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Psychological perspectives 61

2.2. Cross-cultural adaptation theory
Kim’s (1995, 2001) cross-cultural adaptation theory is based on the systems
concept that change is the consequence of stress and adaptation in a new cultural
environment. The linkages in her model indicate mutual causations, reflecting
the open-systems principle of reciprocal functional relationships among a sys-
tem, its parts, and its environment. Kim proposes that a predisposition by so-
journers to communicate, in terms of personality and cultural factors, is linked
to more competent acquisition of the host communication system, through inter-
action with the mass media and host individuals, along with a loss or refocusing
of interactions in the old culture. Thus, she assumes that sojourners are differ-
ently motivated to become part of the new culture or to adopt an intercultural
identity. This process of adaptation is moderated by the host environment, in
that some environments are more tolerant of strangers and new behaviours and
value systems.
Kim places a strong emphasis on sojourners acquiring what she refers to as
an intercultural identity; that is, an identity that is based in neither culture but
that sits between them. She describes this as an emerging identity that develops
out of the challenging and painful experiences of self-reorganization under the
demands of the new milieu. This intercultural identity is achieved through pro-
longed experiences of trial and error; it is a new expanded identity that is more
than either the original identity or the identity of the host culture (cf. Shibutani
and Kwan 1965). The pressure on newcomers to conform comes from the do-
minant group. As new learning occurs, deculturation from the old culture also
occurs. Kim describes a transformative process of stress–adaptation, where dis-
equilibrium brought about by stress, uncertainty, and anxiety allows self-reor-
ganization and self-renewal.
Kim’s (1995, 2001) theory identifies six dimensions that facilitate or impede
the process of cross-cultural adaptation. These dimensions reflect the experi-
ences that individuals face in a new environment, through which they change to-
ward greater functional fitness and psychological health in the host environment
and toward an intercultural identity. In Kim’s view, adaptation by an individual
to a cultural environment occurs almost entirely in and through communication.
Kim (2001) also highlights the practical issues that sojourners encounter, and
her model provides a framework for the development of training programs.

2.3. Identity negotiation process model

Ting-Toomey’s (1993) identity negotiation process model proposes that identi-
fication is mediated by a dialectic of security–vulnerability and inclusion–dif-
ferentiation, as well as by identity coherence and individual and collective
self-esteem. The result of this dialectic determines cognitive, affective, and be-