A theoretical framework for the more efficient construction of culture assimilators

A theoretical framework is presented which consists of dimensions of cultural variation. These dimensions constitute a theory of cultural differences in social behavior that may be used to develop culture assimilators. A Japanese assimitator developed theoretically, basedon this framework, took one-thirteenth the amount of time required for the construction of a regular assimilator. The framework is offered as a stimulus for future research that will provide a comparative test of assimilators constructed in the more elaborate and expensive way and the present short-cut way.     

Understanding others Kellyian theory, methodology and application

This article discusses Kelly's theory of personal constructs and its Repertory grid technique as means of revealing the nature of cultural differences and similarities. It shows how Kelly's theory relates to cognitive theory, implicit personality theory and subjective culture theory. According to Kelly, people and groups are best understood in terms of the ways they anticipate events. People are all psychologists since they employ constructs. These bases of discrimination are bipolar in nature and open to revision. A group's culture is summarized by its members' shared superordinate constructs. Kelly's Commonality Corollary explains that members of a group are similar because they use the same constructs to order events. Kelly's Sociality Corollary states that, in order to enter into a relationship with others, people need first to subsume the others' personal constructs. His custom-built Repertory grid elicits constructs by having a person decide how in a matrix other people, for example, are similar and different. In the rated grid form, each person or element is rated from most to least on the positive pole of each construct. Either principal components or cluster analysis or multidimensional scaling can reveal the interviewed person's superordinate dimensions of appraisal. As an emic technique, the grid is contrasted with the semantic differential and other fixed-format tests. A review of the personal construct literature shows that many individuals and cultural groups have been explained in their own terms. In this research, difference is construed as interesting and others are understood by construing their construction processes as a first step towards approval.     

Culture's role in conflict and conflict management: Some suggestions, many questions

The contributions to this edition of the Journal are viewed as identifying two roles of culture in intergroup conflict. One is that culture separates people into an in-group and out-group based on the criterion of whether or not they share a common culture. According to social identity theory, this division creates the necessary condition for intergroup (intercultural) conflict. The second role is that culture shapes the individual's perception of conflict and how he or she will respond to the conflict. It is argued that embedded within the history and myths of a culture are stories that identify specific out-groups as likely protagonists. A model for achieving peaceful co-existence between cultural groups is presented. Peaceful co-existence has three components: cognition (acceptance of the right of the out-group to exist), emotion (low fear of the out-group), and behavior (willingness to engage in cooperative interaction with the out-group). It is argued that in order to achieve peaceful co-existence between cultural groups, intergroup contract must promote the security and identity of the ingroup, reduce the perceived threat of the out-group, and promote the perception of diversity within the out-group. The difficulties of achieving positive relations between cultural groups is recognized, and that a focus on intercultural relations should be prevention of hostility rather than reducing violent conflict after it has occurred.     

Yugoslavia: other modernities,other histories

The Non-Aligned Movement was a transnational political project, a coalition of small and middle-sized states, mostly former colonies and developing countries, from the global south or the Third World. It was formed in 1961 in Yugoslavia at the Belgrade summit. The NAM represented the first major disruption in the Cold World map, a quest for alternative political alliances, for “alternative mundialization.” Culture was accorded particular importance in the NAM, despite the fact that it never took center-stage at summits and conferences. However, NAM’s cultural politics strongly condemned cultural imperialism and epistemic colonialism. Western (European) cultural heritage was to be understood in terms of “juxtaposition”; this heritage would be interwoven with and into the living culture of the colonized, and would not simply be repeated under new (political) circumstances. Consequently art and culture in the NAM were largely about politics and history, or to put it differently, they were a way of staking a claim to history. It seems the movement was somehow aware of the fact that this was the only way it could enter the world’s (cultural) space on an equal footing. There existed a heterogeneous artistic production, a variety of cultural politics and extensive cultural networks which enriched the cultural landscape of the NAM and enabled discussions about the meaning of art outside the Western canon.     

