Acculturation Expectations Research Articles

Beyond singular perspectives: Minority-group members’ acculturation expectations and tightness

Previous research has established that ethnic minority groups experience specific acculturation expectations from the majority group. However, this research has largely ignored minority-group members’ expectations toward their own group and its heterogeneity. Sampling 327 Haredi Israeli minority-group members, the present study had three main objectives: (1) Identify the acculturation expectations individuals hold toward their minority group; (2) identify to which extent those expectations are uniform (i.e., tight) or differ (i.e., loose) toward subgroups of their overarching group, operationalized as within-individual standard deviations; and (3) examine whether a set of psychological variables is meaningfully correlated with both acculturation expectation means and tightness. Although participants on average endorsed separation expectations, these expectations were also relatively loose (i.e., not uniformly expected from all Haredi subgroups). Whereas integration expectations were also relatively pronounced and loose, assimilation and marginalization expectations were low and tight. Perceived physical threat toward the group was associated with high assimilation expectations. Personal mortality thereat was associated with higher integration expectations, whereas past victimization was associated with lower assimilation and higher separation expectations. The belief in the eternity of the group was positively associated with separation expectations and negatively associated with marginalization, integration, and assimilation expectations. The belief in the eternity of the group was also associated with looser separation expectations and tighter assimilation expectations. Bi-cultural identity harmony was associated with higher assimilation and integration expectations, lower separation expectations, and generally more loose expectations. We discuss the implications of the findings for research and society.

Acculturation and linguistic ideology in the context of global student mobility: a cross-cultural ethnography of anglophone international students in China

ABSTRACT This cross-cultural ethnography explored the global student mobility patterns of international students from English-speaking countries in China and asked research questions about (a) their motivational factors and acculturation expectations before arrival; (b) linguistic factors influencing their acculturative stressors in the host group community’s culture and its academic, social, and public systems after arrival; and (c) their reflections on intergroup ideologies with the host community after graduation, based on looking ahead. This study collected data through fieldwork by observing and interacting with approximately 80 individuals from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in university towns in East China during the academic years from 2012 to 2023. In turn, 17 individuals who graduated before 2021 were selected as the final sample to conduct in-depth interviews. The study placed the concepts of acculturation expectations and intergroup ideologies at the nexus of linguistic hegemony, symbolic power, and social space. The overarching findings showed that despite positive motivations to visit China, language barriers led participants to express confusion, culture shock, anxiety, and perceived discrimination in their academic, social, and public domains. However, some participants who remained in China after graduation expressed their authentic voices regarding changes in attitude toward the host community culture and their heritage language. Therefore, this study focused on a different dimension of acculturation and linguistic ideology by examining how a linguistically and culturally dominant cohort faced acculturative challenges and negotiated to cope with their stressors in power dynamics.

Akulturacijska očekivanja hrvatskih učitelja od učenika izbjeglica: uloga etničkog identiteta, empatije, međugrupnoga kontakta i školske klime

The aim of this research conducted on a sample of 163 teachers from elementary schools in Zagreb attended by refugee students was to assess the individual contribution of ethnic identity, general and ethnocultural empathy, direct contact and school climate on teacher's acculturation expectations from refugee students. The first hypothesis stated that ethnic identity would be negative, while general and ethnocultural empathy, contact and school climate would be positive predictors of integration expectations. The second hypothesis stated that all the predictors would negatively predict assimilation expectations. The results indicate that increased ethnocultural empathy and school climate predict increased expectation of integration, while contrary to the hypothesis, increased school climate positively predicts acculturation expectations of assimilation. The research's insights indicate that ethnocultural empathy and school climate can explain intergroup relations between Croatian teachers and refugee students and can help in preparing Croatian teachers for teaching refugee students.

