)V1SSI_J RETURNING MATERIAb§z Place in book drop to LJBRARJES remove this checkout from .—:—_ your record. FINES Win be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. FREQUENCY OF INTERACTION WITH AMERICANS AND JAPANESE AND THE ADAPTATION OF JAPANESE WIVES IN THE U.S.A. BY Kimiko Akita A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Communication 1988 ABSTRACT FREQUENCY OF INTERACTION WITH AMERICANS AND JAPANESE AND THE ADAPTATION OF JAPANESE WIVES IN THE U.S.A. BY Kimiko Akita This study is a cross-cultural study of wives of Japanese businessmen in the U.S.A.. It was hypothesized that there is a link between frequency of interaction and adaptation. Five independent variables--English language skill, the level of expression of introversion, time spent at home as a responsibility to the household, group cohesion and having children--were hypothesized to promote interaction between Japanese wives and Americans. The results of the study indicate that there is a strong linkage between frequency of interaction and adaptation. Better English language skill, less time spent at home, and less loyalty to being with other Japanese people are associated with greater frequency of interaction with Americans. However, the level of expression of introversion does not relate to frequency of interaction with Americans. While having children does not relate to frequency of interaction with Americans in general, it relates to frequency of interaction with American neighbors. Copyright by Kimiko Akita 1988 For my mother, Yukie Akita whose love, support, and encouragement will never be appreciated enough iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this study places the author in an enormous amount of debt--intellectual, professional, and personal. I would like first of all to acknowledge my great intellectual debt to my adviser, Dr. William Dailey. I benefited immeasurably from his willingness to share his knowledge of intercultural communication and to read patiently draft after draft of my work. My debt to him is profound. I would like also to express my appreciation to Dr. Jack Bain and Dr. Rex LaMore, the other members of my committee, for their assistance, advice, and support. During my research, Kazuo Sonoguchi and Yoko Sonoguchi helped me gain access to the participants in my survey. These participants, who graciously gave their time and energy to answer my questions, deserve more credit than I can express. Among the many who so generously gave their time and experience, I owe special thanks to Yuko Tasaki for her proof-reading the Japanese language version of the survey questionnaire and corresponding letters. I also wish to express my gratitude for the support and encouragement of my mother, Yukie Akita. Finally, the research would not have been possible without the generous funding of the Center for Urban Affairs at Michigan State University. List of Tables. . List of Figures . TABLE Chapter I--Introduction . . Problem. . . Purpose. . . OF CONTENTS Importance of the Study. Chapter II--Review of Literature. Overv1ew . . Adaptation & Interaction . Importance of Social Interaction Factors Which Affect Japanese Wives English Language Skills. Introverted Behavior . Responsibility Group Cohesion Children . Hypotheses . Chapter III--Methods. Participants Variables & Survey to the Household. Dependent Variables. Independent Variables. Procedure. . Chapter IV--Results . Variables & Reliablities Frequency of Interaction Adaptation . . English Language Skills. Introversion . Responsibility Group Cohesion Children . Hypotheses Tests Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Supplementary Ana y i 1 . 0‘01th .000. to the Hon 1 s s Chapter V--Discussion . . . Major Hypotheses . . . Implication of the Study Limitations of the Study vi Description O O O O O O O O O O 0 g. 0 O O O O ooooooooooHoooooo for Adaptation. Interaction Suggestions for the Future Research. . . . Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix List of References. . . . . . . . . . . . . A--1--Cover Letter in English. . . . A--2--Instruction Sheet in English . A--3--Consent Paper in English . . . A--4--Questionnaire in English . . . A--5--Reminder in English. . . . . . A--6--Thank You Letter in English. . B--1--Cover Letter in Japanese . . . B--2--Cover Letter by Mr. Kazuo Sonoguc General Manager, in Japanese . B--3--Consent Paper in Japanese. . . B--4--Instruction Sheet in Japanese. B--5--Questionnaire in Japanese. . . B--6--Reminder in Japanese . . . B--7--Thank You Letter in Japanese vii o o o o o o 0 go o o o o o o O O O O O O O ‘P O O O O O O O Page 47 49 52 53 54 55 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 67 68 69 Table Table Table Table Table Table Table 4. 5. 7. LIST OF TABLES Results for Frequency of Interaction . . . . Results for Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . Results for English Language Skills. . . . . Results for Introversion . . . . . . . . . . Results for Responsibility to the Household. Results for Group Cohesion . . . . . . . . . Correlational Coefficients between Frequency of Interaction, English Language Skill, Group Cohesion, and Time Spent at Home . . . viii Page 31 32 34 35 37 38 41 Figure 1. Figure 2. TABLE OF FIGURES Page The Linkage among Frequency of Interaction, Adaptation, English Language Skill, Time Spent at Home, Group Cohesion, and Children . 43 The Linkage among English Language Skill, Frequency of Interaction, Group Cohesion, and Time Spent at Home. . . . . . . . . . . . 45 ix FREQUENCY OF INTERACTION WITH AMERICANS AND JAPANESE AND THE ADAPTATION OF JAPANESE WIVES IN THE U.S.A. Chapter I Introduction Emblem In the 1980s, Japan's trade surplus and the strength of the yen drove Japan's investment overseas with the U.S.A. becoming the largest host to Japan’s overseas investment. As of March 31, 1985, Japanese investment accounted for 9.3 percent of the total direct foreign investment in the U.S.A., and accounted for 27.9 percent of Japan's worldwide total (Misawa, 1987). The number of Japanese investing companies is increasing every year (Misawa, 1987; Sears, 1987). As the number of investing Japanese companies has increased, the number of Japanese businessmen and their families who are transferred to live overseas has increased. By May, 1986, more than 250,000 Japanese businessmen and their families were living overseas according to the Japan Foreign Service's Survey (Osawa, 1987), and about 165,300 Japanese were living in America including the territory of Guam (included are "prolonged residents" and "permanent residents" as of October, 1985) (Ministry of Justice, 1986, p.91). From these statistics, the majority of Japanese overseas live in the United States. With the influx of Japanese families into the U.S.A., 2 cultural adaptation became a problem for the Japanese. When people from other Western cultures come to the U.S.A., their cultural adaptation may be easier than the adaptation of people from Eastern cultures. The Japanese culture is quite different from the American culture (Triandis, 1985), and, according to Simard (1981), people are more confident in predicting the behavior of culturally similar individuals than they are in predicting the behavior of culturally dissimilar individuals. Due to the dissimilarity of the American culture for Japanese, the mix of Japanese living in the U.S.A. may put the Japanese at a disadvantage socially if not professionally as well. One member of the Japanese family who may be suffering the bulk of stress over adaptability might be the Japanese wife. There are several possible reasons for Japanese wives' maladaptation. One might be a lack of training. Japanese men get extensive training in which they learn the host country language, customs, culture, and lifestyles, before their departure (Asahara, 1987). On the other hand, the Japanese wives who accompany their husbands are not provided sufficient orientation and training to cope with cultural adjustment (Asahara, 1987). A second reason is that the Japanese wives in the U.S.A. stay home due to the custom that Japanese wives are more single-handedly responsible for the household than their American counterparts (Dore, 1958; Vogel, 1967) and also that 3 they do not work in the U.S.A. though many of them worked in Japan. Inamura (1983) indicates that not having a job outside of the home inhibits Japanese wives' adaptation and suggests that wives may need to get involved with more activities and social functions. A third reason why women might adapt poorly is the lack of structure in their introduction to the U.S.A. Men, sustained by their work affiliations, and children, sustained by organized schools, are less exposed than their wives and mothers to chaos and unpredictability in their integration into their new communities (Enloe & Lewin, 1987). Men have the opportunity of predictability in the relationships with their foreign colleagues at work. Task-related relationships are structured due to the specific purpose, social support network, time schedule and equality of status (Furham, 1988). The structured interaction leads men and their hosts to perceive each other as more similar in important areas and thus increases their tolerance and acceptance of differences in other areas. It also leads to positive sentiment and more frequent interaction with the hosts which means more opportunities to adapt (Gullagorn & Gullahorn, 1963). Children, like their fathers, share task-related values and goals with their foreign friends at schools. They are provided with structured relationships and are more