INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

AND COMMUNICATION

UNIT 5: ACCULTURATION
Culture Shock, Adaptation and Culture Learning

Chinta MUSUNDI-BEEZ
 Recap: Last Unit
• Verbal Communication: Context, Structure and Content
• Non-Verbal Communication: Context, Structure and
Content
• Barriers to competent Intercultural Communication
• Overcoming Intercultural Communication Barriers
• Video (Stereotypes)
 OVERVIEW
INTERCULTURAL ENCOUNTERS AND ADAPTATION

• Culture Shock
• What is cultural learning?
• Berry‘s model: Acculturation
• Bennet‘s (1993) The Developmental Model of Intercultural
Sensitivity (DMIS)
• Kolb's experiential learning theory
•
 Cultural adaptation
• Many scholars have theorized and researched
the notion of cross-cultural adaptation /
intercultural adaptation / acculturation

• All the above entails moving from one culture

to another culture, usually (but not always)
learning the rules, norms, customs, and
language of the new culture.
 Different types of cross-cultural travel
• Short-term travelers - those on vacations or business
trips.

• Sojourners - those who travel to a culture for an

extended time, but still one with planned limits or a
plan to return e.g international students, those on an
extended business assignment

• Immigrants - those who move to another culture

with plans of making that culture their new home
 Intercultural Encounters
• A person who is new in a country might have different
feelings during the first months or even years.

• No matter how well you are prepared, there are many

things about a culture that you cannot find in
literature or media.

• It has often been the case, that the traveller who

doesn't maintain an open mind, and doesn't invest
any effort trying to understand a foreign culture, is
always going to be in a state of shock.
 Intercultural Encounters
• Our own habits, values and beliefs always feel just
natural to us.

• It is only when we meet someone from a different

culture that we notice the basic assumptions are not the
same everywhere.

• Our reactions in such an intercultural situation can be

very different

• Rejection, acceptance and adaptation are some

examples of how people can take cultural differences.
CULTURE SHOCK
 CULTURE SHOCK

Culture shock is common among

immigrants, expatriates, refugees, (and
also foreign students like some of you).
CULTURE SHOCK

What is Culture Shock?

 CULTURE SHOCK
• One tends to get the impression that
"culture shock" is some kind of short
term experience that most people
undergo, which after a certain length
of time, recovers from.

• But nothing could be further from

the truth.
 CULTURE SHOCK
• It is one thing to visit a country,
moving on when you have seen
enough,

• and it is quite another to live there

and function according to a different,
and sometimes, mysterious set of
norms.
 CULTURE SHOCK
•Living in a new culture can be
exhilarating, personally
rewarding, and intellectually
stimulating.

•But it can also be frustrating.

 CULTURE SHOCK
• There are people who go overseas
and never recover from culture shock,
despite the length of their stay.

• This is because "culture shock" is

actually caused by a mismatch of
cultural attitudes
 CULTURE SHOCK
• Culture shock entails the impact you may
feel when you enter a culture very different
from one to which you are accustomed.

• When traveling through any unfamiliar

place, your concept of reality often
becomes shocked and frazzled.

• You may experience difficulties

 CULTURE SHOCK
• the feeling of frustration, uneasiness, or
uncertainty that many people experience
in unknown settings and as they try to
integrate into a new society.
 CULTURE SHOCK
• People often experience many
emotions while adapting to a foreign
culture;

• changing from excitement and interest in

the new culture

• to depression and fear of the unknown.

 CULTURE SHOCK
• Sometimes the worst shock may not be in
negotiating with the new culture, but in
realizing how your own culture is who you are
and what you unconsciously represent.

• You come face to face with this realization,

when you find yourself in a position where
you have to depart from your culture in
order to adjust to the new cultural
environment.
 Culture Shock
• As you interact with and adjust to the new
culture, you are also in a struggle
between your culture and the new
culture … and this can be frustrating.

• Most experts agree that culture shock,

although often delayed, is inevitable in
one form or another.
 Culture Shock
• You may not like to believe you are
experiencing emotional, mental, social, and
physical stress, but it is wise to admit that it is
happening.

• Notwithstanding, adjusting to a foreign

culture, and living through difficult times of
change can be a satisfying experience, one
worth the occasional discomfort and extra
effort.
Causes of culture shock
 Causes of culture shock
(1.) The absence of familiar or comforting
characteristics of one's own culture.

o Culture shock is not simply about

meeting new and unexpected things, but
also failing to meet what you would
never have believed would be missing
from any culture.
 Causes of Culture shock

(2.) The presence of seemingly

irrational, offensive, or even hostile
aspects of the new culture.
 Causes of Culture shock

(3.) The lack of ability (e.g linguistic) to

gain cultural understanding rapidly
enough to adapt to these changes.
 Causes of Culture shock

(4.) Differences in nonverbal

communication and unwritten rules.
 Causes of Culture shock
(5.) Taking a culture for granted

• Real culture shock can happen in places you expect to

be similar

• E.g don't expect that it is just that there's snow, or that

the building structures are similar, or that you speak the
same language. It's much, much deeper than that.

• You gain another perspective on seemingly

familiar things.
• Crossing a street, talking to a stranger, or
ordering food become new again, and
often infinitely more difficult to execute.
You feel incapacitated.

• Trying to constantly open doors inward

when they actually open outward.
• Assuming traffic laws are universally obeyed,
when they clearly are not.

• Attempting to drink water from a tap, which

you have always done back home but now
you’re being advised otherwise

• It's the accumulation of all these tiny things

that can tip you over the edge.
 Corporate culture shock
• Culture shock can also occur when changing
jobs, even if you don't move residentially.

