| Chapter 1: | Introduction Stranger Scholars Abroad* |
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Acculturation theory has passed through a series of sophisticated refinements since Redfield, Lenton, and Herskovits (1936) carried out their research. An early position by Redfield et al. held that direct and sustained contact between two cultures (e.g., immigrant and host) produces behavioral changes in either or both cultures. Another position extended the theory to include the criteria of contact, conflict, and adaptation. Then there followed a refinement that took into account the conjunction of contextual and environmental factors, emphasizing that individual factors could vary acculturation experiences of immigrant persons and groups significantly. Analysis also progressed from group- to individual-level adjustments as well as to studies of specific measurable or observable elements in the psychological and social make-up of the group or the individual that testifies to change in behavior during the acculturation process. A series of theories also explored the various dimensions that the acculturation process passes through: along a single one-way continuum, along a two-way continuum that allows for both interacting cultures to dialogically and dialectically affect and change each other, or along several independent but linkable planes. Still, others felt that cultural change does not take place along any continuum as such, but rather that specific cultural traits change as they are adopted, adapted, or rejected. From an early position that conceived of acculturation as a simple one-way