likely to get to know the culture. In contrast, wives have to deal with unstructured relationships with people in their 4 surroundings. They need to create meeting opportunities and handle more kinds of demands tactfully. Staying home and not having opportunities to share the professional relationship with the hosts make Japanese wives' adaptation more difficult. In addition to the three reasons described above, the Japanese wife in the U.S.A. has to cope with different social demands and expectations. She experiences stress from pressure by her husband, children, and husband's company as related to Japanese culture. Osawa (1987) warns that the Japanese wife will find herself being tested and examined to see if she is a capable wife and a charming lady overseas. Her manners and attitudes will reflect on her husband’s position in the company, so she is carefully watched and critically evaluated. She has to be an efficient diplomat and an assistant for her husband (Nakano, 1976). She must always be ready to help her husband's business. Additionally, since "A voice from Tokyo is a voice from God!" (Inamura, 1980, p.214), frequent visitors from the headquarters in Tokyo must be entertained by the Japanese businessmen and their families. The wife must be able to cook good Japanese dishes requiring many hours to prepare, arrange other entertainment for the guests, and be ready to sacrifice her weekdays and weekends (Osawa, 1987). The wife did not have to devote herself to her husband's company this much when she was in Japan. 5 Besides performing as her husband's assistant, the wife faces a cultural demand of loyalty to the other wives whose husbands work for the same company. There is even a hierarchy among the wives according to a husband's position in the company and to the wife’s length of stay overseas. Mrs. Mita, a Japanese wife who lived in New York, got exhausted from being constrantly called up by her husband's boss’ wife to help, and Mrs. Mita became ill. The mother's illness affected the children and they became ill. Mrs. Mita’s inability to perform her role as a Japanese wife affected her husband's position in his company. Instead of staying in the U.S.A. for three years as originally planned, Mr. Mita and his family were forced to go back to Japan after one year which degrades Mr. Mita's position in Japan on returning (Osawa, 1987). The Japanese wife's extra burden of maintaining good relationships with other Japanese struggling to adjust to the American culture may prevent her successful adaptation to American culture. A fifth reason for the Japanese wife's difficulties is that a Japanese mother has great concern for her children’s academic performance. When the children were in Japan, they could study according to the Japanese educational curriculum and they could go to juku (cram school) at night after going to a regular school. These things are not possible overseas. Still, children must be ready for the coming entrance examinations for Japanese high school, colleges and 6 universities when they go home. Therefore, the mother verseas arranges a tutor, locates corresponding study materials, and helps with homework, especially on Friday night ("Evil Friday") when children prepare for a Japanese supplimentary school held on Saturday (Osawa, 1987, p.47). The mother is also kept constantly busy driving children back and forth to schools. Children forced to study so much have more conflicts with their parents. The mother must handle the conflict situation smoothly and mediate the relationship between her children and their father. Japanese society emphasizes education, so mothers who have children in schools are likely to suffer stress (Osawa, 1987). When the wife is in Japan, she can share her complaints with friends and relatives: overseas she does not have such people to comfort her. With the Japanese cultural phenomena coming from Buddhism, which teaches that "Life is a struggle," Japanese wives tend to accept the situation without questioning or complaining. Thus, their problems are a hidden issue, even though the wives who cannot tolerate the situation any further may seek extreme remedies including suicide. Instead of having the Japanese wives suffer with their difficulties, something might be done to improve their lifestyle in the U.S.A. One possible remedy could be to change the flow and style of the wives' communication behavior, because communication is the major underlying 7 process as well as an outcome of the acculturation process (Kim, 1985) and because interpersonal communication can affect our emotional and psychological state. The investigation of Japanese wives' lifestyle and communication style with Americans and Japanese might lead to finding effective remedies for Japanese wives’ smooth adaptation. harness The general purpose of this study is to extend our understanding of Japanese wives’ adaptability to an American lifestyle. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to examine the effect of frequency of interaction upon adaptation. First, the study hopes to demonstrate the relationship between Japanese wives' adaptation and their interaction with Americans. Second, the study hopes to show that five factors-~English language skill, introverted behavior, responsibility to the household, group cohesiveness, and children-~are related to the frequency of interaction with Americans (and with other Japanese) which leads to adaptation. W One of the major attributes of the present study is that it is conducted in Japanese by a Japanese researcher. One problem with the current state of cross-cultural research is that the studies are done by Americans using a North American 8 frame of reference (Nadler, Nadler, & Broome, 1985). North American cross-cultural study tends to lump the Japanese culture with other oriental cultures, overlooking the individual features of the culture (Furuta, 1987). Though Confucian thought did come to Japan from China in the 5th century, the popularity of the original Japanese religion, Shinto, (since the lst century) and Buddhism (since the 13th century), led to a different thought and philosophy among Japanese. A Japanese researcher would not be so prone to use inappropriate frames of reference unconsciously. The use of the Japanese language should help to capture the true Japanese experience. Collecting English language questionnaires from Japanese harms validity, because language is a part of culture. Answering in English, Japanese think and behave differently. An expression which is important in English may not sound important at all to Japanese. The present study is also more externally valid than most because it uses adults. The use of students is considered problematic because students do not represent a typical population (Gudykunst, Nishida, & Chua, 1987). This research should be useful for planners and economic development professionals especially in depressed regions of the U.S.A.. Currently, cities are eager to attract Japanese industries to rejuvenate their local economy. In the state of Michigan, total Japanese investment in place or under construction is estimated at $1.5 billion. As a result of 9 this investment, more than 10,000 jobs have been or will be created for Michigan workers (Pow, 1986). Since Japanese wives' adaptation affects husbands' well-being and the company’s production, Japanese firms are not looking at economic features alone, but for those communities where the local people are friendly, where sufficient social support will be provided and, in general, where a good quality of life is available for the people who come to the U.S.A. (Pow, 1986). It is important, therefore, that planners and economic development professionals understand Japanese wives' adaptation in order to minimize the problems they encounter. Chapter II Review of Literature m This literature review is divided into two sections. The beginning section defines adaptation and describes the importance of interaction for adaptation including why interaction is especially important for Japanese adaptation. In the second section, the five independent variables-- English language skills, introverted behavior, responsibility to the household, group cohesion, and children--will be reviewed. These five variables are hypothesized to affect Japanese wives’ interaction opportunities with Americans and eventually affect the wives’ adaptation in the U.S.A. W121; For the purpose of examining the state of Japanese wives in the U.S.A., it is first necessary to define what adaptation means. Ruben (1983) viewed adaptation as a consequence of an ongoing process in which a system strives to adjust and readjust itself to challenges, changes, and irritants in the environment. The adaptation cycle is triggered when discrepancies between demands of an environment and capabilities of a system emerge, creating disequibrium or stress. Intercultural adaptation involves working out a fit between the person and the new cultural environment (Gudykunst and Hammer, 1988). Consequently, 10 11 adaptation is a process which people struggle through to seek for psychological stability. When they are adapted, they must feel more stable and satisfied. On the other hand, when they have not reached the adapted point, they must feel stress and are dissatisfied. Importance of Social Interaction for Adaptation In this section, the importance of interaction to adaptation will be discussed. Later, it will be argued why interaction is very important especially for the Japanese sojourners’ adaptation. When people move into a