Towards a Paradigm to Study Psychological Ramifications of Globalization

In this commentary on the special issue, it is argued that the studies presented illustrate three pivotal characteristics of a new, evolving paradigm to study the consequences of prolonged intercultural encounters, such as globalization. The first refers to the topics studied and involves the need to delineate more distal, universal, and more proximal, culture-specific elements in intercultural encounters in these topics. The second is the need to deal with variation in intensity and focus of intercultural contact, ranging from casual contact to immersion. The third involves the need to delineate the psychological mechanisms involved in intercultural contact (and their consequences). The studies in the special issue illustrate the importance of including contextual features in the study of globalization. Challenges of the evolving paradigm are described.