Understanding others Kellyian theory,methodology and applicationComprendre les autres la théorie de Kelly: methodologie et applicationEntendimiemto de los otros la teoría de Kelly: metodología y applicación

This article discusses Kelly's theory of personal constructs and its Repertory grid technique as means of revealing the nature of cultural differences and similarities. It shows how Kelly's theory relates to cognitive theory, implicit personality theory and subjective culture theory. According to Kelly, people and groups are best understood in terms of the ways they anticipate events. People are all psychologists since they employ constructs. These bases of discrimination are bipolar in nature and open to revision. A group's culture is summarized by its members' shared superordinate constructs. Kelly's Commonality Corollary explains that members of a group are similar because they use the same constructs to order events. Kelly's Sociality Corollary states that, in order to enter into a relationship with others, people need first to subsume the others' personal constructs. His custom-built Repertory grid elicits constructs by having a person decide how in a matrix other people, for example, are similar and different. In the rated grid form, each person or element is rated from most to least on the positive pole of each construct. Either principal components or cluster analysis or multidimensional scaling can reveal the interviewed person's superordinate dimensions of appraisal. As an emic technique, the grid is contrasted with the semantic differential and other fixed-format tests. A review of the personal construct literature shows that many individuals and cultural groups have been explained in their own terms. In this research, difference is construed as interesting and others are understood by construing their construction processes as a first step towards approval.     

Compliance behavior and the role of ethnic background, source expertise, self-construals and values

The purpose of this study was to examine whether source expertise and type of compliance-gaining strategy influence compliance behavior differently for people of individualistic versus collectivistic cultures. In addition, the mediating role of people's self-construal and individual values was assessed. It was hypothesized that people are more willing to comply with a high expertise source than with a low expertise source, in particular so among people belonging to a collectivistic culture. In addition, we hypothesized that different compliance gaining strategies will be differentially effective for people of individualistic versus people of collectivistic cultures. And last, we hypothesized that self-construals and values will mediate between people's ethnic background and compliance behavior. Data were collected from 325 university students in the Netherlands (231 Dutch, 65 Turkish and 28 Moroccan students). They filled out a questionnaire assessing their values (individualistic and collectivistic) and self-construals (independent and interdependent). In addition, two scenarios were used to assess their compliance behavior with a low and high expertise source, making use of five different compliance-gaining strategies (i.e. consistency, social proof, reciprocity, authority and liking). Results show that a source high in expertise induced more compliance among the Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan group than a source low in expertise, partially supporting our first hypothesis. The authority strategy was most effective in inducing compliance in all three ethnic groups. We did not find much evidence for the hypothesis that different compliance gaining strategies are differentially effective for people of individualistic versus collectivistic cultures. Instead, it was found that in case of the low expertise source, the Turkish and Moroccan groups were significantly more compliant across all strategies than the Dutch group. The hypothesized mediating effect between cultural individualism-collectivism on compliance behavior of values (but not of self-construals) emerged in case of the low expertise source but not in case of the high expertise source. Results of the present study imply two important things. First, the positive influence of a high expertise source on compliance seems to be universal. Second, cultural differences in compliance behavior are to a greater extent a function of the source than of the compliance-gaining strategy. That is, Moroccan and Turkish people are more compliant with a request from a low expertise source than Dutch people, regardless of the strategy used.     

First contact: Initial responses to cultural disequilibrium in a short term teaching exchange program

This paper examines early aspects of intercultural learning among pre-service teachers from Japan and the United States during a short-term international exchange program. Using insights from Taylor's (1994) theory of intercultural development, the research uses qualitative methodology to describe experiences of cultural disequilibrium and various responses to disequilibrium by participants in the exchange. Findings suggest a range of related sources of cultural disequilibrium across culture groups. Eight strategic responses to disequilibrium are identified, and implications for early engagements with cultural difference for beginning teachers are discussed. The research seeks to clarify the role that short term immersion experiences can play in the understanding and development of early intercultural competence and to identify connections between such experiences and teacher education.     

