The benefits of cultural confrontation: Does the experience of cultural heterogeneity predict individual differences in accommodative regulation?

Abstract

Intercultural interactions and encounters offer valuable opportunities not only for cultural exchange and mutual stimulation but also for individual development. The central assumption of the current research is that cultural heterogeneity is a supporting condition for the development of flexibility in goal adjustment (FGA). We used measures for linguistic heterogeneity (i.e., number of languages, language switching, degree of multilingualism), cultural heterogeneity (i.e., cultural frame switching, alternating thinking style, hybrid thinking style, engagement with cultures, contact to cultures, number of cultures, migration background), and heterogeneity regarding living conditions (i.e., siblings, relocation) to predict FGA in an online-sample of 348 individuals using a forward linear regression. Engagement with cultures and hybrid thinking style positively and language switching negatively predicted flexible goal adjustment, while all other variables did not. The findings suggest that the adaptive performance required in heterogeneous sociocultural encounters and relations can be a supportive developmental condition for FGA. The same seems not to be valid for pure linguistic heterogeneity or heterogeneity of living conditions.