A communication approach to the acculturation process: A study of Korean immigrants in Chicago

This paper explores a theoretical and methodological basis for studying foreign immigrants' acculturation processes from a communication perspective. Communication patterns of immigrants are conceptualized on three levels — behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual. The behavioral level of communication includes the immigrant's participation in communication channels of the host society as well as the ethnic community. The perceptual level refers to the immigrant's cognitive structure in perceiving the host society. The attitudinal level is examined by the immigrant's affective-evaluative orientation toward the host society. The three levels of communication patterns were empirically investigated in a survey of 400 randomly selected Koreans in the Chicago area. The communication variables were assessed through composite scores using questionnaire items that were tested for reliability. The results show an overall linear trend in the immigrant's interethnic communication with Americans, positive attitude toward Americans, cognitive complexity in perceiving the American society, and satisfaction level. A simultaneous increase is observed in the immigrant's interpersonal communication with Americans and with other Koreans. The immigrant's use of ethnic media rapidly decreases over the years while that of American media steadily increases. Findings are discussed in comparison to previous studies of foreign immigrants and students and to sociological theories of acculturation of minority groups.     

Cultural Identification and Religious Identification Contribute Differentially to the Adaptation of Australian Adolescent Muslims

Australian Muslims are generally perceived as a devalued group in Australia and the public attitudes towards them are generally negative. This context raises questions about belonging and adaptation among Australian adolescent Muslims. The current study investigated how adolescent Muslims relate to their heritage culture, religion, and Australian culture, and which of these three factors is most important to adolescent Muslims’ psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. The study employed a mixed-method design. A total of 321 high school Muslim students (149 males and 172 females) aged between 14 and 18 years completed self-report questionnaires, and a subset sample of 18 students in the same age range, evenly split between males and females, participated in semi-structured interviews. The study revealed a hierarchical pattern of identification among Australian adolescent Muslims, with attachment to their religion being the most important, followed by heritage culture identification and being Australian in third place. Australian adolescent Muslims’ religious identification was perceived overall as more crucial to their socio-cultural and psychological adaptation, than their heritage culture identification or Australian identification. There was an overall modest contribution of Australian identification to adolescent Muslims’ adaptation. This might be connected with the relatively less attachment they show to their Australian identity due maybe to perception of being the target of prejudice, an issue that can be addressed by implementation of prejudice reduction strategies.     

Facilitating adaptation and intercultural contact: The role of integration and multicultural ideology in dominant and non-dominant groups

Research on acculturation has documented that adaptation to a receiving society is affected by both the immigrants’ acculturation strategies and the dominant group's expectations about how immigrants should acculturate. However, the acculturation expectations have received relatively less attention from researchers, and support for multiculturalism has rarely been examined from the perspective of immigrants. The present study used the framework of the Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies (MIRIPS) project to investigate the acculturation experiences and intercultural relations in Hong Kong by incorporating mutual views of both the dominant and non-dominant groups. It also tested the mediating role of the dominant group's tolerance towards different cultural groups and the non-dominant group's perceived discrimination. Two community samples were recruited, including Hong Kong residents (N = 181) and immigrants from Mainland China (N = 182). Among Mainland immigrants, the integration strategy predicted both psychological adaptation and sociocultural adaptation. Multicultural ideology predicted psychological adaptation and played a significant role in intercultural contact with Hong Kong people through the mediation of lower perceived discrimination. Among Hong Kong residents, the integration expectation predicted psychological adaptation. Multicultural ideology indirectly affected intercultural contact with Mainland immigrants through the mediation of greater tolerance. These results suggest that the integration strategy and expectation are more important to intrapersonal functioning, whereas multicultural ideology may be more crucial in facilitating social interactions between members of the society of settlement and immigrants in culturally plural milieus. Future research should test the proposed models of dominant and non-dominant groups in other cultures.     

