Different but not at odds: Dialectical thinking moderates the association between bicultural compartmentalization and adjustment

Abstract

Extant research consistently demonstrates that bicultural harmony (or the perception that one's two cultures are compatible) is linked to better psychological adjustment, whereas bicultural compartmentalization (or the perception of separation between one’s two cultures) is not. However, we question whether the compartmentalization-adjustment association is null for everyone, and specifically, whether high compartmentalization (i.e., low blendedness) is ever good for adjustment. To examine the boundary conditions of these previous findings, we proposed that dialectical thinking (or the tolerance for psychological contradictions) is a potential moderator of the compartmentalization-adjustment association. With data from 795 self-identified bicultural/multicultural individuals from a large U.S.-American university, we found a significant moderating effect of dialectical thinking on the compartmentalization-adjustment association, such that the null relationship between compartmentalization and adjustment was evident for only biculturals with low levels of dialectical thinking. Interestingly, for biculturals with high levels of dialectical thinking, compartmentalization significantly predicted higher psychological adjustment. In other words, for biculturals who tend to think dialectically, perceiving their cultural identities as more compartmentalized was linked to better psychological adjustment. These findings suggest that the association between compartmentalization and adjustment may depend on moderating factors, such as dialectical thinking. We discuss further theoretical implications and future possibilities in biculturalism research.