The Role of Person-Culture Fit in Chinese Students' Cultural Adjustment in the United States: A Galileo Mental Model Approach

This article used a Galileo multidimensional scaling model to explain how intercultural communication affected sojourners' wellbeing in their host culture through the convergence of the mental models between sojourners and host nationals with whom the sojourners communicated. Participants were 126 sojourning Chinese in the United States and 30 associated domestic Americans. Data were collected shortly after the Chinese sojourners arrived in the United States and again 3 months later. A measure of person-culture fit was generated by comparing each Chinese sojourner's mental model with the aggregate mental model of the associated domestic Americans. Results showed that the amount of intercultural communication had a significant effect on person-culture fit, in turn affecting sojourners' adaptation outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.