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Emotion and intercultural adjustment 77

5. Emotion and intercultural adjustment

David Matsumoto, Seung Hee Yoo and Jeffrey A. LeRoux

Previous work on intercultural communication effectiveness has generally
focused on its cognitive components, including cultural knowledge, language
proficiency, and ethnocentrism. In this chapter, we examine the role of emotions
in intercultural adjustment, and suggest that the ability to regulate emotion is
one of the keys to effective intercultural communication. Our model focuses on
the role of emotion in intercultural communication episodes, and particularly on
the skills necessary for the resolution of intercultural conflict, arguing that emo-
tion regulation is a gatekeeper ability that allows people to engage in successful
conflict resolution that leads to effective, long-term intercultural communi-
cation.
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Culture plays a large role in the communication process (see Zegarac in this
volume). Building on that material, we first describe the concepts of intercultu-
ral adaptation and adjustment, then the factors that previous research has ident-
ified related to adjustment. We then discuss the role of emotions, but also high-
light the importance of critical thinking and openness/flexibility, in a growth
model of intercultural adjustment potential that has at its core the ability to regu-
late emotions. We review empirical support for this model, and then review
literature examining cultural differences in emotion regulation. Throughout,
we blend literature from both communication and psychology in producing a
unique perspective on this topic.

1. Intercultural adaptation and adjustment

1.1. Definitions
One of the most important consequences of and processes associated with inter-
cultural communication is intercultural adaptation and adjustment. We have
found that it is important to make a distinction between adaptation and adjust-
ment. On one hand we believe that adaptation is based in the sociocultural do-
main (Ward 2001); that is, it refers to the process of altering one’s behaviour to
fit in with a changed environment or circumstances, or as a response to social
pressure. One of the most well known models of adaptation, for instance, is
Berry’s (Berry, Kim and Boski 1988) analysis of the interaction styles for so-
journers, immigrants, and refugees. In this model, four categories of interaction
style are identified: integrators, marginalizers, separators, and assimilators.
These refer to behavioural changes made in response to different environments.