1.5 Structure of the book

This book consists of nine chapters.In Chapter 1，I have presented the research background and stated the purpose and significance of the present research.I have also highlighted the research objectives，proposed research questions and hypotheses，introduced the methodology，and outlined the structure of the book.In Chapter 2，I highlight the evolution of the concept of culture in intercultural communication，explore the philosophical foundations of diverse approaches to culture，and survey work on the cross-cultural psychology of values as one of the foundations of intercultural communication studies.

Chapter 3reviews critiques from scientific/functionalist perspectives of the fixed-traits view of culture that is prevalent in intercultural scholarship.It explores how culture is defined and dimensionalized in this view and what conceptual and empirical challenges it faces in today’s globalizing world.Chapter 4documents diverse efforts toward improving this view in the fields of cross-cultural psychology，cultural psychology，indigenous psychology，and intercultural communication.Chapter 5reviews the latest robust developments in“culture as dynamic processes”research in the field of cultural psychology.Special attention is drawn to how culture is defined，where culture resides，what forms cultural knowledge takes，and how cultural knowledge is applied.Chapter 6seeks to incorporate this dynamic process view into intercultural communication research.A cultural process model of intercultural communication is proposed and compared with a more traditional model.

Chapters 7and 8are devoted to the three studies that were aimed to test this new model.Chapter 7reports the research process and outcomes of the first priming study on how temporary accessibility of cultural knowledge influences social attribution and cultural identity management.Chapter 8first reports the second priming study on how contextual cues moderate chronic accessibility of cultural knowledge and how participants’cultural identity and motivation to accommodate influence intercultural communication.It then reports the third study—a case analysis that seeks to understand the over-tuning effect in intercultural contact using the process model.The last chapter，Chapter 9，summarizes the results of the present research，discusses its theoretical and practical implications and limitations，and suggests directions for future work.