Ethnic identity and close friendship in Chinese-American college studentsL'identité ethnique et l'amitié intime chez les étudiants chinoisaméricainsIdentidad etnica y amistad intima entre estudiantes chino-americanos

This article reports an empirical study on the relationship between ethnic identity and close friendship communication patterns in Chinese-American students. The friendship communication variables were: proximity, network size, frequency of interaction, perceived similarity, and degree of intimacy between subjects and close friends. Several hypotheses in this study were confirmed. Generation difference was a reliable predictor of ethnic identity on the 1st and 2nd generation subjects. Proximity was found to be a crucial factor that influenced the ethnicity of subjects' close friendship networks. All friendship variables were related on the zero-order correlation analyses. However, the relationship between ethnic identity and the ethnicity of subjects' friendship networks was not supported. This was explained in terms of sample bias, and the variable of friendship as a universal relational bond that transcends culture. The paper concludes with a set of research questions for future work on ethnic identity and cross-cultural friendship communication.     

Building trust among enemies: The central challenge for international conflict resolution

The article presents an approach to the gradual building of trust among enemies, who—even when they have an interest in making peace—are afraid to extend trust to each other lest it jeopardize their own existence. Efforts to resolve the conflict, therefore, confront a basic dilemma: Parties cannot enter into a peace process without some degree of mutual trust, but they cannot build trust without entering into a peace process. The article discusses the ways in which interactive problem solving—a form of unofficial diplomacy, which the author has applied most extensively to the Israeli–Palestinian case—attempts to deal with this dilemma. It describes five concepts that have proven useful to confronting this dilemma in problem-solving workshops with politically influential Israelis and Palestinians and that should also be relevant to trust building in the larger peace process: the view of movement toward peace as a process of successive approximations, in which the level of commitment gradually increases with the level of reassurance; the role of the third party as a repository of trust, particularly in the early stages of the process; the focus on “working trust” in the other's seriousness about peace based on their own interests (rather than interpersonal trust based on good will); the view of the relationship between participants in the peace process as an uneasy coalition; and the development of a systematic process of mutual reassurance, based on responsiveness and reciprocity.     

An empirical study of Canadian technical assistance: Adaptation and effectiveness on overseas assignment

Some 100 variables were studied on adaptation and effectiveness of technical assistance personnel working in six developing countries. Variables related to job effectiveness, personal and cultural adaptation, transfer of skills, receptivity of nationals, and personal characteristics of the effective Canadian working and living in another culture. Data analyzed included options and standardized ratings by self, colleagues, and national counterparts. Results detailed the components of “Overseas Effectiveness” of technical assistance personnel and spouses. There was evidence of at least two categories of adaptation and two categories of effectiveness. It was found that the best predictor of overseas effectiveness was “Interpersonal Skills,” followed by “Idenity” and “realistic predeparture expectations.” Regarding transfer of skills to nationals, it was found that technical assistance personnel were likely ineffective because of their inability to engage in intercultural interaction.     

Interethnic perception and the communication behavior among five ethnic groups in Hawaii

The purpose of this paper was to explore interethnic perception in an ethnically mixed society, and to examine the relationship between the degree of stereotyping toward certain ethnic groups and interethnic interpersonal communication and social capacity variables, such as education, age, occupational status, length of stay in the U.S., and English fluency. The study focused on three major aspects of stereotyping: homogeneity, polarity, and favorableness of interethnic attitudes. Homogeneity was defined as the degree to which an individual differentiates dimensions of perception, while polarity was the degree of extremity—either positive or negative—of perception. Favorableness was the degree of positive attitude toward other ethnic groups.The study was based upon a random survey conducted from 1978 to 1979 of five ethnic groups in Hawaii, including 401 Koreans, 203 Japanese, 200 Caucasians, 199 Samoans, and 208 Filipinos. Six bipolar dimensions of perception were explored: responsible-irresponsible, friendly-unfriendly, independent-dependent, good-bad, hard working-lazy, and wise-foolish. The results indicated that interethnic interpersonal communication had the strongest relationship with the level of favorableness. The hypothesized relationships between the social capacity variables and stereotyping were statistically significant, although the magnitude of the relationships were small.     

Business communication as cultural text: Exchange and feedback of promotional video clips

Our research is a response to the need to improve the understanding of the complexity of global professional communication. To investigate the complex cultural interpretations that producers and audiences apply to professional texts, we developed a two-year interactive project. Business students in New Zealand and Israel produced promotional “texts” – video clips to promote a university program – which they exchanged with their counterparts overseas to receive feedback. We adapted models of home-made visual communication and advertising which used the categories of participants, settings, topics, and style, to analyze the eight clips. Emergent findings suggested two more categories – information and language – as important analytical tools. Variables of age, gender, intra- and intercultural differences, and (cultural) context also resulted in student audiences’ multiple interpretations of the texts. The outcomes indicate the need to extend the culture-in-context approach for a “situation focused communication approach,” where the primary focus is a group of producers and their audience as they produce and interpret a professional text. This approach also foregrounds contextual variables and a plural understanding of culture to accommodate the potential for miscommunication of business and professional texts in pluricultural contexts.     