different culture, they remain anxious, confused, and sometimes apathetic or angry until they have had time to develop a new set of assumptions that help them to understand and predict the behavior of others (Furnham, 1988). This phenomenon is explained by the concept that people need to be able to predict the behavior of others for their successful communication (Miller & Steinberg, 1975, pp. 7); otherwise, they feel frustrated. The sojourners doubtlessly experience frustration and stress when they are not adapted because they cannot predict the behavior of the hosts. According to Miller and Steinberg (1975), there are three levels of analysis in making predictions of the behavior of the other for a successful communication: cultural, sociological and psychological. As an individual moves from the cultural to the sociological to the psychological level of analysis, he/she both has and needs to 12 have more information to communicate effectively. By the time he/she reaches the point where communication is psychological, he/she has enough information about the other person to predict the other person’s behavior more accurately. Thus, more information gained as an outcome of frequent interactions leads to interpersonal communication. Similarly, sojourners try to predict the behavior of the hosts accurately; they need to get enough information of the hosts and host culture through interaction to achieve successful adaptation. The positive relationship between social interaction and adaptation was seen in research done by Berry, Kim, Minds and Mok (1985) in Canada. They found that the sojourners who reported higher life satisfaction had greater knowledge of English, greater contact and participation in the larger society, fewer mental health problems, positive motivation, and fewer problems dealing with homesickness, language, ‘ prejudice, loneliness, and general adaptation. They "felt at home" in Canada. Lack of interaction with host nationals is associated with high levels of anxiety (Gullahorn 8 Gullahorn, 1966). Gudykunst states that a condition leading to favorable intercultural interaction and attitude is the opportunity for "frequent and intimate interactions with most nationals in an equal status condition" (Gudykunst, 1977, p. 7). Opportunity for intimacy and the creation of friendships are more likely 13 to reduce barriers, break down naive and overgeneralized stereotypes and reduce conflict (Lowe, Askling, 8 Bates, 1984). As interaction increases, the degree of liking for one another increases (Miller, Mongeau, 8 Sleight, 1986). This occurs because of the increase in the exchange of information and of the development of the relationship between the communicators. An attempt to make interaction such as seeking out host culture friends gives sojourners lessons acquiring the appropriate social skills necessary for a satisfying sojourn (Furnham 8 Bochner, 1982). Similarly, as an effect of interaction, the students who had made satisfactory social contact and established relationships with local people during their sojourn reported broader and more general satisfaction with their accademic as well as nonacademic experiences (Klineberg 8 Hull, 1979). As an adaptive mechanism, interaction provides sojourners with the opportunities for learning about the hosts and the host culture. At the same time, it also gives the sojourners the security and competence in communicating with the hosts in the host culture. Therefore, interaction is an important mechanism for the sojourners’ adaptation. Intercultural effectiveness which is used when people want to make effective intercultural communication varies from culture to culture. Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wiseman (1978) found that for Americans intercultural effectiveness consisted of three dimensions: the abilities to deal with 14 psychological stress, to communicate effectively, and to establish interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, Abe and Wiseman (1983) revealed that Japanese required the abilities to communicate interpersonally in order to adjust to different cultures and societal systems, to establish interpersonal relationships, and to understand others. In the Hammer et a1. study, the American subjects saw the ability to deal with psychological stress as the primary dimension of intercultural effectiveness, while the Japanese subjects in the Abe and Wiseman study perceived the ability to communicate interpersonally as the most significant dimension of intercultural effectiveness. Americans perceive communication as a means of solving or ameliorating a problematic situation: thus, they would feel uncomfortable if they could not have the listeners understand their message. On the other hand, Abe and Wiseman (1983) explained that Japanese tried to understand others. Instead of paying attention only to their own performances in presenting themselves, they expanded their communication networks. They reacted to culture as they did to people. Also, Japanese sought psychological security in conformity. They felt uncomfortable and suffered from psychological stress when they were not conforming to the other culture’s social norms. Japanese need to have interpersonal communication for their successful adaptation. Applying Miller and Steinberg’s (1975) concept, Japanese need to predict the behavior of the 15 hosts based on a psychological level of analysis. Therefore, we observe that for successful adaptation of Japanese to occur, interpersonal communication with the hosts is needed. With an increase in frequency of interaction with the hosts, Japanese will get more information about the hosts and host culture, which should enhance Japanese adaptation. Hypothesis 1 deals with this frequency of interaction. HYPOTHESIS 1: Japanese wives who have more frequency of interaction with Americans adapt to American culture and lifestyle better. Eagtppa Which Affect Japapaaa Wivea’ Interaction If there is a linkage between frequency of interaction and adaptation, then it would be useful to know what factors promote communication between visiting Japanese wives and American hosts. Five factors which could affect Japanese wives’ interaction with Americans are: 1) English language skills 2) Introverted behavior 3) Responsibility to the household 4) Group cohesion 5) Children These five variables are assumed to act as independent variables that both limit and promote interaction between Japanese wives and Americans. The following explains the relationships among each of five variables and Japanese 16 wives’ interaction. W The immigrant’s communication competence functions as a set of adjustive tools assisting the immigrants to satisfy basic needs such as the need for physical survival and the need for a sense of ”belonging” and "esteem" (Maslow, 1970, p. 47). Second language competence increases an individual’s ability to cope with uncertainty (Naiman, Frohlich, Stern, 8 Todesco, 1978). Language competence increases involvement in the new culture. Gardner (1985) further states that ability in the host language indicates both the degree to which the sojourners desire to integrate into the host culture and their motivation to study the language. Second language skill provides the sojourners with not only confidence but also opportunities to interact with the hosts. As an outcome of the interaction, the sojourners can get a better picture of the host culture and the hosts. Consequently, second language skill leads to adaptation through the channel of interaction. Japanese men who are sent overseas are usually elite workers among the employees of a company. Due to their language skill and other motivation factors, they are selected to be sent overseas by their companies, and they are provided with intensive English language training (Asahara, 1987; Osawa, 1987). The workers are often allowed to take complete absences from work to attend the training (Asahara, 17 1987). Certainly, Japanese businessmen’s second language skills make their interaction with the hosts easier and helps their adaptation. On the other hand, while some kind of orientation may be given to the workers’ wives by the companies, these are usually simple orientations lacking intensive language training (Asahara, 1987). Because Japanese wives do not have sufficient language skill, they will be inhibited in communicating with Americans. This leads to hypothesis 2. HYPOTHESIS 2: The better their English language skill, the more frequently Japanese wives interact with Americans. We; Another factor which might affect Japanese wives’ communication style is their introversion. Japanese culture favors verbal hesitancy and ambiguity to avoid disturbing or offending others (Doi, 1973: Cathcart 8 Cathcart, 1976). In Japan, silence is often preferred to eloquent verbalization. The subtle, implicit, nonverbal and intuitive expressions are of paramount importance and often used in Japanese communication. Tada (1975) comments that repression of emotion is actually an indication of assertion since a great amount of self-control may be needed to suppress bodily overt expression. Japanese introverted behavior was observed by Gudykunst (1985). He reported that the Japanese revealed high uncertainty avoidance in new situations. Japanese do not 18 feel comfortable and do not like to stand out in highly uncertain situations. On the other hand, Americans revealed low uncertainty avoidance (Gudykunst, 1985). Thus, Americans are more willing to take the initiative and behave appropriately in new situations. In the case of Japanese women, they are culturally required to take up less space than men and to restrain their emotions, thus conforming to more traditional definitions of femininity (Frieze 8 Ramsey, 1976: Ramsey, 1981). This means introversion is essential for a Japanese woman. This is demonstrated by speaking quietly, subtly, modestly, humbly, hesitantly, slowly, and calmly without showing too much emotion, as well as smiling subtly, being obedient, and expressing femininity. Japanese introversion has a positive meaning in Japanese culture: however, it would be considered strange in American culture, which can be a big obstacle for interaction between Americans and Japanese. The expression of introversion may vary among Japanese because people have their own "theories of personality," which relate certain patterns of nonverval behavior to distinct types of individuals (Heslin 8 Patterson, 1982). It is dangerous to generalize and assume that all Japanese wives are introverted. Some Japanese wives may express less introversion than others. Several studies done on the campus of an international university in Japan illustrate how subtle the idea of restraint and suppression may be and how 19 difficult conforming to this ideal may be for some of Japanese women (Chen et a1. 