More than 8,000 secondary school students participated in the AFS International exchange programs in 1983, and this document examines some of the research that investigates the impact of travel abroad and intercultural experiences on personality development. Cigdem Kagitcibasi, in a study of the effects of a 10-month program on student participants from Turkey, found that world-mindedness among the students increased and that authoritarianism and religiosity decreased. Robert A. C. Stewart examined the changes in values between New Zealand students who went abroad and their best friends. A survey of more than 200 former participants found that the AFS-sponsored students not only showed a greater decrease in ethnocentrism than their friends but that they also became more conservative. Norman L. Kauffman, in his study of the Goshen College (Indiana) Trimester Program on the personality development of student participants, found greater change than in other college students in: (1) a changed world view; (2) increased interest in the welfare of others; and (3) greater intrapersonal development. The conclusions were that those students who travel abroad were likely to alter their views regarding the host country. The factors that contributed to a significant difference were length of stay, age, and the sex of the participant. Additional research dealt with such topics as educational impact, attitude change, and the effect of travel on tourists. Thirty end notes are included. (NL)