Behavioral assessment of communication competency and the prediction of cross-cultural adaptation

This study explores the relationship between interpersonal and social behaviors and patterns of success and failure in cross-cultural adaptation. Seven interpersonal communication skills often mentioned as being important to cross-cultural adaptation were studied: empathy, respect, role behavior flexibility, orientation to knowledge, interaction posture, interaction management and tolerance for ambiguity. For each dimension, behavioral observation indices were developed. Following a week-long predeparture training program, behavioral assessments were made on these dimensions for each person in a group of technical advisors and spouses assigned to two-year postings in Kenya. One year later, an in-the-field follow up study was conducted to assess shock dynamics, psychological adjustment, and vocational and interactional effectiveness of these individuals. Comparisons of pre and post-test measures indicated that each of the focal dimensions predicted patterns of success and failure in adaptation with varying degrees of adequacy. These results and implications for further research, and cross-cultural training and selection, are explored in the final section of the article.     

An ecological approach to psychological adjustment: A field survey among refugees in Germany

The situation of refugees in Germany and other countries is a current and important matter. The present study adopts an ecological approach to investigate how refugees perceive the welcoming climate in Germany and the consequences of this perception. To further explore the refugees’ situation, we examined several predictors of their psychological adjustment and acculturation attitudes. In a field study in Eastern Germany with N= 94 refugees as participants, we assessed the perceived context of reception, and perceived acculturation attitudes as contextual variables, discrimination and contact as intergroup variables and, on the individual level, psychological adjustment as well as the personal acculturation attitudes as dependent variables. The results revealed that more perceived discrimination resulted in an increase in reported psychological problems. Refugees living in asylum centers reported more psychological problems and more perceived discrimination than those living in independent housing. The perceived context of reception positively predicted refugees’ desire for maintenance of intergroup relations with the host society. Positive intergroup contact lowered their desire for cultural maintenance. In sum, this study gives us rare and valuable insight into refugees’ perspectives in the context of recent immigration to Germany. In doing so, it emphasizes the importance of a welcoming climate. The study shows how meaningful the assessment of the perceived context of reception is. Practical implications for fields such as the accommodation of refugees are discussed.     

Theoretical framework for evaluation of cross-cultural training effectiveness

The first part of this paper presents a theoretical framework which includes the independent and dependent variables that should be considered in studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of cross-cultural training. Six kinds of training—general or specific, affective, cognitive or behavioral—plus self-insight training are considered. In addition, the quantity and timing of the training, and attributes of trainers and trainees are considered. The second part considers strategies for the evaluation of the effects of these independent variables. Controversies in evaluation research are reviewed to find out what can be learned from past experience that might be applicable to cross-cultural training. This review shows a trend toward the broadening of evaluation research, using many more dependent variables, with measurements obtained from many kinds of people. New methodologies that permit the incorporation of diverse points of view and a broad analysis of the effects of the training program are examined. Questions are also raised concerning who should have the information acquired during an evaluation study. Finally, the paper examines ethical problems that cannot be ignored by those evaluating cross-cultural training.     

Factors predictive of black students' communication with the administration and students at a predominantly white university

Black students' interaction with a predominantly white university's administration, faculty, and students appears to be a central issue in current study of black student success in college. This study examined personality and situational factors predictive of black students' communication with such a university's administration, faculty, and students. The development of an instrument describing environmental and social concerns of black students demonstrated reasonable predictive validity of communication with the administration and white students. Feelings about the social environment and tendencies of communication anxiety were among the strongest predictors of black students' communication.     

Polygamy in the United States: How Marginalized Religious Communities Cope with Stigmatizing Discourses Surrounding Plural Marriage

This study explores the narratives of 20 members of “The Work,” a polygamist community in Centennial Park, Arizona, to better understand the ways in which religious minorities cope with the stigmatizing discourses of the larger United States culture. This paper examines (a) how participants understand and interpret public discourse surrounding plural marriage, and (b) participants’ communicative strategies for coping with this stigma. Grounded theory analysis revealed that the discursive cultural de-legitimation of plural marriage motivates co-cultural members to engage in network management. Four network management strategies were reported by participants: (1) withdrawing from mainstream society, (2) establishing ingroup solidarity, (3) concealing cultural identification, and (4) educating cultural outsiders.     