1980 cited in Ramsey, 1984). While Japanese women’s introverted behavior confuses Americans and probably discourage Americans from communicating with them, there should be some Japanese wives who express less introversion and are therefore able to communicate more easily with Americans. This is dealt with in hypothesis 3. HYPOTHESIS 3: The less introverted Japanese wives are, the more frequently they interact with Americans. 0 e us d Japanese housewives are single-handedly responsible for the household (Dore, 1958: Vogel, 1967). The worlds of men (work-related) and women (home-related) are far more separate in Japan than in much of the West (Dore, 1958: Vogel, 1967: Wazaki, 1965). Japanese wives are responsible for keeping a house straight and they usually stay home. The custom of staying home is an important duty especially for Japanese housewives. The housewives who stay home naturally have fewer opportunities to interact with people than the wives who work outside. A change in the housewives’ lifestyle is made when they go overseas. Almost all Japanese wives who come to the U.S.A. because of their husbands’ transfer are housekeepers whether they used to work outside in Japan or not. This transition seems to be made smoothly because staying home as 20 a Japanese wife is positively accepted. However, a Japanese wife staying home in the U.S.A. is different than in Japan. The wives who used to stay home, while continuing the job of housekeeping, find that the situation is different overseas. There are no longer the parents-in-law and neighbors that the wives can turn to and talk with. As a consequence of lacking in interaction, the housewives may get depressed and frustrated. For the wives who used to work in Japan, the housekeeping life in America may get extremely boring and lonely due to the lack of communication they were accustomed to at work. The lack of frequency of interaction with people will reduce Japanese wives’ adaptation. Some other results of staying home as a Japanese wife in the U.S.A. are due to the reduction of frequency of interaction with Americans. For one, neighborhood socialization functions overseas are not as active as in Japan. Even though the wives stay home in Japan, they can interact with their neighbors often at neighborhood and community meetings. Further, the wives in the U.S.A. do not have opportunies to meet people at shopping places and other facilities. Shopping centers and markets are not reasonably close-by, so the wives cannot go shopping every day like they used to do in Japan. Other facilities are also spread out in the U.S.A. and make the wives’ accessability difficult, unless they are lucky enough to have a car. Finally, Japanese wives in Japan usually meet their neighbors when 21 they do laundry and hang clothes outside to dry every morning, yet this custom is not practiced in the U.S.A. Consequently, the fact of staying home reduces Japanese wives’ opportunities to interact with Americans, which results in hypothesis 4. HYPOTHESIS 4: The less time Japanese wives spend at home, the more frequently they interact with Americans. W Japanese are perceived as collectivistic (Hofstede, 1980, 1983). According to Triandis (1985), collectivistic cultures tend to have few (one or two) ingroups, and these have wide spheres of influence. What is more, members of collectivistic cultures must take into consideration the specific individuals present in the situation and their status relationship with them in deciding how to behave in a particular situation (Gudykunst, Yang, 8 Nishida, 1987). A collective culture emphasizes goals and needs of the ingroup over those of individuals. Group cohesiveness is extremely important: people are strictly loyal to the influential groups. To maintain their collective nature, Japanese want to behave the way others behave. In collectivism, people should not break down social harmony. People must think of the others first and themselves last. By behaving like others, people can maintain social harmony and not stand out. Maintaining collectivism as a Japanese tradition is quite 22 possible even when Japanese families are overseas. This is partly because Japanese companies usually send numbers of families together. In examining Japanese families overseas, Enloe and Lewin (1987) found that one of the typical responses from Japanese families was, "We did everything that our Japanese neighbors did." Hence, Japanese wives overseas still preserve collectivism for their security. They wish to behave like other Japanese wives do. The problem arises when the loyalty to collectivism is too strong and adaptation to the new culture and people is hindered (Inamura, 1980). The collective people must always be careful being watched by the other collective people. It is not easy for collective people to break down their group cohesiveness. If one member tried to integrate to the hosts, he/she would be thrown out of the collective. Thus, there is always pressure on collective members to stay with themselves. This behavior would prevent collective members from interacting with the hosts. Consequently, Japanese wives overseas would have a great tendency to spend more time with themselves than with Americans, and they would feel more pressure to be with other Japanese people. This group cohesive attitude would reduce Japanese wives’ interaction with Americans. Hypothesis 5 states this theory. HYPOTHESIS 5: The less Japanese wives are loyal to other Japanese people, the more frequently they interact with Americans. 23 Children A final factor which might influence Japanese wives’ interaction could be children. Japanese wives who have children, especially little children, may have more interactions with Americans. One possible reason could be that in initial interaction, people tend to exchange non- interpersonal information such as talking about the weather. If there are children, people find it is easy to carry on a conversation. Having children creates similarity among people cross-culturally and gives them an external topic. Similarity in attitudes leads to the increased liking of another person (Bryne 8 Griffitt, 1966; Bryne, Baskett, 8 Hodges, 1971: Worchel 8 McCormick, 1963). It is reinforcing to have others agree with us and punishing to have them disagree with us (Festinger, 1954). People can easily agree on talking about children or on dealing with matters regarding child care. This leads to hypothesis 6. HYPOTHESIS 6: Japanese wives with children interact with Americans more frequently than Japanese wives without children. We HYPOTHESIS 1: Japanese who have more frequency of interaction with Americans adapt to American culture and lifestyle better. HYPOTHESIS 2: The better their English language skill, 24 the more frequently Japanese wives interact with Americans. HYPOTHESIS 3: The less introverted Japanese wives are, the more frequently they interact with Americans. HYPOTHESIS 4: The less time Japanese wives spend at home, the more frequently they interact with Americans. HYPOTHESIS 5: The less Japanese wives are loyal to other Japanese people, the more frequently they interact with Americans. HYPOTHESIS 6: Japanese wives with children interact with Americans more frequently than Japanese wives without children. Chapter III Methods W Participants were Japanese wives who lived in a suburb of a large city in the mid-western United States. Out of 161 Japanese wives who resided in that region, 50 of them were randomly selected. All grew up in Japan. All of their husbands worked for the same Japanese company. The majority of them had been in the U.S.A. for l-2 years. u esc ' o The study sample of fifty wives was mailed a survey in Japanese (See the questionnaire in Appendix B). The survey consisted of 24 questions. The majority of questions used Likert scales. Mommas There were two dependent variables in this study: frequency of interaction and adaptation of Japanese wives who lived in the U.S.A.. Interaction included talking, visiting and telephoning. The frequency of interactions questions inquired as to how often the participants interacted with Americans. The nature of the relationship and the nature of message were not tested because the study focused on frequency, and because the nature of the relationship and the nature of message are almost