world. However, situations of conflicts and crises seriously disrupt cross-cultural communication. An analysis of the results of studies conducted in different countries and in different situations makes it possible to identify the psychological foundations for overcoming the negative consequences of violations of intercultural interaction.

Objective. Present the experience of researching the problem of cross-cultural communication.

Methods. Review of foreign literature.

Results. An analysis of modern research on the problems of cross-cultural communication has shown that, with the unconditional recognition of the characteristics of the cultures to which the studied groups belong as the leading determinant of the study, there is no socio-psychological typology of cultures, which does not allow building a predictive analysis of the interaction of representatives of different cultures. The studies describe various types of indirect, substitutive contact, the conditions of which allow establishing positive relationships, which is especially important in situations of protracted systemic political and economic crises. Researchers believe that objective conditions have developed for the functioning of intercultural psychology and that broad interdisciplinary cooperation is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the means of cross-cultural communication offered by psychologists.

Conclusion. The role of the semiotic approach in the study of cross-cultural communication is revealed. Since cultural differences are combined at the level of cultural codes, the semantic aspect of the combination of different cultures is a source of possible misunderstandings and contradictions. Mediated, substitute, indirect contacts of people help to overcome misunderstandings and create a basis for active intercultural cooperation. In this case, conditions are created not only for understanding the representatives of contacting cultures, but the understanding of all representatives of a different culture improves. The attitude towards representatives of cultures that do not participate in substitutive contact also improves. This effect is considered as intercultural competence.

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