Adaptation and social interaction among Africans in Hong Kong: The role of assimilation and integration

AbstractPromoting cross‐cultural adaptation and social interactions among diverse cultural groups in multicultural societies has long been a focus of social and cross‐cultural psychologists. However, such research is scant in an East Asian context where acculturation and intercultural encounters are now taking place. This study examines how acculturation expectations and strategies of assimilation and integration of the host majority (Hongkongers; N = 476) and immigrant groups (Africans; N = 215) shape adaptation and social interaction in the sociocultural context of Hong Kong. The mediation roles of perceived discrimination and multicultural ideologies were tested in these relationships. The results revealed that integration strategies are linked with psychological adaptation, whereas assimilation is linked with sociocultural adaptation difficulties for the immigrant group. For the host majority group, assimilation expectations were related to increased sociocultural adaptation difficulty, while a negative relationship emerged between integration expectations and sociocultural adaptation difficulty. Additional mediation analyses demonstrated that perceived discrimination and multicultural ideologies explain a significant proportion of variance in acculturation orientations and the intention to avoid interactions with the respective cultural groups. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings for Africans and Hongkongers relationship are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

How ‘should’ the majority group acculturate? Acculturation expectations and their correlates among minority- and majority-group members

Do minority-group members welcome or reject that majority-group members adopt other cultures? Acculturation is commonly defined as a process of mutual accommodation. Yet, the acculturation of majority-group members has only recently received research attention. To date, we do not know the extent to which minority-group members expect majority-group members to adopt the culture of minority groups and/or to maintain their mainstream culture. Knowledge is also lacking about how these expectations relate to minority-group members’ own acculturation orientations and symbolic and realistic threat perceptions. We further do not know whether such associations are similar among minority- and majority-group members. To address these gaps, we surveyed 246 Muslim minority-group members and 247 White Christian majority-group members in the United Kingdom. Muslim minority-group members’ acculturation expectations towards majority-group members were normally distributed around the midpoint of the scale, suggesting that they did not reject majority-group acculturation on average. Acculturation expectations were correlated with symbolic and realistic threat perceptions among majority-group members but not among minority-group members. Cluster analyses showed that integrated Muslim minority-group members found it relatively important for majority-group members to adopt minority-group culture and to maintain their own culture. In sum, the results support the idea that minority-group members, at least in some contexts and settings, view acculturation as a mutual cultural change rather than as cultural appropriation.

Acculturation preferences and perceived (dis)loyalty of Muslims in the U.K.: Two vignette-based experimental studies

Muslims in the U.K. who maintain their religious culture are often viewed as a suspect community. This pre-registered experimental research examined the mediating role of perceived (dis)loyalty as underlying process and the moderating role of acculturation expectations. A total of 334 non-Muslim White British participants in Study 1 and 810 in Study 2 were asked to indicate their acculturation expectations towards Muslims. They were then randomly assigned to read a text that described Muslims in a fictional town as either (a) maintaining their religious culture or (b) adopting the mainstream British culture, or they read (c) a neutral control text. As expected, in Study 1, when Muslims were presented as maintaining their religious culture, trust decreased compared to the control group. Conversely, when described as adopting the mainstream culture, trust increased while support for surveillance of Muslims decreased. Both effects were mediated by the perception of Muslims being disloyal or loyal to the U.K in both studies, respectively. Perceived loyalty to their religious group did not significantly mediate any effect. We replicated these findings in Study 2. Moreover, we showed that describing Muslims as maintaining their religious culture decreased trust and increased support for surveillance especially among participants who expected Muslims to give up their religious culture. Moderated mediation analysis showed that these effects were partly mediated by perceived loyalty to the U.K. We discuss the societal implications of the findings for policymakers and Muslim leaders along with recommendations for future research.

