2. Anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory
Black (1988) contends that in order to feel comfortable with the new culture, expatriates need to reduce their uncertainties and make some changes to their behaviors. Gudykunst (1998) and Gudykunst and Hammer (1988) concur that anxiety and uncertainty are critical factors in understanding effective communication and intercultural adjustment. The feelings of anxiety and uncertainty are magnified in encounters that take place between people of different cultures because people are not fully aware of these cultural differences and they tend to overestimate the effect of cultural identity while blurring individual distinctions.