A cognitive approach to intercultural communication based on schema theory

The purpose of this study was to examine schema theory and its application to intercultural communication, especially to sojourners' cross-cultural adaptation. Eight primary types of schemas for social interactions were extracted, and these schemas' functions for processing information were investigated. Furthermore, fundamental functional structures of schemas were analyzed when the theory was applied to sojourners' cross-cultural adaptation, and eleven axioms were formulated in the following domains: the development of schemas, internal organization of schemas, schema-driven versus data-driven functions, and schema modification and change. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.