Functions of the Common Ingroup Identity Model and Acculturation Strategies in Intercultural Communication: American Host Nationals' Communication with Chinese International Students

Abstract

Identities of social groups have been considered as the fundamental factors which influence communication practices (e.g., Harwood, Giles, & Palomares, 2005). Guided by the Intergroup Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Brown & Hewstone, 2005), the Common Ingroup Identity Model (CIIM; Gaertner, Rust, Dovidio, Bachman, & Anastasio, 1994), and the acculturation framework (Berry, 1980), this experimental study examined American host nationals' perceptions of Chinese international students' cultural adaptation strategies and the effects of the strategies on American host nationals' willingness to communicate with the Chinese students. In addition, the current study also examined the indirect effects of the adaptation strategies through American host nationals' perceptions of anxiety in communicating with and social attractiveness of the Chinese students on willingness to communicate with the Chinese students. Four scenarios describing Chinese international students' cultural adaptation strategies (i.e., assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization) were developed based on CIIM and the acculturation framework. Prior to the main study, two pilot studies (N = 113 in pilot 1, N = 60 in pilot 2) were conducted to examine the validity of the manipulation of the four strategies along two conceptual dimensions: identification with home culture (i.e., Chinese culture) and identification with the host culture (i.e., American culture). In the main study, European American participants (N = 284) were asked to report their demographic information, strength of identification with American culture, and attitudes toward Chinese people in general. Then, they were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions in which they read a scenario describing a Chinese international student's cultural adaptation strategy. After reading the scenario, participants answered questions measuring their perceptions of the cultural adaptation strategy used by the Chinese international student described in the scenario. Then, they reported their perceptions of willingness to communicate with, social attractiveness of, and interpersonal communication anxiety with the Chinese student. Hypothesis 1 predicted that participants' perceptions of willingness to communicate with the Chinese international student would vary with the experimental conditions. Partially supporting Hypothesis 1, univariate analysis of variance results revealed that participants were more willing to communicate with the assimilated and integrated Chinese students than with the separated and marginalized students. Hypothesis 2 predicted that participants' judgments of the Chinese international student would vary depending on the experimental conditions. Partially supporting Hypothesis 2, multivariate analysis of variance results revealed that the assimilated and integrated Chinese students were judged more positively than the separated or marginalized Chinese student. Guided by the prior literature on intervening variables in intergroup contact research (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2008; Stephan & Stephan, 1985; Voci & Hewstone, 2003), Hypothesis 3 further predicted the indirect effects of the experimental conditions on American host nationals' willingness to communicate through two mediator variables (i.e., interpersonal communication anxiety and social attractiveness). Results of nonparametric bootstrapping procedures revealed that intercultural adaptation strategies had indirect effects on willingness to communicate through both interpersonal communication anxiety and social attractiveness. Results of this study provide several theoretical and practical implications for the growing body of intergroup contact research in an intercultural context. By incorporating the acculturation framework, for example, findings from the current study provided empirical support for a critical role played by a common ingroup identity in an intercultural context. In addition, this study challenged the taken-for-granted intervening function of anxiety in intergroup contact literature and demonstrated an imperative role of a positive intervening variable. Moreover, on a practical note, findings from this study provide insightful suggestions for the communities and education institutions in the host culture to develop effective intercultural communication training programs and strategies to cope with intercultural communication anxiety and uncertainty. Results are discussed in light of prior literature and theories of intergroup, intercultural, and interpersonal communication.