impossible to measure cross- culturally in a survey as opposed to other participant- 25 26 observer methods. The nine options to answer ranged from "No interaction at all," to "More than three hours every day." The other dependent variable, adaptation, was tested by three questions. One of the questions was based on Gudykunst and Hammer’s (1987) finding in which people who were adapted felt they fit into the lifestyle. The question was "I have adjusted to the American lifestyle." The other two questions included "Life in America is quite comfortable for me," and "I still feel strange about American customs which I felt strange about when I came to the U.S.A." The questions were answered using 6 point Likert scales (1=strongly agree, 6=strongly disagree). e V s Five independent variables--English language skill, introversion, group cohesion, responsibility to the household and children--were operationalized. English language skill was tested by asking subjects questions in which they rated their ability and confidence in English. These questions included "My ability to speak English is adequate," "The thought of having to communicate in English makes me nervous," ”I can speak English only a little," "I can go shopping in English quite well,” and "I can discuss abstract ideas and concepts in English." Likert 6 point scales (1=strongly agree, 6=strongly disagree) were used for all five questions. Introversion was operationalized with the level of 27 quietness and modesty (hesitancy) the participants claimed to use when they spoke with Japanese and Americans. The questions were: "I speak quietly when I talk with Japanese," ”I speak quietly when I talk with Americans," "I speak modestly (hesitantly) when I talk with Japanese," and "I speak modestly (hesitantly) when I talk with Americans." In addition, four questions measured the importance the participants attributed to quietness and modesty (hesitancy) in communicating with Japanese and Americans. The questions were: "I think it is important to speak quietly during conversation with Japanese," "I think it is important to speak modestly (hesitantly) during conversation with Japanese," "I think it is important to speak quietly during conversation with Americans," and "I think it is important to speak modestly (hesitantly) during conversation with Americans." All the questions used Likert 6 point scales (1=strongly agree, 6=strongly disagree). Responsibility to the household was operationalized with one question measuring the average time participants spent in the home. They responded by choosing one of four answers ranging from "Most of the time I stay home," to "I go out for more than four hours every day." Group cohesion was operationalized with three questions. Two looked at the relative importance of contact with Japanese versus Americans. These were: "If I had a conflict between attending a Japanese wives’ meeting and socializing 28 with Americans, I would attend the Japanese wives’ meeting," and "It is very important for me to spend time with Japanese, even if that reduces the time I have to spend with Americans," were answered with 6 point scales (1=strongly agree, =strongly disagree). The other question was to find how important Japanese get-togethers/meetings were for the wives: "How do you feel about Japanese get- togethers/meetings?". A Likert 5 point scale was used (1=extreme1y important, 5=least important). In terms of children, the wife was simply asked how many children she had. EIQQEQEIE This research was submitted to and approved by the Human Subject Committee at Michigan State University. In order to conduct research with Japanese, it was necessary to contact the person who was at the top of the subjects’ hierarchy. This method was used to get a high response from the subjects because in the Japanese culture hierarchy is extremely important and influential. The researcher contacted the General Manager of a manufacturing factory. He assisted by supplying the names and addresses of the married couples and by writing a supplementary cover letter to be enclosed in the survey. The 50 subjects out of 161 were randomly selected. The survey was mailed out along with a stamped return envelope. 29 A reminder was sent two weeks after the first mailing. All participants also received a thank you letter. Chapter IV Results Of the 50 women who received questionnaires, 33 (66.7%) returned them. The results will be presented in three sections. The first section summarizes the questionnaire answers for each variable and presents the reliabilities for multiple-question variables when applicable. The second section reports the results of the hypotheses tests. The third sections details supplemental results which add more insight into the adaptation of the Japanese wives. V s e i es c o t o The finding indicates that Japanese wives seldom interact with American neighbors or American non-neighbors. Thirteen people out of the total 33 participants said that they never interacted with American neighbors (See Table 1). While the two items were too few to generate a good reliability, they were correlated (r= .09, df=31, p< .01) and were summed to account for total interaction with Americans. The combined interaction variable took care of the skewness problem in the first question. 30 31 I Table 1: Results for Frequency of Interaction Questionnaire 8 Freq % Mean SD Optional Answer How often do you interact with American neighbors? I. Never . . . . . . . 13 . . 39.4 . . 2.24 . . 1.30 2. 2-3 days/month. . . 7 . . 21.2 3. 1/week. . . . . . . 7 . . 21.2 4. 2-3 days/week . . . 5 . . 15.2 5. 30 minutes/day 6. 30m-1 hour/day. . . 1 . . 3.0 7. 1-2 hours/day 8. 2-3 hours/day 9. Over 3hours/day How often do you interact with Americans (excluding American neighbors)? 1. Never . . . . . . . 6 . . 18.2 . . 2.49 . . 1.12 2. 2-3 days/month. . . 14 . . 42.2 3. 1/week. . . . . . . 5 . . 15.2 4. 2-3 days/week . . . 7 . . 21.2 5. 30 minutes/day. . . 1 . . 3.0 6. 30m-1 hour/day 7. 1-2 hours/day 8. 2-3 hours/day 9. Over 3hours/day Freq=Frequency, %=Frequency Percentage, SD=Standard Deviation Adam 32 The results indicate that Japanese wives are slightly adapted to the American culture and lifestyle (See Table 2). Table 2: Results for Adaptation Questionnaire 8 Optional Answer Mean SD Mode Mode Freq Mode I still feel strange about American customs. strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree I have adjusted to American lifestyle. strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree Life in America is quite comfortable to me. strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree 4.06 4 17 51.5 42.4 54.5 SD=Standard Deviation, Mode Freq=Mode Frequency, Mode %= Mode Percentage The spread for each question was high and good. Feeling adjusted to an American lifestyle and feeling comfortable with an American lifestyle, was highly correlated (r= .50, df=3l, p< .05). However, the correlation between feeling strange about American customs and feeling adjusted to an 33 American lifestyle (r= .14, df=31, p< .05) as well as between feeling strange about American customs and feeling comfortable with an American lifestyle (r= .09, df=31, p< .05) were low. Since an alpha was low for the three items, each item was used separately in the analysis. We Japanese wives say that their English language skill is satisfactory for living in the U.S.A.; however, their English language skill is not good enough to discuss abstract ideas and concepts (See Table 3). Coefficient alpha for English language skills was highly reliable, .83, so the items were summed into a single English language construct. W Japanese wives have a wide range of opinion on the expression of introversion as opposed to adhering to the expected stereotype of Japanese shyness (See Table 4). Japanese wives were not necessarily introverted around Japanese or Americans. The spread of the variables simply indicates the shyness was present for some, but not others. Coefficient alpha was .78 for the 8 items. So the items were summed into a single construct. 34 Table 3: Results English Language Skilb Questionnaire 8 Mean Optional Answer SD Mode Mode Freq Mode My ability to speak English is adequate. 4.52 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree The thought of having to communicate in English makes me nervous. 3.27 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree I can speak English only a little. 4.49 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree I can go shopping in English quite well. 3.58 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree I can discuss abstract ideas and concepts in English. 5.58 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree 11 10 22 33.3 24.2 30.3 27.3 66.7 SD=Standard Deviation, Mode Freq=Mode Frequency, Mode %= Mode Percentage Table 4: 35 Results for Introversion Questionnaire 8 Optional Answer Mean SD Mode Mode Freq Mode I speak quietly when I talk with Japanese. strongly agree I speak quietly when I talk with Americans. strongly agree I speak modestly 3.93 strongly 123456 disagree 3.55 strongly 123456 disagree (hesitantly) when I talk with Japanese. strongly agree I speak modestly (hesitantly) when I talk with Americans. strongly agree I think it is important to speak quietly during conversation with Japanese. strongly agree I think it is important to speak modestly (hesitantly) during conversation with Japanese. strongly agree 3.76 strongly 123456 disagree 3.30 1.40 2 strongly 123456 disagree 2.94 strongly 123456 disagree 3.79 strongly 123456 disagree 10 12 30.3 24.2 27.3 27.3 36.4 39.4 SD=Standard Deviation, Mode Freq=Mode Frequency, Mode %= Mode Percentage 36 Table 4(cont’d.). Questionnaire 8 Mean Optional Answer SD Mode Mode Freq Mode % I think it is important to speak quietly during conversation with Americans. 