Acculturation expectations of German majority members in relation to their intercultural competence and identifications

Economic internationalisation and refugee movements entail that many Western societies are characterised by ethnocultural diversity to an increasing degree. For the relationship between ethnocultural minority groups and the respective societal majority, acculturation strategies and preferences are of high pertinence. Since following a specific acculturation strategy is not only at the discretion of ethnocultural minorities, but also depends on the opportunities granted by the respective society majority, the expectations of the majority for a specific acculturation strategy is a central limiting factor. In the present study, we examined associations of intercultural competence dimensions and group identifications with the acceptance of multiculturalism by German majority members. We found that two intercultural competence dimensions – cultural empathy and flexibility – are associated with the acceptance of multiculturalism. Thus, the ability to understand other cultures and the ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations might be beneficial for the acceptance of lived cultural diversity. We also observed that European identification was associated with the acceptance of multiculturalism. European identification is likely to function as a superordinate identification which embraces a variety of ethnocultural groups, so that these ethnocultural groups are part of the wider, superordinate ingroup. While common group memberships tend to foster positive attitudes towards ingroup members, a high European identification also appears to be an indication of a generalized acceptance of cultural diversity or multiculturalism. Our demonstration that superordinate identification and both dimensions of intercultural competence are associated with the acceptance of multiculturalism suggests possibilities of fostering multiculturalism via intercultural trainings and international encounters.

Akulturacijska očekivanja budućih učiteljica od učenika izbjeglica: uloga empatije i etničkog identiteta

Ever since the refugees have travelled through Croatia in 2015, refugee students have begun to enrol in Croatian schools. Consequently, teachers have been facing various obstacles in their work, such as teaching pupils from different cultures, while teacher-training students will encounter the same obstacles. The aim of this research was to investigate the predictive power of ethnic identity, general empathy, ethnocultural empathy, and sociodemographic variables on university students’ acculturation expectations from refugee students. Research was conducted at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, on a sample of 128 female university students, average age of 23, who attended the final two years of Teacher Training College. The results show that ethnic identity was positively associated with acculturation expectations of integration, while ethnocultural empathy was negatively associated with acculturation expectations of assimilation.

Majority members’ acculturation: How proximal-acculturation relates to expectations of immigrants and intergroup ideologies over time

How do English majority members’ national culture maintenance and immigrant culture adoption (i.e., globalisation-based proximal-acculturation) predict their acculturation expectations (i.e., how they think immigrants should acculturate) and intergroup ideologies (i.e., how they think society should manage diversity)? Cross-sectional results ( N = 220) supported hypothesised relationships using a variable- and person-centred approach: welcoming expectations/ideologies related positively to immigrant culture adoption (or an integration/assimilation strategy) and negatively to national culture maintenance (or a separation strategy), whilst the reverse was true for unwelcoming expectations/ideologies. Notably, colourblindness showed only weak correlations with/differences across acculturation orientations/strategies. In longitudinal analyses, adopting immigrants’ cultures increased the intergroup ideologies polyculturalism and multiculturalism whilst reducing support for assimilation over time, whereas national culture maintenance had the opposite effect. Meanwhile, the expectation integration-transformation was especially related to higher odds of following an integration rather than separation strategy over time. Overall, results advance the psychological study of multiculturalism, providing first longitudinal insights on majority members’ acculturation.

Cognitive and Motivational Foundations Underlying Acculturation Expectations: Applications of Ethnic Group Position Model

Although dominant cultural groups as a rule have the main impact on the mutual acculturation process, they receive much less attention in the literature. This article, firstly, challenges the common implicit position that dominant cultural groups do not have variety in their acculturation expectations regarding different non-dominant cultural groups, and, secondly, proposes Ethnic Group Position Model (EGPM) to explain and predict acculturation expectations regarding a particular non-dominant cultural group in society. The empirical study tests the relationship of structural variables of the group position by the new model (status, interdependence, similarity) and acculturation expectations while taking into account the relevant individual difference variables (the degree of agreement and endorsement for authoritarian attitudes and intergroup ideologies), thus covering the cognitive and motivational foundations underlying acculturation expectations. The participants in the survey were 377 Russian representatives of the dominant cultural group in Russia, who filled out a questionnaire containing questions about acculturation expectations (e.g., integration, assimilation, separation), evaluation of ethnic groups according to the feelings thermometer, perceived group positions, and also about an endorsement of authoritarian attitudes (right-wing authoritarianism and social domination orientation) and intergroup ideologies (e.g., assimilationism, multiculturalism, interculturalism). The results showed that Russians did vary their acculturation expectations towards different cultural groups according to the EGPM, even when controlling for their individual differences in ethnic bias. The conclusions emphasize that the cultural groups images are steam from ordinary observations of their life outcomes or circumstances, primarily in terms of vertical inequality (prestige and respect), i.e. perceived status (e.g., education, professional prestige, connection with crime), which largely shapes intercultural relations and in particular acculturation expectations.

