Details of Research Outputs

This study examined cultural adaptability as a predictor of sojourners’ psychological wellbeing through mental model change. A dynamic constructivist approach to cultural adaptation was employed to examine sojourners’ mental model change. Participants were 126 sojourning Chinese in the U.S. Data were collected shortly after the Chinese sojourners arrived in the U.S. and again three months later. A measure of mental model change was generated by comparing the structural similarity between each Chinese sojourner’s mental model at Time 1 with their mental model at Time 2. Results showed that cultural adaptability was positively associated with sojourners’ psychological wellbeing. In addition, culturally adaptable individuals tend to change their mental models regarding their adaptation experience faster compared with less adaptable individuals. However, such mental model change had no significant effect on sojourners’ psychological wellbeing. Theoretical and practical implications of the results were discussed