Expecting the Unexpected: Cognitive and Affective Adaptation Across Cultures

The focus of current American military operations has changed over the last few years, from an emphasis on warfighting missions to those of full spectrum operations and persistent conflict. Thus, cultural awareness and competency are critical for performance effectiveness and mission success in irregular warfare, counterinsurgency, nation building, and other such operations. Decision-making in these contexts requires highly trained critical thinking skills, with the ability to shift routinely from decisions that are military to those that are diplomatic in nature. Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Ray Odierno (February 11, 2014), recently noted that the Army holds a “leader-centric view of being adaptable, flexible, and able to adapt to the situation on the ground.” Leaders, in particular, must learn how to recognize signs that personnel are not effectively adapting to different cultures and subsequently take action to develop the cognitive, affective, and behavioral characteristics that enable cross-cultural adaptation. It is with this focus and intent that the current research identifies a process by which individuals adapt when transitioning to unfamiliar cultures. This chapter summarizes research funded by the U.S. Army Research Institute to categorize these adaptive characteristics and identify leader strategies to establish and maintain unit adaptability across cultures.