Japanese people's attitudes toward acculturation and intercultural relations

Dealing with cultural diversity is one of the key challenges in contemporary societies, with Japan being no exception. However, relatively little is known about how minority group members are viewed by members of the dominant group. The current paper presents a study that evaluated three hypotheses that are related to these issues with a survey of 210 Japanese adult participants. The study also examines moderating roles of national identities in acculturation expectations and psychological functioning in the dominant group. Perceived security about the society in terms of national culture, and personal conditions in a multicultural society predict the most tolerant form of acculturation expectation. This association is mediated by one's multicultural ideology. Although acculturation expectations are not predictive of psychological functioning, particular national identity (i.e., internationalism) alleviates the negative effect of the closest form of expectation (exclusion) on psychological problems. The study implies the need for analysis on culture-specific constructs of multicultural society in perceptions and attitudes in the dominant group in Japanese society.

The Relationship of Acculturation and Bullying in Russian Schools

Russian schools have been characterized by its ethnic diversity over the past decade. Children from ethnic minorities in Russia face problems in acculturation, including school bullying. The purpose of this article is to determine the relationship between the acculturation strategies of ethnic minority students, acculturation expectations of Russian students, and their roles in school bullying situations. We conducted a social psychological survey among a sample of 429 students, 200 of whom were Russian (M age = 16.18, SD age = 1.43) and 229 were members of ethnic minorities (M age = 15.67, SD age = 1.65). It was used scales from the MIRIPS and the Revised Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire (Russian version). The results of the study showed significant differences in the level of victimization. It was also found that acculturation expectation of segregation was positively related to victimization (β = 0.24, p-value <0.01), and aggression (β = 0.18, p-value < 0.01) among Russian students, whereas acculturation strategy of segregation was positively related to victimization (β = 0. 40, p-value < 0.01), assimilation strategy positively (β = 0.07, p-value < 0.01), and integration strategy negatively (β = –0.05, p-value < 0.05) related to aggression among ethnic minorities. The results of the study are discussed in terms of a sociocultural approach using psychological theories and research.

Взаимосвязь социального капитала и аккультурационных ожиданий эстонцев в Эстонии: воспринимаемая угроза как медиатор

This study examines the mediating role of perceived threat from other ethnic groups in the relationship between social capital and acculturation expectations of the host population. Consistent with Stephans’ theory, the article examined the impact of three types of perceived threat: economic, cultural, and physical. The sample consists of ethnic Estonians born and living in Estonia (N = 309). The study examined how the perceived threat affects the relationship between social capital indicators (general trust, ethnic tolerance, binding and uniting social capital) and acculturation expectations (“multiculturalism”, “melting pot”, “seg regation”). The results showed that physical perceived threat was a mediator of the relationship between ethnic tolerance and “multiculturalism”. With the increase in physical threat, the preference for “multiculturalism” decreased. Economic threat has been shown to mediate the relationship between general trust and “segregation”, as well as connecting social capital and “segregation”. In these two cases, the economic threat increased the likelihood of a preference for “segregation” by the host population. The mediative role of cultural threat was not confirmed in the present study.

When immigrant and regional minority languages coexist: linguistic authority and integration in multilingual linguistic acculturation

ABSTRACT This study explores integration and linguistic acculturation in Catalonia (Spain), a multilingual setting where a state and a regional language coexist with those of immigration. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined the linguistic acculturation profiles of 13 high-school students of immigrant background and the linguistic acculturation expectations of 15 autochthonous students, considering Spanish, Catalan and heritage languages. Then, we explored their understanding of what integration means and its relation to language. Public use of heritage languages was the main source of friction. Participants of immigrant origin with assimilation profiles only used heritage languages with family, while those in multilingual profiles also used them in the public domain. Autochthonous students condemned their use in public, although they supported their use at home. Students from immigrant backgrounds advocated for a more inclusive understanding of integration, particularly those in multilingual profiles, but autochthonous students equated integration to assimilation. Educational implications are discussed.

