PSYCHOLOGY AND INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION.

The article cites a study which indicates the use which may be made of psychological data in intercultural interaction. A group of teachers in Iran were asked to respond to a series of questions designed to obtain in indirect manner the nature of values held. Responses were then considered in terms of cues to values revealed and in terms of the relevance of content to positive interaction. All cultures have traditional values which have been institutionalized and which, as indicated in the data, are subject to discovery. Psychic tensions, expressed as values, serve as discriminatory forces and lead to the abstracting of tension reducing stimuli from a wide field of stimulating elements. The nature of responses of a people in intercultural interaction may be anticipated in terms of personal values and protective attitudes which are at stake and which seek expression as motivators of group behavior. Responsiveness in intergroup relations, inclusive of the learning of new attitudes, depends upon giving power to personal and group defenses through sanctioning of deserving cultural features and approval, with reasoned judgment, of prevailing internalized values.