Cultural homelessness, multiminority status, ethnic identity development, and self esteem

This study presents a measure of “cultural homelessness” (Vivero & Jenkins, 1999), a construct developed to explain the experiences of some individuals having early-life immersion in more than one culture. Culturally homeless individuals report pervasive experiences of “being different”: mixed racial, ethnic, and/or cultural heritages within their families of origin and/or between their families and the surrounding sociocultural context, resulting in structural marginality; repeated subjection to contradictory cultural demands; and the acquisition of conflicting frames of reference for their behavior. Ambiguous physical presentation and the complexity of codeswitching across multiple cultural frames of reference at a young age may lead to confused or inappropriate social behavior, resulting in rejection and discrimination by both minority and majority groups, chronic feelings of “not belonging,” self-blame and shame, social and emotional isolation, cultural identity confusion, and the desire to find a “cultural home.” Empirical findings operationalizing this construct show associations of cultural homelessness criteria with gender; risk factors related to multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural status; ethnic identity; and self esteem.     

Acculturation and consumption: Textures of cultural adaptation

This study examines patterns of cultural adaptation of an ethnic minority as manifested in consumption of traditional ethnic and mainstream culture foods. A survey, containing multiple measures of several ethnic identification and acculturation dimensions, along with consumption frequencies of both traditional and mainstream culture foods, was administered to a sample of ethnic Lebanese residing in a predominately French-speaking urban area. The results confirm that ethnic identity and acculturation are distinct processes, providing strong support for dual process models of cultural adaptation. A series of structural equation models linking the twin cultural influences to the consumption of traditional home and mainstream host food categories found little support for the linearity assumption between cultural adaptation and consumption behavior. Rather, the relationship between ethnic identity, acculturation, and consumption behaviors appears to be far more complex, and specific to the food category under consideration. Mapping these patterns of cultural adaptation, we articulate a new typology, relating the extent and particular combinations that home and host cultural influences impact consumption behavior.     

Acculturation in a postcolonial context: Language,identity, cultural adaptation,and academic achievement of Macao students in Mainland China

The mainstream acculturation research focuses on international students and immigrants’ settlement in a new cultural environment, but little is known about the adaptation process of people from postcolonial areas relocating to their home country. Drawing from research on acculturation and postcolonial studies, this research examined the importance of language and social identity of Macao Chinese (N = 102; 50 males, Mage = 20.1) transitioning to universities in Mainland China. The results of path analysis showed that Chinese national identity and perceived Mandarin language proficiency were positively associated with each other, but they were linked to cultural adaptation through different paths. Perceived language proficiency was directly linked to social, academic, and psychological adaptation, whereas Chinese identity was indirectly associated with social and academic adaptation through acculturation to the Mainland Chinese culture. Moreover, academic adaptation was, in turn, associated with academic achievement (i.e., GPAs). The present study extends acculturation research to a postcolonial context, highlighting that national identity and language proficiency are important factors for successful cultural adaptation to the homeland. The theoretical and practical implications regarding intra-cultural adaptation barriers andprocesses in postcolonial contexts were discussed.     

New Zealand as Middle Earth: Local and Global Popular Communication in a Small Nation

The shift of the research gaze from First World concerns and research questions to the different imperatives of a small nation such as New Zealand enables scrutiny of many conventional assumptions made about globalizing processes, children's evolving public spaces, and commodified culture. New Zealand provides an invaluable site to explore the processes creating the postmodern cultural experiences of globalized popular communication. Children in New Zealand respond as joyously as children in San Jose and Sheffield to the pleasures of global popular communication, but we argue that the global can only be tracked in the ways it emerges in a variety of local/ities. Researching the particular experiences of children in a small South Pacific nation also highlights the range of challenges faced by public intellectuals in a period of rapid global technical, economic, and cultural change.     

Academia: A cross-cultural problem

This paper discusses strategies to help graduates in U.S. universities survive their thesis or dissertation. The assumption is that universities create their own unique cultural environments and all new students, irrespective of background, will experience some culture shock. Therefore cross-cultural orientation programs should focus less on individuals' cultural origins and more on their strengths and weaknesses as learners. The paper argues that a thesis or dissertation requires four different kinds of problem-solving behavior: experiential involvement in the research, reflective observation of the results, theorizing to and from the data, and applying data analysis to solve the research problem. Students are likely to find some of these activities less comfortable than others. They can be given guidelines to structure their research to maximize their problem-solving strengths and minimize potential weaknesses.     