Социальный капитал и аккультурационные ожидания принимающего населения: медиативная роль воспринимаемой угрозы (на примере г. Москвы)

Background. Russia ranks fourth in the World in terms of the influx of migrants (of which 12 million currently live within the country). At the same time, the factors accompanying the process of acculturation can be quite different and lead to contradictions and conflicts between the groups. As far as migrants are concerned, the study of mediative role of the perceived threat in formation of acculturation expectation sremains an under researched topic in cross-cultural psychology. Objective. The study is aimed at determining whether the perceived threat from migrants has a mediating effect on the relationship between social capital and the acculturation expectations of the host population towards migrants. Design. The study was carried out in an online format by a questionnaire given to young adults living in Moscow (N = 214). The participants answered the questions that determined the level of trust, ethnic tolerance, perceived threat, and acculturation expectations. Results. The results of the study revealed that the perceived threat (especially the cultural one) turned out to be a mediator of the connection between ethnic tolerance and acculturation expectations of “melting pot” and “exclusion”. In case of connection of the indicators of trust and ethnic tolerance with “segregation”, only the perceived physical threat played a mediating role. The role of ethnic tolerance has been confirmed in the above three acculturation expectations, while trust turned out to be significant only in the “segregated” models. The meditative role of the perceived threat in the relationship between the three indicators of social capital and the acculturation expectation of “multiculturalism” has been completely refuted. Conclusion. The results of the research make it possible to determine the role of the perceived threat in acculturation attitudes and expectations towards migrants. The main limitation of this study is the fact that it took place only in Moscow. In the nearest future, it is planned to compare the results obtained in Russia from Russian-speaking test-groups with the results of other groups in other countries.

Civic identity and acculturation expectations of Muscovites and Tallinn residents: the role of perceived threat. 2021

Currently, Russia ranks fourth in terms of the influx of migrants (officially, their number in the country is 12 million), with most of them concentrated in Moscow. In Estonia, the influx of migrants is significantly lower, however, after the collapse of the USSR, quite a lot of Russians ended up in the status of an ethnic minority. At the moment they make up almost a quarter of the population of Estonia (the total number is more than 300 thousand people). This study examines the role of perceived threat as a moderator of the link between civic identity and acculturation expectations in two different ethnic groups in two different countries. The aim of the study is to provide the answers to the questions: What role does perceived threat play in the relationship between civic identity and the acculturation expectations of the host population? Is the perceived threat a moderator? What are the differences in the role of the perceived threat in different contexts: from Muscovites (ethnic Russians) to migrants and from Tallinn residents (ethnic Estonians) to Russians who are an ethnic minority? This study was conducted using an online socio-psychological survey. The responses of the survey participants determined the level of civic identity, perceived threat and acculturation expectations. The sample consisted of 214 ethnic Russians living in Moscow and 288 ethnic Estonians living in Tallinn. The results of the study showed that the perceived threat is a moderator of the connection between civic identity and integration among Muscovites. It is significant that here the cultural and economic threat became the moderator, and the physical threat turned out to be significant only at the level of tendencies. For Tallinn residents, the perceived economic threat turned out to be a moderator of the link between civicl identity and the "melting pot", and the physical threat - a moderator of civic identity and "segregation." Thus, the cultural threat did not show any influence among Tallinn residents. It should be noted that the moderation effect worked differently in each group. For Muscovites, the perceived threat was associated with integration attitudes. In Tallinn, it has shown links with two strategies that imply a complete lack of integration.

Community resilience and the acculturation expectations of the receiving community.