3.15 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree I think it is important to speak modestly (hesitantly) during conversation with Americans. 4.09 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree 36.4 36.4 SD=Standard Deviation, Mode Freq=Mode Frequency, Mode %= Mode Percentage 8W5: Most of the Japanese wives go out for three to four hours on average (See Table 5). In the questionnaire concerning frequency of interaction (See Table 1), Japanese wives replied that they seldom interacted with Americans. Consequently, it seems that for the three to four hours when Japanese wives are not at home they most likely interact with Japanese. 37 Table 5: Results for Responsibility to the Household Questionnaire 8 Mean SD Mode Mode Mode Optional Answer Freq % How long do you go out every day on weekdays on 4.00 1.23 4 14 42.4 average? 1. Most of the time, I stay home. 2. I go out for about 1-2 hours. 3. I go out for about 2—3 hours. 4. I go out for about 3—4 hours. 5. I go out for more than 4 hours. SD=Standard Deviation, Mode Freq=Mode Frequency, Mode %- Mode Percentage We]: Japanese wives indicate that Japanese get-togethers are rather important for them. At the same time they thought that spending time with Americans was as important as spending time with Japanese (See Table 6). Coefficient alpha for the three items was acceptable ( .83). The items were summed into a single construct. Children Twenty-eight of the wives (85%) replied that they have children with them in the United States. 38 Table 6: Reliabilities for Group Cohesion Questionnaire 8 Mean Optional Answer SD Mode Mode Freq Mode If I had a conflict between attending a Japanese wives’ meeting and socializing with Americans, I would attend the Japanese wive’s meeting. strongly strongly 4.06 agree 123456 disagree It is very important for me to spend time with Japanese, even if that reduces the time I have to spend with Americans. 4.21 strongly strongly agree 123456 disagree How do you feel about Japanese get-togethers/meetings? 2.82 1. extremely important 2. important 3. slightly important 4. not very important 5. least important 51.5 42.4 39.4 SD=Standard Deviation, Mode Freq=Mode Frequency, Mode %= Mode Percentage 39 HYEQ§h§§§§_I§§§§ Hypothesis 1 Frequency of interaction with Americans was strongly correlated with feeling adjusted to an American lifestyle (r= .57, df=31, p< .001) and was also correlated with still feeling strange about American customs (r= .46, df=31, p< .01). However, the relationship between frequency of interaction with Americans and feeling comfortable with an American lifestyle was very low. The two positive correlations indicate that people who interact with Americans more frequently are better adapted to the American lifestyle. Consequently, hypothesis 1 was confirmed. W2. The correlation between English language skill and frequency of interaction was significant (r= .42, df=31, p< .01). The result supported hypothesis 2 "The better their English language skill, the more frequently Japanese wives interact with Americans." WELLS. It was found that the relationship between the level of introversion and frequency of interaction was not significant. Wu Though the correlation between the time spent at home and frequency of interaction with Americans was weak (r= .33, 40 df=31, p< .05), hypothesis 4 "The less time Japanese wives spend at home, the more frequently they interact with Americans,” was supported. This relationship, however, was not as strong as some other relationships examined in the study. EMILE Group cohesion and frequency of interaction were also very weakly correlated (r= .30, df=31, p< .05). Hypothesis 5 "The less Japanese wives are loyal to other Japanese people, the more frequently they interact with Americans," was supported. This relationship is the weakest in the study. BMW The result indicated that having children was not related to the frequency of interaction with Americans in general. However, since children usually tend to get attention from American neighbors, the frequency variable was divided back to its original questions. It was found that having children was significantly related to the frequency of interaction with American neighbors (r= .41, df=31, p< .01). Consequently, hypothesis 6, "The Japanese wives with children interact with Americans more frequently than the Japanese wives without children," was supported under special conditions. W A supplementary analysis was conducted to get a more 41 complete view of the factors which affect interaction. English language skill was strongly correlated with frequency of interaction (r= .42, df=31, p< .01); with group cohesion (r- .47, df=31, p< .01): and with time spent at home (r= .43, df=31, p< .01). Group cohesion was not related to time spent at home (See Table 7). It is understandable that English language skill relates to frequency of interaction. As English language skill is high, the ability to interact may increase. It is perhaps more interesting that English language skill relates to loyalty to Japanese and staying at home. English language skill may have a central role in Table 7: Correlational Coefficients between Frequency of Interaction, English Language Skill, Group Cohesion, and Time spent at Home English less less having less language loyal intro- children stay skill to Jap version home more interaction .42* .30 .06 .22 .33 better English .47* .22 .02 .43* skill less loyal to Japanese .18 .18 .17 less introversion .06 .29 having children .14 * p< .01 42 adapting to the American culture. In the following discussion section, "Implications of the Study", the relationships, among English language skill, group cohesion and time spent at home will be considered. Chapter V Discussion W This research confirmed hypothesis 1, hypothesis 2, hypothesis 4, and hypothesis 5 under the special circumstance in which the wives with children are to interact with neighbors only. The results imply that the Japanese wives who have high competency in English go out often, do not stay with other Japanese and have children usually interact with Americans more often and feel better adapted to the American lifestyle and culture. Figure 1 shows the interrelationship among these variables. English . language skill . . frequency of time spent . . . . . interaction . . . adaptation spent at home . . group cohesion . . children Figure 1: The Linkage among Frequency of Interaction, Adaptation, English Language Skill, Time Spent at Home, Group Cohesion, and Children The only independent variable which was not related to interaction was introversion. This might due to the fact that introversion was simply unrelated to frequency of interaction. Another interpretation of the result would be that the measurement used in the research was not 43 44 appropriate. To measure introversion, speaking quietly and speaking modestly (hesitantly) were used. However, these two items may be measurements of how the society conceptually tells people to behave but not how the people actually behave. Instead of introversion, politeness might have been measured. This would affect the style with which Japanese might interact with Americans, but not how much they would interact. Hypothesis 6 was confirmed under the special condition in which participants interact with American neighbors. This may be because of a propinquity effect. While children would facilitate the opportunities for their mothers and Americans to interact with each other, the children are more likely to be present at all around the neighborhood. Further, it may be their children’s contacts with American children that prompts the mothers’ interactions. Impligatipp pf tha Study The findings indicated that frequency of interaction was significantly related to adaptation, English language skills, time spent at home in household responsibility, group cohesion, and children. In the supplementary analysis, it was found that English language skill was strongly related to interaction, group cohesion and time spent at home (See Figure 2). 45 group .cohesion . English . .frequency language . . . . . . . of interaction skill . . . time . spent at. home Figure 2: The Linkage among English Language Skill, Frequency of Interaction, Group Cohesion, and Time Spent at Home Converging this information (See Figure 1 and Figure 2), three interpretations can be made. Fipap, because English language skills are poor, the wife may tend either stay home or be with other Japanese people. Then, the wife’s number of interactions with Americans would be small and she would not adapt. Sacopdiy, since the wife feels enormous responsibility to the household, she does not have a chance to learn English and, thus, she ends up being with other Japanese people. Thing, the wife may feel loyalty to other Japanese people. Suppose those other Japanese are not going to English language schools or their language skills are poor. The wife is not supposed to go to school by herself to improve her English skill when the wife of her husband’s boss does not have high competency in English. The wife should not embarrass the wife of her husband’s boss. Eventually she will just stay home. Because this study did not look at causality, it is not sure which one of the three interpretations may be correct. 