Alfred Schutz’s ‘Stranger’, the theory of sociocultural models, and mechanisms of acculturation

Abstract

In this article, the author addresses the mechanisms of the acculturation of people who move across different cultural communities (immigrants, refugees, sojourners, international students, etc.). It starts by analyzing Alfred Schutz’s essay ‘Stranger’ and then connects it to the theory of sociocultural models (TSCM) (Chirkov, 2020a). Schutz’s treatise provides background and a conceptual map for articulating the mechanisms of acculturation. The TSCM elaborates on these concepts and hypotheses and justifies the proposed understanding of the psychological and sociocultural basis of acculturation. The primary idea of this approach to acculturation is that migrants experience a clash and tension between two sets of sociocultural models: from their home communities and from their host communities. Newcomers must understand the sources of this tension; in turn, they must reflect on it and then develop strategies for reconciling these two sets of models. During this process, their selves, rationality, reflective capacities, agency and intellectual autonomy become the primary means for their acculturation success.