The study addressed how communities cope with multiculturalism by exploring the relationship between community resilience (CR) and acculturation expectations held by a sample of Italian-born. Specifically, the study aimed at detecting whether the perception of living in a community endowed with social (CR-connection and caring) and material (CR-resources) resources, along with the availability of individual assets (i.e., psychological resilience) encourage positive acculturation expectations (i.e., multiculturalism). Further, it also tested whether the perceived competitiveness of immigrants mediates the relationship between CR-resources and acculturation expectations. A survey involving 619 participants living in the south of Italy completed a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that competitiveness mediated the effects of CR-resources on acculturation expectations. CR-resources were related to increased perception of the competitiveness of immigrants, which, in turn, was associated with a reduced endorsement for multiculturalism and increased support for melting pot (i.e., assimilation) and exclusion, while CR-connection and caring was unrelated to all acculturation expectations. Implications and limitations of the study are finally discussed.

Host‐member misperceptions about what others expect of immigrants: The role of personal attitudes, voting behaviour, and right‐wing authoritarianism

Concordant acculturation expectations and preferences between a host society and its immigrants are important for social cohesion. But perceptions of others' attitudes are often distorted, and may extend to intracultural misperceptions about what others in one's own society expect for immigrants. We test whether attitudinal misperceptions operate in the context of host‐members' acculturation expectations of immigrants—preferences about whether newcomers should embrace the majority culture, or maintain their own cultural heritage. Further, we test whether the conservative dimension of right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA‐C) drives both personal acculturation expectations and distortions about what others expect. We surveyed a representative sample of 2,013 Australian citizens about their own acculturation expectations for immigrants and their perceptions of the expectations of the host society in general. People significantly overestimated the extent to which fellow host society members expect immigrants to embrace the host culture, and underestimated expectations that immigrants retain their own culture. Voting behaviour and RWA‐C were related to personal acculturation expectations and to perceptions of host society consensus with their own views (self–other discrepancy). Moreover, personal acculturation expectations mediated the link between RWA‐C and perceived self–other discrepancy. The psychological bases of these misperceptions, and their potential ramifications for immigrants, are discussed.

Motivational mechanisms of ethnic minorities’ social media engagement with mainstream culture

ABSTRACT Despite evidence of the acculturation benefits of social media engagement with mainstream culture, there is limited understanding of what motivates or demotivates ethnic minorities’ social media engagement with mainstream culture. Adopting the theoretical construct of investment, this study interviewed 31 ethnic minority secondary school students in Hong Kong to examine their engagement with mainstream culture via everyday social media use and their concomitant investment in learning the language of the mainstream culture. Interview responses revealed that perceived ideologies of social media and the living environments, validation of and expectations regarding linguistic, cultural and social capital, and the representation and construction of desired identities were the motivational forces behind the ethnic minorities’ multilingual social media engagement with mainstream culture. Multilingual social media engagement with mainstream culture was associated with changes in acculturation expectations, attitudes and resources, which motivated or constrained the ethnic minority students’ investment in Chinese language learning and use on social media and in daily life. Multilingual social media use also reshaped their perceived ideologies, capital and identities. The findings call for a dialectic approach to understanding the motivational mechanisms behind ethnic minorities’ use of social media, and for classroom interventions to turn the interactions into a positive cycle.

Juggling Between Parental and School Expectations: The Development of Domain-Specific Acculturation Orientations in Early Adolescence.

We examined how perceived acculturation expectations from parents and school, and ethnic discrimination predicted early adolescents’ heritage and mainstream acculturation orientations at home (private domain) and in school (public domain) one year later. We surveyed 263 early adolescents of immigrant background in Germany (Mage = 10.44 years, 60% female). Multigroup path analyses revealed that perceived acculturation expectations and ethnic discrimination were more strongly related to adolescents’ private than public acculturation orientations. Parental heritage expectations were the strongest predictor of adolescents’ acculturation orientations. Boys were more susceptible than girls to ethnic discrimination and acculturation expectations in school, which affected their private and public acculturation orientations. Results highlight the importance of integrating domain‐specific and gendered experiences when analyzing adolescents’ acculturative development.