| dc.contributor.author | Waserman, Vanessa | |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the sojourn, or
overseas travel, and the development of traveler intercultural communication self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy, an individual's perception of his or her own ability to accomplish tasks
(Bandura, 1997), originates from the psychology discipline and has rarely been applied to
communication. The study examines and extends the work of Milstein (2005), a
communication scholar who investigated the relationship between the sojourn and
intercultural communication self-efficacy and found a positive relationship between the
two. This study investigated how the experience of the sojourn affects traveler
perceptions of their own intercultural communication self-efficacy.
Data were collected through individual face-to-face interviews with participants.
The researcher selected a convenience sample of 20 respondents who had all participated
in separate sojourns. Participants in the study differed in age, ethnic identity, sojourn
destination, and purpose for the sojourn. Responses to interview questions were tape
recorded and transcribed preceding analysis and categorization of data based on emergent
themes. The perceptions of travelers were analyzed to understand how the sojourn affects
self-efficacy.
Results of the study supported a positive relationship between the sojourn and
development of intercultural communication self-efficacy among travelers with no
previous exposure to multicultural settings prior to the sojourn. Travelers with prior
exposure to multicultural settings in the home culture did not perceive an increase in intercultural communication self-efficacy as a result of the sojourn. How the background
of the traveler may affect perceptions of the sojourn and the specific types of events
abroad that were perceived as contributors to self-efficacy development are discussed. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2 | en_US |
| dc.title | The Sojourn and Communication Self-Efficacy Enhancement: A Study of Travelers' Perspectives | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-07T22:05:50Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-05-07T22:05:50Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2009 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/33815 | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Intercultural communication. | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Self-efficacy. | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Travel -- Psychological aspects. | en_US |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | en_US |
| ndsu.degree | Master of Arts (MA) | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences | en_US |
| ndsu.department | Communication | en_US |
| ndsu.program | Communication | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Littlefield, Robert S. | |