Voluntary and involuntary immigrants and adolescents’ endorsement of multiculturalism

This research examined whether the way in which migrants are defined has implications for majority group adolescents’ evaluation of maintenance of the heritage culture. Using an experimental questionnaire design, the findings demonstrate that when migrants are considered to have left their country on a voluntary basis, endorsement of cultural maintenance is lower than when migration is perceived to be involuntary. This was found to be the case when voluntary immigrants were contrasted with immigrants that have been recruited as labor migrants by the host society (Study 1, N = 843), and when voluntary immigrants were contrasted with immigrants that are forced to leave their country of origin (Study 2, N = 108). Furthermore, Study 2 found similar effects for emigrants. In both studies, national identification was negatively related to support for cultural maintenance. In addition, higher identifiers were more strongly in favor of allowing involuntary emigrants to maintain their own culture than lower identifiers. The implications of this research are discussed.     

On the relationship between acculturation and intercultural understanding: Insight from the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test

Previous research has repeatedly demonstrated the importance of culture and cultural identification to interpersonal understanding. We aimed to apply the ideas from this domain to mental state reasoning, or theory of mind. We thus investigated the relationship between acculturation and inferring the mental states of other people within and across cultures by measuring Caucasian and East Asian participants’ accuracy in inferring the mental states of own- and other-ethnicity targets using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test. As expected, Caucasian participants showed a significant ingroup advantage in inferring the mental states of own- versus other-ethnicity targets but no variation according to measures of acculturation. More important, East Asian residents of Canada showed greater accuracy for own- versus other-ethnicity targets—and their accuracy for Caucasian targets increased as a function of (i) the time they had lived in Canada, (ii) their experience interacting with Caucasians, (iii) increased endorsement of mainstream Canadian values, and (iv) decreased endorsement of their heritage culture’s values. These results suggest that cross-cultural understanding may be malleable to acculturation and cultural experience, highlighting the importance of further research on how people from different cultural perspectives come to understand each other and subsequently ameliorate cross-cultural misunderstanding.     

Clarifying the link between acculturation experiences and parent–child relationships among families in cultural transition: The promise of contemporary critiques of acculturation psychology

The field of acculturation psychology has been the focus of recent critique, calling into question current conceptualizations of acculturation experiences among families in cultural transition. This paper will consider how these critiques can inform theory and research that aims to clarify the link between the process of acculturation and the quality of parent–child relationships among families in cultural transition. For example, while the concepts of process and change are central to psychological approaches to understanding acculturation, this has not always been successfully reflected in choice of research methodology. Further, some theorists highlight the problem of conflating culture and national identity and of homogenizing culture into a few essentialize traits, psychological characteristics or sets of discourses. This paper will outline how a focus on the dynamic and complex process of acculturation opposes ideas of acculturative experiences as acontextual, ahistorical, and independent with some teleological endpoint. It is suggested that acculturation experiences should be reconceptualized as a dialogic, relationally constituted, and continually negotiated (unfinalizable) process. Finally, it is suggested that narrative and qualitative methodologies represent an especially useful way to highlight the fluctuations in acculturative experiences within a family context, and might offer greater promise in clarifying the link between acculturation experiences and the quality of parent–child relationships among families in cultural transition.     

Culture and conflict: Understanding, negotiating, and reconciling conflicting constructions of reality

The paper explores the relations between culture and conflict that emerge when parties with differing constructions of reality come into contention regarding the distribution of power, control, and influence. While differences in the construction of reality do not necessarily mean conflict, and while conflict does not necessarily lead to violence, differences in the construction of reality that are codified and embedded in “unassailable” belief systems, such as those associated with fundamentalist political, economic, and religious systems, can elicit and sustain serious forms of violence, including ethnic and religious cleansing, genocide, and torture. This paper argues that we must recognize the power of culture in constructing our realities, and the reluctance we have as human beings to tolerate challenges to these realities because they introduce unacceptable levels of uncertainty and doubt. The consideration of culture in the mediation of conflict broadens options for resolution by introducing possibilities outside the limits of one's own cultural spectrum, including an improved understanding of the role of history and life contexts in generating shared meanings and behavior patterns. Following a discussion of various examples of cultures in conflict associated with political and religious fundamentalism, the paper advances a series of recommendations for understanding, negotiating, and mediating conflict via the use of cultural understanding, learning, and the development of cultures of peace.     

