Lorand B. Szalay - Böcker

The Communication Lexicon is a new concept; it is a new source of information in the field of language and area studies. Its focus is on people's way of thinking, their frame of reference, their characteristic outlook on life. Compared to the more traditional area studies, our main focus is not on history or religion or geography, not on tangible material realities of existence in a particular country, but rather on people's shared subjective views of those real ities which are dominant in their minds. The focus of the analysis is essentially psychological; it is centered on perceptions and motivations which influence people's choices and behavior. Compared to individual psychology, the information repre­ sented by this volume is psycho-cultural in that it is centered on the shared perceptions and motivations which people with the same language, backgrounds, and experiences develop together into a shared cultural view or subjective representation of their universe. The attention psycho-cultural factors are receiving these days follows from the growing realization that their influences are powerful and yet they occur without people's awareness. Based on extensive empirical data produced through an analytic technique of indepth assessment, the Communication Lexicon presents the culturally characteristic system of meanings which members of a particular cultural community develop in construing their world. At the level of specifics the lexicon describes how selected themes such as family, society, work, and entertainment are perceived and understood by members of three cultures: Mexicans, Colombians, and U.S.

Based on a comparative analysis of Chinese and American students,this unique study offers insights into the contemporary views and values developed in three different socio-political settings-the post-modern, industrial environment of the United States; the socialistic environment of the People's Republic of China; and the developing free market of Taiwan. Empirical data reveal previously uncharted dimensions of cultural similarities, differences, and the effects of different economic and social systems on people's perceptions of their world and major contemporary problems.

Originally published in 1978, Subjective Meaning and Culture presents a framework and a method for the comparative study of the perceptions, attitudes, and cultural frames of reference shared by groups of people. The framework is the notion of subjective meaning, and the method is that of word associations. The authors present a detailed account of some particular cross-cultural and intergroup comparisons using the word-association technique described in this volume. However, rather than emphasize comparisons they focus on the technique itself as a method in the investigation of subjective meaning and with it subjective culture. Their purpose was to introduce a research capability which offered new kinds of information and made critical aspects of subjective meaning accessible to empirical investigation. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.

Originally published in 1978, Subjective Meaning and Culture presents a framework and a method for the comparative study of the perceptions, attitudes, and cultural frames of reference shared by groups of people. The framework is the notion of subjective meaning, and the method is that of word associations. The authors present a detailed account of some particular cross-cultural and intergroup comparisons using the word-association technique described in this volume. However, rather than emphasize comparisons they focus on the technique itself as a method in the investigation of subjective meaning and with it subjective culture. Their purpose was to introduce a research capability which offered new kinds of information and made critical aspects of subjective meaning accessible to empirical investigation. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.