An Extension of the U-Curve Hypothesis 1

Abstract

This chapter looks at adjustment in an alien social system. The acculturation process may be interpreted as a cycle of adult socialization occuring under conditions where previous socialization offers varying degrees of facilitation and interference in the new learning context. Aside from variations in classroom behavior in different university social systems there is considerable variance in the degree of social distance characteristic of faculty-student relations in different cultures. Clearer evidence of the relationship of the W-curve to other psychological processes would enhance our understanding of international educational exchange and perhaps of theory in social psychology. As with socialization, so with learning and creative endeavor in general: When one is seriously engaged in creative efforts or is deeply involved in a learning experience of emotional significance, the U-curve appears. Unless the new or old patterns of behavior or belief are of deep emotional significance, the depth or duration of the depression in the U-curve may be trivial, but it probably exists.

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