A new conceptualization of intercultural adjustment and the goals of training

Abstract

In Part I, the process of adjustment to a highly unfamiliar environment is reconceptualized using three psychological constructs: applicability of behavior, clarity of the mental frame of reference, and level of mere adequacy. Using these constructs, a model of the process is postulated that goes beyond the symptom level in an attempt to understand intercultural adjustment from the perspective of cognitive and motivational psychology. In Part II, the model is first manipulated in order to specify the theoretically desirable changes that intercultural training should bring about with respect to each of the three psychological constructs. Then, the practical implications for intercultural training of each separate change are discussed in detail. Particular attention is paid to the goal of reducing the severity and shortening the duration of culture fatigue, which is viewed as the principal objective of training. The importance of continuing training during the early stages of the sojourner's experience in the unfamiliar environment is especially stressed.