Perceiving punishment as a contingent of interethnic relations

This study raises the question of whether the perception of punishment is contingent upon ethnic homogeneity or heterogeneity of teachers and students. Eighty Israeli Oriental seventh-grade students were classified into two groups according to their ethnic identification scores. Each was shown one of four films portraying a classroom scene in which a student (Oriental or Western) is punished by either a Western or an Oriental teacher. Results show that the context of interethnic relationships influences the perception of punishment. Compared to low identifiers, the high identifiers perceived punishment as unjust and showed less affection for a Western teacher punishing an Oriental student than for a Western teacher punishing a Western student. In a parallel fashion, the high identifiers assessed more positively an Oriental teacher punishing a Western student than the low identifiers. The results are discussed in terms of interethnic relations and attributional bias.     

The “learning how to learn” approach to cross-cultural orientation

Since no amount of specific cultural information can prepare sojourners for every eventuality, orientation participants would benefit from “learning how to learn” about intercultural interaction. This paper discusses how to set goals, design curricula, and organize instruction for orientation programs wishing to teach participants to “learn how to learn.” An adaptation of Kolb's “Learning Cycle” is suggested as a format to assist program planning. The author would like to thank Judith Martin and R. Michael Paige for their suggestions on a draft of this paper.     

Testing a model of emotional and coping responses to problems in adaptation: Foreign students at a Canadian university

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of cross-cultural adaptation which proposes that adaptation to movement across cultures involves three processes: learning new social norms, matching behavior to these norms, and matching one's self-concept to the newly acquired behaviors and social norms. According to this model, adaptation problems arise when the foreigner fails in one or more of these processes so as to create various types of mismatches between the components of norms, behavior, and self-concept. Each type of mismatch was hypothesized to lead to a particular affective response and to be most effectively resolved by unique coping strategies which would restore balance among these three components. Successful adaptation, then, occurs when the foreigner uses the coping strategy which is appropriate to the type of mismatch problem encountered in the acculturation situation.This study tested the hypothesized relationship between mismatch problem, affective response, and coping strategy. Subjects were 40 foreign and 40 Canadian students at a Canadian university. They were presented with scenarios depicting five types of mismatches in hypothetical acculturation situations. Results showed that subjects' interpretations of these agreed with the mismatches proposed by the model. Moreover, their reported affective and coping responses confirmed the majority of the hypothesized relationships. These findings suggest the mismatch model may serve as a good framework for classifying diverse adaptation problems and for predicting the coping strategies which would effectively resolve these.     

A measure of acculturation for Italian Canadians: scale development and construct validation

Conceptualizations of the immigrant adaptation process are diverse and often incongruous. There is also a lack of agreement in the interpretation and measurement of constructs underlying the notion of changing ethnicity. In an effort to resolve these differences, this study initially presents a conceptual framework for changing ethnicity by delineating and then integrating its key underlying aspects. This is followed by the development and validation of a multidimensional measure of acculturation for Italian Canadians—one aspect of their ethnic change. Construct validation is based on confirmatory factor analyses of the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data. Once validated, the measure is used for an investigation of the relationships between acculturation and some aspects of gender-role perceptions of Italian-Canadian spouses. The paper is concluded with a brief discussion on the possibility of extending the application of our measure to other ethnic groups in North America.     

Identity conflict in sojourners

The research adopted an intrapersonal perspective on identity and acculturation and explored the prediction of identity conflict in Chinese sojourners in Singapore. One hundred and six sojourners from the People's Republic of China completed a questionnaire which assessed tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, host and co-national identification, quality and quantity of host and co-national contact, perceived discrimination, cultural distance, length of residence abroad and identity conflict. Step-wise regression analysis revealed that greater tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, and co-national identification and less perceived discrimination and contact with host nationals predicted lower levels of identity conflict. These variables combined to account for 35% of the variance in the outcome measure. Results are discussed in terms of competing models of identity, acculturation and cross-cultural adaptation.