The roles of culture and fairness in maintaining relationships: A comparison of romantic partners from Malaysia,Singapore, and the United States

The present study concerns how culture connects to perceptions of equity and relational maintenance behavior in the United States (US), Malaysia, and Singapore. In doing so, this study extends findings that employed cultural modernization theory (CMT) and equity theory to explain cultural and individual variations in relational maintenance behavior. Sex differences were also examined. Three countries were selected for their proximity in Traditional (vs. Rational) Values and divergence in Survival (vs. Self Expression) Values, according to the World Values Survey (WVS) cultural map. Consistent with CMT assumptions, participants in the United States and Malaysia (i.e., countries that espouse self expression values) reported greater use of relational maintenance strategies than did those in Singapore (i.e., a country endorsing survival values). As hypothesized, curvilinear associations between equity and relational maintenance strategies were found for the US participants only. This finding concurs with CMT-grounded assumptions and facts that romantic partners in Western (vs. Eastern), high-income societies (e.g., the US) seek equitable relationships. Sex differences also emerged but only for the US participants.     

From Military Member to Student: An Examination of the Communicative Challenges of Veterans to Perform Communication Accommodation in the University

This study examined the transition of veterans from the military to the classroom. Guided by communication accommodation theory (CAT), results of semi-structured interviews (N = 20) of military veterans were analyzed to see how and why participants described communication approaches in the university setting. Approaches appeared guided by inculcated values developed during earlier cultural experiences, in the military. Participants described interpersonal and group communication exchanges in three broad themes: cultural clash, perspective taking, and self-silencing. This research supports prior psychological research that explored difficulties combat veterans face after exit and extends this research to non-combat veterans from a communicative perspective.     

Social support and cultural distance: Sojourners’ experience in China

Previous research has pinpointed that social support from host, co-national, and other international friends plays a pivotal role in successful adaptation to a new culture, yet research on this topic pertaining to China is inadequate. As such, using a cross-sectional sample of sojourners (N = 199) in major Chinese cities, the current study examines the relationship between sojourners’ self-reports of social support from the three sources and two psychological adaptation variables (i.e., anxiety and well-being) as well as the moderating effect of objective cultural distance. Regression analysis indicates that perceptions of host and international support are significant negative predictors of anxiety and positive predictors of psychological well-being. In addition, cultural distance moderated these predictive associations: host support and international support had a stronger negative association with anxiety and host support had a stronger positive association with well-being for participants whose cultural distance to China was lower compared to those whose cultural distance was higher. This study enhances our understanding of the dynamic interplay between social support and cultural distance in cross-cultural adaptation research within a Chinese cultural context.     

Values and acculturation: A Native Canadian exploration

The cultural context for Native Canadians is unique compared to Canadians of other descent as they are Indigenous peoples and the historical inhabitants of this country; however, much literature describing Aboriginal culture and values is non-empirical. Acculturation literature primarily examines cognitive and psychosocial phenomena relative to immigration-based and globalization-based acculturation; yet, little research examines the relationship between acculturation and values, especially in relation to colonized peoples. The present research addresses these gaps in the literature by empirically examining the relationship between values and acculturation (cultural attachment) from the context of indigenous inhabitants subsumed in a non-indigenous society.Exploring values in combination with acculturation moves beyond anecdotes and assumptions and paves the way toward a deeper understanding of a rich culture and value system which constitutes an important part of Canada’s cultural mosaic. Not surprisingly, these data revealed that heritage acculturation was strongly endorsed; however, a strong connection to the mainstream culture was also found. Exploratory cluster analyses revealed a four cluster solution with clusters falling along a continuum from relatively higher attachment with both cultures to comparatively lower attachment to both. This finding is consistent with bidimensional theories of acculturation. Value endorsements for each cluster are discussed.