46 On the whole, the best way for Japanese wives to increase the frequency of interaction with Americans seems to be improving English language skills. Thus, it is recommended that Japanese companies in the U.S.A. and local economic development professionals provide adequate English language learning facilities to Japanese wives. On the side of Japanese wives, they should improve their English language ability to increase frequency of interaction with Americans and to adapt more easily. It is also suggested that U.S. communities and neighbors should provide opportunities for Japanese wives to get involved with Americans by having get- together and other events. When programs and orientations which are to promote Japanese wives’ frequency of interactions with Americans are designed, it is a good strategy to contact the manager of the company and ask him to get his wife’s support for the new activities. Because of Japanese hierarchical system, the wife of the manager would influence other wives and the new programs would be highly supported from the wives. W There were several limitations to this study. First, the study did not look at the nature of the message and the intimacy of the relationship with other people. In this study, an interaction on the phone was assumed to be as effective as face-to-face interaction and interaction with 47 strangers was assumed to be effective as interaction with friends. Besides, the interaction Japanese wives had with Japanese may not have been the same as the interaction they had with Americans. Secondly, the survey research might be limited because it measured self-reports instead of behaviors. The Japanese wives’ confidence in English language skills may not be the same as the English language abilities the wives can actually demonstrate. In addition, in the survey the Japanese wives answered that it was important to interact with Japanese and Americans. However, they seem to interact with Japanese rather than Americans in their daily life. This indicates that belief or ideal on mind does not represent people’s behavior. Third, the study was conducted in a rather homogeneous area where all the husbands of the participants worked for the same Japanese company and several Japanese families lived in the same neighborhoods. Because of propinquity, the result may have indicated that Japanese wives wereunlikely to interact with Americans when other Japanese are available. Finally, the study looked at correlations only, and causality of the variables was not tested. Thus, the results could not indicate the direction of the variables. 8 8 es r Since this study did not look at the nature of the 48 relationship of the participants and the nature of the message they communicate, in future research, these should be taken into account. Then the kind of message and the kind of interaction which are related to adaptation could be found. In addition, future research should be done by using the participant-observer method so that the behavior of the participants will be clearly measured, and the findings will be more accurate. This study was conducted in a rather homogeneous area where all of the participants’ husbands worked for the same company. There were relatively many Japanese families in that region. In the future, comparative study of the many regions where Japanese industries have moved in would be interesting. Also, the Japanese wives who live in rural regions where only a few Japanese families reside may be studied. The future researcher should study causality after which the direction of the variables would be discovered, and strong recommendations could be made. Since the participants in the study were approached in the correct Japanese manner, a higher response rate was achieved. For a successful cross-cultural study, it is important for the researcher to understand the participants’ culture and conduct the research in an appropriate manners for the participants’ culture. Any future cross-cultural researcher should be well aware of the participants’ culture 49 in order to achieve a high cooperation from the participants. Conclusions Japanese wives’ frequency of interaction with Americans and its relationship to adaptation, English language skill, introversion, responsibility to the household, group cohesion and children have been studied. A strong linkage was found between frequency of interaction and adaptation. Frequency of interaction was also related to English language skill, responsibility to the household, and group cohesion. Japanese wives’ having children was not related to frequency of interaction with Americans: however, it was related to frequency of interaction with American neighbors. Japanese wives’ expression of introversion was not related to frequency of interaction with Americans. This may be due to the fact that introversion was simply unrelated to frequency of interaction or the measurement for it was inappropriately measured. A supplementary analysis was added in the end of the study. The result indicated that English language skill was strongly related to time spent at home and group cohesion. This implies that the Japanese wife who has high English language skill may be able to adapt better than the wife who has low English language skills because she goes out more and interacts with Americans more when she does. Acquiring a second language facilitates adaptation. This implication may 50 be applicable to other cross-cultural settings such as when Americans who live in France and learn French adapt better to French culture. Limitations to the study and suggestions for the future study were included. The nature of the message and relationship of the participants were not looked at and should be looked at in the future. The survey-method was used, but the participant-observer method should be used in the future. The study was conducted in a single geographic area, but future study should be conducted in different settings. The study was a correlational study, so the causal study should be conducted in the futue. Overall, the study suggests that Japanese wives need to interact more frequently with Americans, improve English language ability, have children and spend less time at home. These findings could be used by U.S. economic development professionals who have Japanese firms currently in their communities and who are attempting to attract Japanese investments. Using the results better, orientation and training programs could be designed in the future for the Japanese wives, which could enhance Japanese wives’ adaptation. In conclusion, this study helped cross-cultual communication researchers in understanding Japanese wives’ cross-cultural communication and adaptation. I personally hope my study will contribute to future cross—cultural 51 communication researchers, especially those who study the communication between Japanese and Americans, and I hope that the understanding of cross-cultural communication will better human communication globally. APPENDICES APPENDIX A Appendix A--1 Cover Letter in English June 27 , 1988 Mrs. 1234 North Drive Flat Rock, MI 41200 Dear Mrs . I am a graduate student majoring in Communication--Urban Studies at Michigan State University. My interest is in cross-cultural communication between Japanese and Americans. Right now I am working on the thesis for an M.A. degree. My topic is about Japanese wives’ communication style, lifestyle and cultural adaptation in the U.S.A. I am doing this research in order to make your stay more comfortable. Mr. Sonoguchi, the General Manager of U.S.A. Mazda Co., Ltd., kindly supports my research and he provided me a list of Japanese workers’ names and addresses. You were randomly selected from that list. For my research, I would really like to ask you a big favor. I am sending you a questionnaire, a consent paper, and an envelope. I would very much appreciate if you could spend a few minutes to answer the questionnaire enclosed and send it back to me as soon as possible. Please remember that you are free to resign from this survey if you desire to do so. The company name, your name and address, and your answer will be confidential. There will be no way for me or Mr. Sonoguchi to trace your name and addresses later. The result of this research will be used only for academic purposes. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for cooperating in my research. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Sincerely yours /c4./fl©~ Kimiko Akita 1565 K Spartan Village Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48823 Tel: (517)355-3162 52 Appendix A--2 Instruction Sheet in English INSTRUCTION SHEET There are a total of 24 questions. The questionnaire takes about 10-15 minutes. Most of the questions are multiple choice questions. Eiaaaa pnpose opa at the angwera {ppm the iiat o: stale. For example, given the statement: "Life in America is quite comfortable for me," and given six scales below to answer, if you agree with the statement completely, you would circle (1). If you are in weak agreement, you would circle (3). If you disagree with the statement completely, you would circle (6). (1) strongly agree (2) agree (3) slightly agree (4) slightly disagree (5) disagree (6) strongly disagree For some of the questions you may choose two or more answers if they apply. For example, suppose you have two children: one in a kindergarten and the other in an elementary school. Given a question: "Do your children go to school?", you will circle (2) and (3) from the scale provided. (1) child/children are too young to go to school (2) child/children go to kindergarten (3) child/children go to elementary school (4) child/children go to junior high school (5) child/children go to high school (6) child/children go to college/university (7) child/children do not go to any schools When you do the questionnaire, please do it by yourself and be honest. It would be ideal if you do not have any interruptions such as having visitors or receiving telephone calls. After you are done with the questionnaire, would you please put it in the provided envelope and mail it to me immediately. At that time, in order to protect your privacy and anonimity, £L§A§E 29 NOT WRiTE YOUR NAME OR ;||' 0 !g_’ 11 0 T 0 ' it OR HE RETU' ENYELQEE- Thank you. Please proceed to the next page. Before you start the questionnaire, please read the following. 