Traveling And Living Abroad Get To Know You Better - Research, Opinion

The philosopher from Germany von Keyserling in his "Diaries of the philosopher's travels" came to an unambiguous conclusion - the shortest path to himself leads a person around the world. Nearly 100 years later, researchers from Rice University (USA) presented empirical evidence to support this idea

Leading scientist of the project Hayo Adam argues that long-term residence abroad leads to a clarification of the self-concept of a person. Moreover, the longer you live in different countries, the clearer you see your own personality.

The article "Self-organization and decision-making" presents the results of a questionnaire survey of 1874 people on the subject of self-determination.

In the first part of the study, psychologists interviewed 296 people online with different travel experiences. More conscious, in their opinion, were the answers of those who lived abroad for as long as possible.

In the second part of the experiment, scientists additionally studied the opinions of another 261 people, inviting them to answer clarifying questions. The result was confirmed. Those who have gone to live abroad or often travel to other countries have a clearer and clearer self-concept than those who stayed in their own country.

A survey of students from different countries supplemented the study. They noted that the longer the stay outside the homeland, the stronger the awareness and understanding of one's own personality.

Many of the study participants said that while living outside their home country and traveling, there is a clearer understanding of their careers and later life

“Our research is valuable not only because it is the first empirical study of the impact of life in another country. It is important that it is based on the study of various nationalities, uses different research methods, various ways of formulating the self-concept. And perhaps most importantly, it proves the tangible psychological benefits of living in different conditions and in a different culture,”the researchers conclude.

Source: digest.bps.org.uk/2018/05/09/more-time-spent-abroad-increases-self-concept-clarity-confidence-in-and-clarity-about-who-you-are/

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