The extent to which overseas study experiences increase Chinese students’ positive attitude toward the United States has triggered debates because of Chinese government’ overwhelming influence on Chinese students studying overseas, the instability of U.S.-China relations and the especially complex characteristics of Chinese students’ attitudes themselves. I will use value theory, belief system theory, and self-categorization theory to explain the unstable character of these attitudes, and the important roles of values and identity that determine attitudes’ change. After making three key hypotheses based on these theories, this paper conducts a survey on three groups of Chinese students both in China and the United States. A comparative analysis finds that overseas study experience in the US significantly increases Chinese students’ overall positive attitudes toward the US. Moreover, attitudes that imply students’ identification with American values have changed dramatically and have the greatest impact on students’ overall attitudes toward the US, more so than other major factors. Finally, this paper finds that transnational identity change has weakened the CPC’s ability of controlling students’ thoughts. The findings of this research can provide a new perspective for thinking about new measurement methods of soft power competition between great powers.
","abstract_html":"<p>The extent to which overseas study experiences increase Chinese students’ positive attitude toward the United States has triggered debates because of Chinese government’ overwhelming influence on Chinese students studying overseas, the instability of U.S.-China relations and the especially complex characteristics of Chinese students’ attitudes themselves. I will use value theory, belief system theory, and self-categorization theory to explain the unstable character of these attitudes, and the important roles of values and identity that determine attitudes’ change. After making three key hypotheses based on these theories, this paper conducts a survey on three groups of Chinese students both in China and the United States. A comparative analysis finds that overseas study experience in the US significantly increases Chinese students’ overall positive attitudes toward the US. Moreover, attitudes that imply students’ identification with American values have changed dramatically and have the greatest impact on students’ overall attitudes toward the US, more so than other major factors. Finally, this paper finds that transnational identity change has weakened the CPC’s ability of controlling students’ thoughts. The findings of this research can provide a new perspective for thinking about new measurement methods of soft power competition between great powers.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fang, Xufeng"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ming Xia"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:31Z","subjects":["International Relations","Impact","overseas study experiences","Chinese students in the United States","attitude","value","identity"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5188","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Ming Xia"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fang, Xufeng"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-01-10T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["International Relations","Impact","overseas study experiences","Chinese students in the United States","attitude","value","identity"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5188"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The extent to which overseas study experiences increase Chinese students’ positive attitude toward the United States has triggered debates because of Chinese government’ overwhelming influence on Chinese students studying overseas, the instability of U.S.-China relations and the especially complex characteristics of Chinese students’ attitudes themselves. I will use value theory, belief system theory, and self-categorization theory to explain the unstable character of these attitudes, and the important roles of values and identity that determine attitudes’ change. After making three key hypotheses based on these theories, this paper conducts a survey on three groups of Chinese students both in China and the United States. A comparative analysis finds that overseas study experience in the US significantly increases Chinese students’ overall positive attitudes toward the US. Moreover, attitudes that imply students’ identification with American values have changed dramatically and have the greatest impact on students’ overall attitudes toward the US, more so than other major factors. Finally, this paper finds that transnational identity change has weakened the CPC’s ability of controlling students’ thoughts. The findings of this research can provide a new perspective for thinking about new measurement methods of soft power competition between great powers.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Impact of Overseas Study Experiences on Chinese Students’ Attitudes Toward the United States"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ming Xia"],"dc:creator":["Fang, Xufeng"],"dc:date.available":["2023-01-10T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The extent to which overseas study experiences increase Chinese students’ positive attitude toward the United States has triggered debates because of Chinese government’ overwhelming influence on Chinese students studying overseas, the instability of U.S.-China relations and the especially complex characteristics of Chinese students’ attitudes themselves. I will use value theory, belief system theory, and self-categorization theory to explain the unstable character of these attitudes, and the important roles of values and identity that determine attitudes’ change. After making three key hypotheses based on these theories, this paper conducts a survey on three groups of Chinese students both in China and the United States. A comparative analysis finds that overseas study experience in the US significantly increases Chinese students’ overall positive attitudes toward the US. Moreover, attitudes that imply students’ identification with American values have changed dramatically and have the greatest impact on students’ overall attitudes toward the US, more so than other major factors. Finally, this paper finds that transnational identity change has weakened the CPC’s ability of controlling students’ thoughts. The findings of this research can provide a new perspective for thinking about new measurement methods of soft power competition between great powers.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5188"],"dc:subject":["International Relations","Impact","overseas study experiences","Chinese students in the United States","attitude","value","identity"],"dc:title":["The Impact of Overseas Study Experiences on Chinese Students’ Attitudes Toward the United States"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:31Z"}