Cross-Cultural Contact and Cross-Cultural Social Skills

Abstract

This presentation focuses on the psychology of cross-cultural contacts and transitions, and introduce studies conducted by the author and colleagues. The first study is a cross-cultural adjustment study of international students in Japan. We investigated the relationship between cross-cultural adjustment and social relations. For the second study, the cross- cultural adjustment of international care workers in Japan was examined. We focused on the effect of social skills on the three levels of adjustment. The third study, the cross-cultural social skills learning session is introduced. The fourth study is a practical study of American social skills learning sessions for Japanese international students in the U.S.A. Finally, future tasks and prospects for developing studies about cross-cultural adjustment and social skills which enhance cross-cultural contact and relationship formation are outlined. Keywords: cross-cultural adjustment, cross-cultural social skills, cross-cultural psychology, international students, international care workers.