Integrative communication theory

Integrative communication theory is a theory of cross-cultural adaptation proposed by Young Yun Kim. The first widely published version of Kim's theory is found in the last three chapters of a textbook authored by William Gudykunst with Young Yun Kim as second author. See acculturation and assimilation.

Young Yun Kim's assimilation Theory of Cross-Cultural Adaptation maintains that human transformation takes only one path, assimilative. Kim argues that all human beings experience conformity as they move into a new and culturally unfamiliar environment and that they do so by "unlearning" who they were originally. The concept, cross-cultural adaptation, refers to a process in and through which an individual achieves an increasing level of psychological and functional fitness with respect to the receiving environment. Kim's theory postulates a zero-sum process whereby assimilation or "adaptation" occurs only to the extent that the newcomer lose the characteristics of their original cultural identity, such as language, customs, beliefs and values.

Kim's theory however is self-contradictory for on one hand Kim argues that the newcomer "evolves" toward becoming exactly like the host majority by internalizing the majority's ways of thinking, feeling and behaving while unlearning their own. But on the other hand Kim argues that out of this transformation emerges an intercultural identity, that somehow exists beyond all the contingencies of culture and language itself. Kim claims that individuals that enter a new culture for varying lengths of time, and to include migrant workers, diplomats, and expatriates alike

Kim's research into cross-cultural adaptation began in the 1970s through a survey of Korean immigrants in the Chicago area. It subsequently expanded to study other immigrant and refugee groups in the United States to include American Indians, Japanese and Mexican Americans, and Southeast Asian refugees. In addition to studying groups of immigrants, Young Yun Kim researched groups of students studying abroad in the United States, as well as international students in Japan, Korean expatriates in the United States and American expatriates in South Korea. The first outline of her theory was found in an article titled, "Toward an Interactive Theory of Communication - Acculturation", leading to a complete rendition of the theory in Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: An Integrative Theory

Kim states that there are five key "missing links" in cross-cultural adaptation literature, which her theory attempts to cover:

All human beings are born into an unfamiliar environment and are brought up to become part of a culture. This process is known as enculturation, and refers to the organization, integration, and maintenance of a home environment throughout the formative years along with the internal change that occurs with increasing interaction of the individual in its cultural environment.

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