The impact of acculturation identification and acculturative stress on creativity among Iranian immigrants living in Malaysia

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe authors investigate how patterns of heritage and mainstream cultural identification and acculturative stress may explain how Iranians living in Malaysia demonstrate enhanced creativity in creative achievements and creative problem-solving. The sample included 328 Iranian students who were recruited using a cluster sampling method. The results reveal that acculturative strategies (biculturalism, bicultural integration, or bicultural marginalisation) are associated with enhanced creativity. Specifically, strategies that involve disengaging from cultural practices, also referred to as marginalisation, are associated with creative achievements and finding creative solutions to problems. Moreover, heritage cultural identification mediated the relationship between culture shock and creative solution. That is, students who experienced culture shock in the mainstream culture relied on their cultural heritage knowledge and showed decline in their ability to solve a problem creatively. The findings illuminate how creative accomplishment and enhanced creativity potential may be linked to acculturation strategies.