53 Appendix A--3 Consent Paper in English DEBABIMENIAL_EE§EAB£H_§QN§EHI_EQBM You have the right to withdraw from any study at any time without penalty. Your participation in a study does not guarantee any beneficial results to you. The result of a given study will be treated in strict confidence with regard to the data on any given participant. Within this restriction, the results will be made available to you at your request. The data yor provide a researcher as a result of your participation in a given study may be used by other scientists for secondary analysis. Again data will be treated with the strictest confidence. Should you have any questions, problems, complaints, or if you desire further information, you have the right to contact the Research Coordinator, Dr. Jack Bain [Tel:(517)355-0221] in the Department of Communication, Michigan State University. Given these understandings, you freely consented to participate in scientific research being conducted during this term in the Department of Communication, Michigan State University. 54 Appendix A—-4 Questionnaire in English QQE§IIQHEAIBB How long have you been in the U.S.A.? (1) less than 6 months (2) 6 months-1 year (3) 1-2 years (4) 2-3 years (5) 3-4 years (6) more than 4 years Do you have any children? (1) Yes (2) No ***FOR THE QUESTION 1 and 2, PLEASE CIRCLE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: (1) never (2) a few days a month (3) once a week (4) a few days a week (5) every day (less than 30 minutes) (6) every day (30 minutes-1 hour) (7) every day (1-2 hours) (8) every day (2-3 hours) (9) every day (more 3 hours) How often do you interact with your American neighbors? (including talking, visiting, telephoning) a few once a few N days a week days 30 30-1 1-2 2-3 3+ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 How often do you interact with Americans other than your neighbors? (including talking, visiting, telephoning) a few once a few N days a week days 30 30-1 1-2 2-3 3+ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 55 56 ***FOR THE QUESTION 3 THROUGH 20, PLEASE CIRCLE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: (1) strongly agree (2) agree (3) slightly agree (4) slightly disagree (5) disagree (6) strongly disagree 3. I still feel strange about American customs which I felt strange about when I came to the U.S.A. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 4. I have adjusted to the American lifestyle. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 5. Life in America is quite comfortable for me. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 6. My ability to speak English is adequate. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 7. The thought of having to communicate in English makes me nervous. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 8. I can speak English only a little. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 9. I can go shopping in English quite well. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 10. I can discuss abstract ideas and concepts in English. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 11. I speak quietly when I talk with Japanese. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 12. I speak quietly when I talk with Americans. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 13. I speak modestly (hesitantly) when I talk with Japanese. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 14. I speak modestly (hesitantly) when I talk with Americans. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 15. I think it is important to speak quietly during conversation with Japanese. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 57 16. I think it is important to speak modestly (hesitantly) during conversation with Japanese. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 17. I think it is important to speak quietly during conversation with Americans. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 18. I think it is important to speak modestly (hesitantly) during conversation with Americans. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 19. If I had a conflict between attending a Japanese wive’s meeting and socializing with Americans, I would attend the Japanese wive’s meeting. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 20. It is very important for me to spend time with Japanese, even if that reduces the time I have to spend with Americans. strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 strongly disagree 21. How do you feel about Japanese get-together/meetings? (l) extremely important (2) important (3) slightly important (4) not very important (5) least important 22. How long do you go out every day on weekdays in average? (1) Most of the time, I stay home. (2) I go out for about 1-2 hours. (3) I go out for about 2-3 hours. (4) I go out for about 3-4 hours. (5) I go out for more than 4 hours. APPENDIX A--5 Reminder in English July 13, 1988 Mrs. 1234 North Drive Flat Rock, MI 41200 Dear MES o I have sent you a survey a few weeks ago. Since the results of the research are not only for my thesis but also will help Japanese visiting wives in the U.S.A., your response is extremely important. If you have not filled in the survey yet, will you please do so and send it to me as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely Kimiko Akita 1565 K Spartan Village Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48823 Tel: (517)355-3162 58 APPENDIX A--6 Thank You Lettter in English July 27, 1988 Mrs. 1234 North Drive Flat Rock, MI 41200 Dear Mrs. Thank you very much for your cooperation for the survey research. With your kind support, satisfactory results came out of the data analysis. I really appreciate your generosity of spending your precious time on my survey. Sincerely /@ ¢fi Kimiko Akita 1565 K Spartan Village Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48823 Tel: (517)355-3162 59 APPENDIX B APPENDIX B--l [€8N535EOIQZ'TB Cover Letter in Japanese WE EmotELHbO.EafiytiméfitffitiLwEEEEZO 0&034. Em.w##WEJLTL15#Z flu.59fiymvk$ C(351z7—&3V$$Efiime$A%$m?¢; %%;mlao mifié§ttfi.kHMEEtuEwiLtfi.fifififiatkfiyizv ywfimfimfixmkmfim.imKEET—vufl§¢mfii$xm¢T. ratrtsammshfisauao.nsm7yr—re.msneear'taan V'il ledge Michigan State University East Lansing. MI 48823 Tel:(517)355-3162 60 APPENDIX B--2 Cover Letter by Mr. Kazuo Sonoguchi, General Manager in Japanese 5 2.) \TU/VE 17. 2M .. 4 f\ @171}; in math 17in] WW Sana-W33. KT“ 3'5" 723/5114 ”alin'T. 3’} ’MTH =1; WA/NE GOUA/7/ a) Giz‘ij'i ,talflyaqqflaf} 7’7’} 1.. ”/7646; n 31736711 713:]? T50}; vfluunr‘ 329:1. /7\Ei ’7 Emit/S $313319 Qfl’fim 'C" ‘E‘QJUU‘O ”Fwd" :1’ 7731: LC-‘L 9 T 75:] L12 Vain“ =\» 3197". 587:. 1517?; x.” ”("4 4 1" Tim 20 V1 énrf’c 144.);in gar .. 1.1,. Li \H \\ N H u c (ARM/27975 loud/soak; an»; 61 APPENDIX B--3 Consent Paper in Japanese 7y7—ramwamm.mmmse W%ATéw. 1.cm?y7—b«®§M$§mu.mttmamfifinlébmfv. 2.:mryveramsmu.almeaesd’5: 7; ii. €177) ( 1 ) - (7) 60417915). ( i } £f5cr‘3ii"\'fro" L ifiA (2) {'JJHEEI'] (3 _>/J~-’-."=Pi (4) $51355 ( 5 ) €38? ( 6 ) Bk 7:3": (7)$ENfiOT$fiA @7275”. (2) t. (3) iifié<$&:’;0§¢., :41 l: :9 X Wififfiitii'ff-Liifi‘fl‘. {HEEEE’EL it: 7;" MAG-iii ’SCEPREWE. "U‘i- .C’J'CiWéE '.‘F 7— Hfiiiii' 5'22 {ElfifiiEiOCJ-JL'C?‘ f5ii§1< . fifg'F-i‘w 71-15 357.2720) -:rEE-"'~f73‘-5f:h. ”:irifl’énnmiIFfiz'IW 7— HiidE‘U fiifSIHI-‘ifiiiflim 33352.0)EHEWWL34‘. Wight") L.F>')7J‘1: '3 :5": 3:11“. 63 APPENDIX B--5 Questionnaire in Japanese \ E31 7f: 7 a/fir“‘}‘dei :i: :l: :i: 7’ X "J fl/\LH", ’) L R‘ fit a?) \’ b.)‘l‘(;7:: 3) 3i 1%“ 1 . (5 f] fiLMfi 2. (arm—11::- 3. luv—zir- 1.2m-3$ ‘5. 3111-11?- (5 . 4 151311“. fiH“*fi¥§AMMHV5LEWfi1W‘ 1.lib\ 2 . LW\Z {Mn — 27>EIE‘161. T0) ( 1 ) — (9) mwpmam-z. ami‘w-ojE/V'chfr L'C‘I~‘ 3w. (1)£7—b&iééfi1mtfi3.Hme¢fiE$ LR$0$¢ATLtI 7y7—bm¢c$wm&fi#%<.mwgcfit wawbfififiifimnbt$.flmffi7—b%§u.$tflm$¥fiimtmfifi?&<. EyfiymflfiwflmW%fiwmfif.*EEmeufimfififimB$A E§$17y®afifimkflifiéi0REQ$®K¢6707§Lm$fifi fim—fifibbnife fiatfifimfigzu—fi—fifikfifiiafifit &O.7>7—hmflfl$fi%fihfiEHE.iomfitbmta031#. +fiaflflfifiahtwfiéu.$mmfiififltn5$caofLififln #bOitI fififiwmamfifitmmflémfiLfsmfcml5t$é $LLWIfiKflhlvitfi.7V7—béifimificfififimfifi:3 H1Lt6.fififiTLxfifi.%07V7—b&8§3flhm&af.um nfifintLaLtfiEMflm(mfiéamnuaéfifiub03fik)CT flmfiaTW£EntfiHifiATinfln‘Ty7—bmfiémkaéo tfifiuquQhfi.flmfixmfigntfiHhK.XEfi?>7—bmfi éfifinéfifwtfiéi¢. ibihfififififlO$Lifit$§ctaifiAI fififiwmmfl. bflefifiL130313 flwwgmmfidgmfi$:§u2Lna.mfi fimflmfiszfifiwtfiHhfiiufifiI QE$ACL36L<8fiH$LiWi¢, 334 flmfifi¥ 1.5635 K Spaat'tzan V'il lagge NIiC'hi gain StLafze Uruixzer'si ty' EEIStL l.arlsi n5;.h11 4538223 Tel:(5|7)355-3162 67 APPENDIX B--7 Thank You Letter in Japanese fl g fibbfltmtbfiah3Ifi$an3$¢wflfi$wt fiOiLt. ufifi8fl3LTL35mI fififimmmflmswwrémm7>7—hsmfimw<%%&fi6; tfifiéiLt. éwmgfiummt$$LLW§Ltifin.Emfii$ £$Kfiwfa