This study investigated the relationship between different domains of cultural adaptation among international students in Japan and the moralization of culture-specific norms. Newcomers may adapt certain norms of the host culture and ascribe moral meanings to initially nonmoral activities or objects. Building on the existing model of sociocultural adaptation, we investigated how different types of sociocultural adaptation are associated with the moralization of Japanese cultural norms. For international students in Japan, there are three aspects of sociocultural adaptation: academic, daily living, and interpersonal. Our results showed that cultural adaptation in the interpersonal domain, but not in the academic and daily living domains, predicted harsher moral judgments of behaviors that violated Japanese cultural norms. These findings suggest that international students who are well adjusted in the interpersonal domain gain an understanding of what is sanctioned in the Japanese cultural context and come to see certain behaviors as morally appropriate. We discuss several implications for further investigating the moralization of certain behaviors within the context of acculturation.

这项研究调查了日本留学生的文化适应的不同领域与特定文化规范的道德化之间的关系。新来者可能会适应宿主文化的某些规范，并将道德含义归因于最初的非道德活动或客体。在现有的社会文化适应模型的基础上，我们研究了不同类型的社会文化适应如何与日本文化规范的道德化相关联。对于日本的国际学生来说，社会文化适应包括三个方面：学术，日常生活和人际交往。我们的结果表明，在人际关系领域而不是在学术和日常生活领域中的文化适应预测了对违反日本文化规范的行为的更严厉的道德判断。这些发现表明，在人际关系方面适应能力强的国际学生了解了日本文化背景下应受的制裁，并认为某些行为在道义上是适当的。我们讨论了一些涵义，以进一步研究适应文化中某些行为的道德化。