Cultural Experience Influences Multisensory Emotion Perception in Bilinguals

Emotion perception frequently involves the integration of visual and auditory information. During multisensory emotion perception, the attention devoted to each modality can be measured by calculating the difference between trials in which the facial expression and speech input exhibit the same emotion (congruent) and trials in which the facial expression and speech input exhibit different emotions (incongruent) to determine the modality that has the strongest influence. Previous cross-cultural studies have found that individuals from Western cultures are more distracted by information in the visual modality (i.e., visual interference), whereas individuals from Eastern cultures are more distracted by information in the auditory modality (i.e., auditory interference). These results suggest that culture shapes modality interference in multisensory emotion perception. It is unclear, however, how emotion perception is influenced by cultural immersion and exposure due to migration to a new country with distinct social norms. In the present study, we investigated how the amount of daily exposure to a new culture and the length of immersion impact multisensory emotion perception in Chinese-English bilinguals who moved from China to the United States. In an emotion recognition task, participants viewed facial expressions and heard emotional but meaningless speech either from their previous Eastern culture (i.e., Asian face-Mandarin speech) or from their new Western culture (i.e., Caucasian face-English speech) and were asked to identify the emotion from either the face or voice, while ignoring the other modality. Analyses of daily cultural exposure revealed that bilinguals with low daily exposure to the U.S. culture experienced greater interference from the auditory modality, whereas bilinguals with high daily exposure to the U.S. culture experienced greater interference from the visual modality. These results demonstrate that everyday exposure to new cultural norms increases the likelihood of showing a modality interference pattern that is more common in the new culture. Analyses of immersion duration revealed that bilinguals who spent more time in the United States were equally distracted by faces and voices, whereas bilinguals who spent less time in the United States experienced greater visual interference when evaluating emotional information from the West, possibly due to over-compensation when evaluating emotional information from the less familiar culture. These findings suggest that the amount of daily exposure to a new culture and length of cultural immersion influence multisensory emotion perception in bilingual immigrants. While increased daily exposure to the new culture aids with the adaptation to new cultural norms, increased length of cultural immersion leads to similar patterns in modality interference between the old and new cultures. We conclude that cultural experience shapes the way we perceive and evaluate the emotions of others.

Adventure Tourism: Insight from Experienced Visitors of Romanian National and Natural Parks

The rapid growth of adventure tourism is remarked all over the world, being considered as a modern form of tourism. This study attempted to investigate the preferences of experienced visitors of Romanian national and natural parks with the main focus on understanding what motives describe the three elements that define adventure tourism: physical activity, natural environment and cultural immersion, and what is the level of satisfaction regarding the quality of facilities and services. An online survey was filled in by 137 members of adventure tourism groups, being further grouped based on their experiences. Results indicate that experienced participants better appreciated the opportunity to be engaged in physical activity and to explore the natural environment. Cultural experience was perceived as similar by both groups. The level of satisfaction about facilities and services provided by the national and natural parks and adjacent rural communities was similar among groups, except for that about the existing information panels. Future development actions should address both groups to enhance their willingness to revisit the areas and increase the attractiveness of tourism in rural areas situated in the neighborhood of parks.

South Africa and the Black American Imaginary

For the author and photographer of this photo essay—a well-rounded southern woman who has traveled to more than 17 countries—there was something different yet very familiar about South Africa. This essay follows a group on a cultural immersion trip from Cincinnati, Ohio, throughout several cities in South Africa over five weeks.

Fieldwork Experience as Cultural Immersion: Two International Students and Their Professor Reflect on a Recent Evaluation Practicum

In this Practice Note, two international students (one from Latin America and the other from West Africa), reflect on their first evaluation experience gained through an evaluation practicum course. The paper includes a reflection on four main cultural challenges faced by these international students related to immersion in the culture and program context, interpersonal and communication skills, learning the language of evaluation and telling the story. The course professor, responsible for selecting projects and providing guidance to students throughout the semester, provides further reflections about the students’ perspectives and the challenges of teaching evaluation to international students.

The Impact of Cultural Immersion Experience on Identity Transformation Process

This study focused on understanding the cultural immersion experience of students who participated in Study Abroad Programs (SAP) and Global Service Learning Programs (GSL). The study looked at how the immersion experience impacted the participants’ view of self and others upon re-entry into their local community. Specifically, we applied the perspective transformation theoretical framework to analyze the extent to which participation in cultural immersion programs transforms students’ perceptions of self and others. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews suggested that by engaging in intentional immersion and guided reflections, participants became aware of the need to reevaluate their perspectives, expectations, and assumptions about self and others. We also found that there were differences in the way participants experienced the cultural immersion process and the impact it had on cultural awareness and self-identity.

‘Localitis’ in State Diplomacy: A Study on Cultural Immersion and its Effects on the Indian Foreign Service

Literature in Diplomatic Studies often reference a phenomenon where diplomats sent for too long to another country develop an affinity for their assigned country, sometimes to the detriment of their home country. This has profound implications when we examine diplomatic agents as personalities in their own right and their ability to perform as state agents. This article investigates the basis of such a claim by examining the Indian diplomatic corps as a case study to verify its validity and enlist the factors that influence this phenomenon. This article relies on interviews given by former diplomats of the Indian Foreign Service to highlight the structures that influence behaviour of diplomatic agents and the implications it may have on training for future diplomats and preparing them for the evolution of diplomacy in the technological age.