Cross-cultural contact and attitudes of qatari students in the United States

One aspect of the increased cross-cultural contacts found in our global society has been rapid growth in the number of foreign students studying in the United States. The attitudes of these students toward the United States is of major importance, for these students are often future leaders of their countries. This study used a contact theory perspective to examine the attitudes of 223 students from the State of Qatar as those students pursued higher education in the United States. Findings are consistent with contact theory hypotheses; students experiencing greater promotive contacts displayed more favorable attitudes towards the United States.