From "Cultural Performance" to "Psychological Resonance": Psychological Logic and Anxiety Alleviation in Vocational Colleges' International ICH Dissemination
Jiu ChengAbstract
Objective
Against the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative, vocational colleges' ICH dissemination largely follows a "cultural performance" model, neglecting overseas audiences' deep psychological barriers triggered by cultural unfamiliarity and identity threat, as well as their cross-cultural mental health. This study explores the logic of shifting from "cultural performance" to "psychological resonance," identifying the psychological pathways through which ICH participation alleviates psychological anxiety, promotes cultural identity, and enhances mental health.
Methods
Focusing on overseas participants in vocational college ICH programs, this study integrates semiotics, communication theory, and value chain theory to construct a model transitioning from "artwork logic" to "product logic," treating psychological anxiety and acculturative stress as core variables and examining ICH engagement as a mediating mechanism for alleviating psychological distress and improving mental health.
Results
The shift from "artwork logic" to "product logic" is a paradigm transition from "value display" to "value creation." ICH products, as unities of signifier and signified, enable overseas audiences to internalize Chinese culture through consumption, achieving a shift from "encoding-decoding" to "encoding-consumption." This effectively alleviates cross-cultural psychological anxiety and acculturative stress, facilitates movement from superficial viewing to internalized psychological identification, and improves cross-cultural mental health.
Conclusions
Vocational colleges should shift toward "psychological resonance." ICH participation alleviates cross-cultural psychological anxiety through three psychological pathways—cognitive adjustment, emotional connection, and identity reconstruction—while promoting cultural identity and yielding sustained mental health benefits. Institutions should leverage immersive teaching advantages to achieve mutual reinforcement between cultural communication and cross-cultural mental health.
Acknowledgments
This study is a phased research outcome of the 2024 University Characteristic Innovation Project of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, titled "Strategies and Pathways for Vocational Colleges to Facilitate the International Dissemination of Local Intangible Cultural Heritage under the Belt and Road Initiative" (Grant No. 2024WTSCX348).
Corresponding Author
Jiu Cheng, Guangdong Finance & Trade Vocational College, Guangzhou 511500, Guangdong, China.