Living in a Multicultural World: Acculturation
Acculturation: to move towards a culture First defined as culture change resulting from contact between two autonomous cultural groups Immigrants, refugees, colonized
Where is the heart of the change? Dominant group or non-dominant group?
Psychologically, two issues need to be better understood to know how people will respond. 1. how much are one’s own cultural identity and customs are of value and are to be retained 2. inter-group conflict: are relations with other groups of benefit?
IntegrationAssimilation SeparationMarginalization Is it of value to Maintain relationships Yes No Is it of value to maintain cultural identity? YesNo
Acculturation strategy Integration: positive views towards host and origin Assimilation: attempt to fit in and fully participate. Little or no effort to maintain traditions
Acculturation strategy Separation: maintain traditions but little attempt to participate in host Marginalization: little effort to participate but loose traditions….
How do we know where on this diagram, a dominant and a non-dominant group falls? National policies, ideologies Group goals, attitudes
Lost Boys
Fig. 12.1
Who adjusts? Predictor of acculturation success is language ability (Ying & Liese, 1991). Cultural distance (difference in overall way of life) Social complexity match Cultural fit (personality similarity
Need for cognitive closure Desire to have a definite answer Need connection in order to overcome unease of uncertainty Initial contact group is important and sets on a trajectory.
Fig. 12.3
Acculturative stress The stress that accompanies this process
Psychological question What happens to us as humans when we come into contact with another culture? Common feeling is stress Acculturative stress
quote]The first I want to say sorry I know a little English. I hope you understand all of this. Of course you need to know why I shooting? Because undercover cop gave me a lot of ass during eighteen years I got seven years and eight month delivery to grocery in the California came back New York on the August [/quote] When he writes that the undercover cop gave him a lot of ass, he most likely is describing his harassment by the police for the last 18 years. He sounds like he worked for seven years and eight months as a grocery deliver person in California and then moved back to New York.
What changes with acculturation? Male gender norms Education Adolescence Ideas of autonomy Patterns of risk taking behaviors
What is slowest to change? Parenting beliefs and practices Female gender norms
What does acculturation mean to us? Should we all be ‘americans’? Obesity, life expectancy, deliquency?