Adaptation, not just time abroad, drives the creativity boost.

Evidence

Replicating the finding from our first study with Kellogg MBAs, we again found a significant correlation between time lived abroad and creativity. But when we looked at the extent to which students said they adapted themselves to the host culture while abroad, we found that the degree of adaptation significantly mediated the link between living abroad and creativity (Maddux & Galinsky, 2009, study 4). — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2232