Acculturation Cross-cultural psychology Petra Chvojkova 5.3. 2015 Acculturation – what is it uexplains the process of cultural change and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures uthe process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group u„Those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous firs-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups…under this definition acculturation is to be distinguished from…assimilation, which is at times a phase of acculturation“. (Redfield, Linton, 1936) u History uThe earliest recorded thoughts towards acculturation in Sumerian inscriptions and Plato manuscripts u1880 J.W. Powell ustudied scientifically since 1918 - Thomas, Znaniecki Polish Peasant in Europe - The first psychological theory of acculturation uBohemian (adopting the host culture and abandoning their culture of origin) uPhilistine (preserving their culture of origin but failing to adopt the host culture) ucreative type (able to adapt to the host culture while preserving their culture of origin). u50.l. 20.st. Kim + Gudykunst u60.l. 20.st. Gordon uContemporary research has primarily focused on different strategies of acculturation and how variations in acculturation affect how well individuals adapt in their society Acculturation uGroup (sociology) x individual (psychology) level uUnidimenzional x bidimenzional process uOne way – two way proces u uimmigrants, sojourners, refugees and asylum seekers, indigenous people. u Theories of acculturation u50.l. 20.st. Kim + Gudykunst uunilinear proces, the sojourner must conform to the majority group culture in order to be “communicatively competent uKramer – Cultural Fusion Theory uidentity depends on difference uIf everyone assimilates into a monoculture that would mean that identity, meaning, and communication would cease to be uBerry – Fourfold model – acculturation preferencies uretention or rejection of an individual’s minority or native culture uadoption or rejection of the dominant group or host culture. uBenet – Martinez uBiculturalism and bicultural identity integration (BII) u Berry´s acculturative strategies uAssimilation uSeparation uIntegration uMarginalization u uDimension od maintenance x refusion of original culture uDimension adoption x refusion of new culture u uAssimilation uindividuals adopt the cultural norms of a dominant or host culture, over their original culture u uSeparation uindividuals reject the dominant culture in favour of preserving their culture of origin uSeparation is often facilitated by immigration to ethnic enclaves uIntegration uindividuals are able to adopt the cultural norms of the dominant or host culture while maintaining their culture of origin uIntegration leads to, and is often synonymous with biculturalism. uthe most preferred option (Berry, 1997) umost positive individual and group acculturations strategy u uMarginalization uindividuals reject both their culture of origin and the dominant host culture. u Berry´s acculturative strategies uIndividuals’ acculturation strategy can differ between their private and public live spheres uPrefered strategy (attitude) x real strategy (behavior) uStrategy prefered by minority x prefered by majority u uDepends on uCultural distance uAge, gender, education uPersonal factors u… ABCs model of acculturation uAffective perspective (emocional aspects of acculturation process) uAcculturative stress uCognitive perspective uSocial identity theory. Tajfel uEthnic identity, steretypes uBahaviour perspective uCultural learning aproach uLearning culture specific competencies uCultural training – cultural assimilator Ukázka kulturního asimilátoru Acculturative stress u„Acculturative stress refers to the psychological, somatic, and social difficulties that may accompany acculturation processes, often manifesting in anxiety, depression and other forms of mental and physical maladaptation.“ (Berry, 1970) ua response by people to life events that are rooted in intercultural contact ua reduction in health status (including psychological, somatic, and social aspects) of individuals who are undergoing acculturation uSymptoms: heightened levels of depression (linked to the experience of cultural loss) and of anxiety (linked to uncertainty about how one should live in new society). unegative predictor of well-being uMeasurement of acculturative stres – Riverside acculturation scale (RASI, Benet-Martinez, 2005) The measurement of acculturation uTo measure uAcculturative outcomes x accul. conditions uAccu. Strategies x preferencies uAcculturation attitudes uAccu. Behavior uUni- x bi-diensionals scales ubipolar, single dimension scales x bidemensional scales x four scales with statements capturing favourable attitudes toward every strategy uSpecific scales (for example mexican americans) The measurement of acculturation uExamples: uGeneral ethnicity questionaire (GEQ, Tsai et al, 2000) uStephenson multigroup acculturation scale (SMAS, Stephenson, 2000) uVancouver index of acculturation (VIA, Ryder, 2000) uMulticultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ, Van der Zee, Van Oudenhovenven, 2000) uRiverside Acculturation Stress Inventory (RASI; Benet-Martınez, Haritatos, 2005) u Acculturation outcomes uRefer to consequences of the acculturation process which can be psychological (internal adjustment, well-being) and behavioral (external adjustment, doing well). uDepends on acculturation strategy, personality,.. uImmigrant paradox uFirst x second generation od immigrants Practical aplications uunprecedented increase in worldwide migration and globalization uEducation usuccessful and unsuccessful schooling trajectories for immigrant children ueducational strategies that may benefit them uimmigrants in the labor market usalaries of immigrants uimmigration policy Practical aplications II uintercultural training uhow immigrants and sojourners can learn to deal successfully with cross-cultural transitions using intercultural training uhealth system uintercultural relations in plural societas urelationship between the larger society and ethno cultural groups uhow to improve their relationship and thereby increase the chance of positive acculturation u Culture shock ua state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment (dictionary.com) uPhases uHoneymoon phase uFrustration phase uAdjustment phase uMastery phase uReturn u Culture shock II uSymptoms : information overload, language barrier, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness, boredom (job dependency), response ability (cultural skill set). uDepends on: age, gender, purpose of visit, lenght of visit, cultural distance u Reverse culture shock uresults from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture umore surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock Bicultural identity Integration (BII) uCorrespond to integration strategy uAuthor Veronica Benet-Martinez ucaptures (explains) variations among bicultural individuals in the degree to which they “perceive their mainstream and ethnic cultural identities as compatible and integrated versus oppositional and difficult to integrate”. ufocuses on bicultural individuals¨ subjective perceptions of managing dual cultural identities uperception of distance (versus overlap) and perception of conflict (versus harmony) uDimensions harmony x conflict, blendedness vs. compartment u BII uHigh BIII ucultural identities as generally compatible uto view themselves as part of a combined or third emerging culture ufind it relatively easy to integrate both cultures into their everyday lives uLow BII udifficulty in incorporating both cultures into a cohesive sense of identity uperceive the two cultures as highly distinct and oppositional udescribe feeling as if they should just choose one culture over the other usensitive to specific tension between the two cultural orientations