This broad question has been addressed
for centuries by many disciplines, and from many differing theoretical perspective. In my
own work around the time of the shootings at Kent State University (Berry, 1968) I have
sought to develop some insights into howtw o opposing political cultures in Australia
understood each other’s position on the US American/Australian war in Vietnam, as a
basis for furthering dialogue and the avoidance of civil conflict. One party (the Australian
Government) was of the view that anti-war militants were ‘‘just a few nuts’’. In contrast,
those opposed to the war saw themselves as motivated by a concern for human life and
human rights, rooted in an ethical position of mutual respect. Our research was intended to
assess the motives and attitudes of the marchers in order to convey the legitimacy of their
concerns, and to undermine their derogation as ‘‘nuts’’, or people without any coherent
position. Similar concerns about where people are coming from, and how they seek to
carry out their lives, have lead me over the years to attend to another form of encounter—
that which arises for groups and individuals when they come into first hand contact with
each other across cultural borders. This involves addressing some basic psychological
features of group relations, and in particular the concept of acculturation.