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From the theoretical perspectives of anxiety and uncertainty management and intergroup contact, this study examined U.S. American participants' (N = 487) perceptions of conflict management styles with Chinese international students. Specifically, this study tested the indirect effects of participants' perceptions of contact quality with the Chinese in general and strength of Chinese international students' identification with home culture on conflict management styles through intergroup communication anxiety and social attraction. A conflict scenario was set in a typical class project context in which the American participants experienced a conflict with a Chinese international student. Results indicated that participants' perceptions of contact quality with the Chinese and Chinese international students' identification with their home culture had positive indirect effects on the problem‐solving style and negative indirect effects on the competing and avoiding styles through intergroup communication anxiety. In addition, quality of contact had positive direct and indirect effects on the accommodating style through social attraction of Chinese international students. Findings in this study generally indicated important ways in which contact experiences with outgroup members, intergroup communication anxiety, and outgroup membership influence specific communication behaviours during a conflict episode. Findings are discussed in light of prior literature and theories of intergroup contact, anxiety, and integrated threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by the acculturation framework (Berry, 1980, 2011) and communication accommodation theory (CAT; Giles, 1970, 2016), this study examines the effects of an immigrant target's acculturation strategy on U.S. Americans' accommodation satisfaction and willingness to communicate with the target and the potential interaction effect between the immigrant's acculturation strategy and the participant's assimilation attitudes. Supporting the hypotheses, results indicated participants with lower assimilation attitudes were most satisfied with the integrated target's accommodation behaviors, followed by the assimilated and separated targets. In addition, participants with higher assimilation attitudes were equally satisfied by the integrated and assimilated targets' accommodation, followed by the separated target. Across all levels of assimilation attitudes (i.e., low, moderate, and high), participants were more willing to communicate with the integrated or assimilated (no significant difference) target than with the separated target. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed regarding acculturation and inter-ethnolinguistic group relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between interability communication (i.e., communication frequency and identity accommodation) and interability attitudes and disability stereotyping through intergroup anxiety and whether the relationship varies with disability salience. Results indicated that participants' report of communication frequency with their disability-contact had a significant direct effect on the dependent variables (i.e., interability attitudes and disability stereotyping). Moderated mediation results revealed that when salience was low, communication frequency enhanced positive interability attitudes and reduced disability stereotyping through reduced anxiety. Additionally, perceptions of identity accommodation were positively associated with interability attitudes. However, when salience was moderate and high, identity accommodation reduced positive interability attitudes and elevated negative disability stereotyping through an increase in intergroup anxiety. Discussion focuses on the complementary nature of communication accommodation and intergroup contact theories, and thus illustrates the complex role played by identity accommodation in the interability context. • This study examined people without disabilities' communication with people with visible physical disabilities. • Communication frequency and identity accommodation enhanced positive interability attitudes. • Enacting identity accommodation elevated people without disabilities' intergroup anxiety when disability salience was high. • Low disability salience enhanced generalization from communication to broader and better interability attitudes. • Findings illustrate the complementary nature of communication accommodation and intergroup contact theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental study examined American host nationals’ ( N = 284) perceptions of Chinese international students’ cultural adaptation strategies and the effects of the strategies on the participants’ willingness to communicate with the Chinese students. Results generally revealed that the American participants judged the assimilated and integrated Chinese students equally more positively (i.e., more socially attractive and less communication anxiety) and were thus more willing to communicate with them than the separated and marginalized students. Findings are discussed in light of the common ingroup identity model (Gaertner et al., 1994), anxiety/uncertainty management theory (Gudykunst, 1988), and the acculturation framework ( Berry, 1980 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by the intergroup contact hypothesis, the authors examined the associations among Japanese sojourners’ (N = 94) perceived linguistic competence with English, communication accommodation of their most frequent American contact, relational solidarity with the contact, and their attitudes toward Americans as a cultural group. Results indicated that participants’ linguistic competence with English and perceptions of Americans’ communication accommodation positively predicted their relational solidarity with their most frequent American contact. In addition, relational solidarity mediated the relationships between both linguistic competence and communication accommodation and cognitive and behavioral attitudes. Results were discussed in light of communication accommodation theory, the contact hypothesis and prior literature in intergroup and intercultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]