A Theory of Proculturation: Development of the Self Through Intercultural Communication

In each connection with new cultural contexts a new hybrid state of cultural adaptation is constructed enabling people to adjust to new conditions by creating innovative solutions for the self. This book aims to provide a brief presentation of innovative cultural psychological theory of proculturation reflecting and oriented on the understanding of semiotic and developmental dynamics of higher mental phenomena while engaging alien signs through intercultural communication. The exploration and theoretical understanding of developmental dynamics (such as self and identity construction) of people who live in immigration or multicultural, or even multi-ethnic societies, the research builds its new focus in contrasts with the acculturation theories currently present in social psychology.

The theory of proculturation has been built in opposition to cross-cultural psychological theories as well as mainstream theories of acculturation research dominated by bidimensional theoretical models. Instead, this theory is constructed based on theoretical explorations which are rooted in cultural semiotics and developmental psychological paradigm on human psychology.

Vladimer Lado Gamsakhurdia is a professor of cultural psychology and psychological anthropology at the psychology department of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and is interested in the cultural basis of human psychology. He explores the semiotic dynamics of proculturation, acculturation, selfhood, and identity-construction, humans’ adaptation to immigration and multicultural societies. Previously he published the book: Semiotic Construction of the Self in Multicultural Societies: A Theory of Proculturation (2021).

Lado Gamsakhurdia is an editorial board member of the Sage journal, ’Culture & Psychology’ and Springer’s ’Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science’. He is an associate editor of Springer journal ＂Trends in psychology＂. He has been a visiting scholar at the universities of Uppsala, Aalborg, Chicago, Luxembourg, Jacobs (Bremen), Iasi, Fribourg, and the University of Basque country. He was awarded the Georgian national Dimitri Uznadze Award in Social Sciences in 2019 and the ＂special prize for significant contribution in social sciences＂ by Georgian Shota Rustaveli National science foundation in 2021.