• For example throughout your career, you may

have worked in small companies (fewer than
100 people). Then you find yourself with a
company that employs over 1,500, and working
in a building that houses hundreds. Hence, one
can be deeply affected by these differences.
 Effects of Culture Shock
• The result of culture shock is an
impaired ability to adapt or function
in the target culture.

• Culture shock is a barrier to

socializing, learning, and generally
functioning in the target culture.
 Symptoms of culture shock
People differ greatly in the degree to which culture shock
affects them, but almost everyone is affected by it in one
way or another. Symptoms vary, but can include:

• Boredom

• Feeling isolated or helpless

• Withdrawal:
• spending excessive amounts of time reading;
• avoiding contact with host nationals;
• spending time exclusively with people of your own nationality
 Symptoms of culture shock
• Sleeping a lot or tiring easily

• Irritation over delays and other minor frustrations

• Suffering from body pains and aches

• Longing to get back home

• Stereotyping: unduly criticizing local customs or ways

of doing things
 Discussion
• Tell about a time that you traveled from
one culture to another. What were some
of your experiences?

• What are the factors that led to your

adjustment or lack of adjustment?

• What are the practical steps that you or

others took to help your adjustment?
 Phases of cultural adaptation
Culture Shock curve
• Studies have shown that there are distinct
phases of cultural adaptation, which virtually
everyone who lives abroad goes through.

• Each phase has a number of characteristic features,

one of which is usually predominant.

• The length of each stage varies for the individual, and

often people move back and forth among the first
three stages.
 Preliminary stage
• This phase includes;

• awareness of the host culture

• preparation for the journey
• and farewell activities
 Honeymoon: Initial euphoria
• This is when everything is new and exciting,
and full of curiosity

• The initial euphoria phase begins with the

arrival in the new country/place and ends
when this excitement wears off.

• This stage typically extends from arrival

through the first couple of months within the
new country.
 Transition period
• This is also called the irritability or
hostility phase

• This is when a person realizes that he or

she must work to adjust to the new
culture. This is quite a difficult stage.
 Transition period / Irritability stage
• You will be acclimatizing to your
setting.

• You will feel frustration because of

the difficulty in coping with the
elementary aspects of everyday life
when things still appear so foreign to
you.
 Transition period / Irritability stage
• You might feel sad about being in a
culture you don’t understand.

• Everything is seen as different and at least

weird if not bad.

• Things do not feel quite right.

Japanese Style Toilet
Japanese Style Toilet
Japanese Style Toilet
Indian Squat Toilet
Squat Toilet
Squat Toilet
 Transition period / Irritability stage
• One misses their own familiar culture. It
might feel like you cannot control things in
this new life.

• Your focus will likely turn to the differences

between the host culture and your home, and
these differences can be troubling.

• Sometimes insignificant difficulties can seem

like major problems.
Transition period / Irritability stage
• Crisis: Hostility/Stereotypes: This is
where many researchers see ‘culture
shock’.

• Often at this stage people engage in

one of two responses to the culture
Transition period / Irritability stage
• Fight: lashing out against the culture in
some way, complaining about the
culture

• Flight: separating self from culture,

either by spending all time with people
from own culture or by spending time
in one’s room, eating only food from
own culture, etc.
 Transition period / Irritability stage
• One typical reaction against culture
shock is to associate mainly with those
from your own culture instead of getting
to know the host country, its people,
culture, and language.

• It is argued that if you avoid contact with

nationals of the host country, you cheat
yourself and lengthen the process of
adaptation.
 Gradual Adjustment
• When you become more used to the new culture,
you will slip into the gradual adjustment stage.

• You may not even be aware that this is happening.

• You will begin to orient yourself and to be able to

interpret subtle cultural clues.

• The culture will become familiar to you.

 Gradual Adjustment
• Getting information about the new culture:

• You begin to understand how to do things in

the new culture.

• You even learn the new language.

• You might still compare your “home” culture

with the new culture and not necessarily
contrast.
Adaptation and biculturalism
• Eventually you develop the ability to function in the new
culture.

• You now understand that the new country has both good
things and bad things to offer.

• You could even create a new identity.

• You may choose which things to keep from your own culture and which
things to add from the new culture.

• You begin to set goals for your life in the new country/place.
 Adaptation and biculturalism
• Your sense of "foreignness" diminishes significantly.

• Not only will you be more comfortable with the host

culture, but you may also feel a part of it.

• You try to minimize emotional and physical ups and

downs.

• You try to establish routines that incorporate both

the difficult and enjoyable tasks of the day or week.
 Adaptation and biculturalism
• You treat yourself to an occasional indulgence such as
a local magazine or newspaper, a favourite meal or
beverage, or a long talk with fellow people
experiencing the same challenges.

• You accept invitations to activities that will allow you

to see areas of the host culture outside the university
and meet new people.

• Above all, you try to maintain your sense of humour.

 Culture Shock Curve

The 4 stages are often conceptualized as a curve, in which the “X”

axis (horizontal) is time and the “Y” axis (vertical) is adjustment
(higher score means better adjustment)
Culture Shock Curve
 Adaptation and acculturation
• Initial reactions in a different culture
• Phases of adaptation
Examples of Culture Shock
 Video – Culture Shock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU4eZsKcbX4&feature=res
ults_video&lr=1&ob=0
 Discussion

With which of the stages of culture

shock would you currently associate
yourself with?
 Reverse culture shock
• Culture Shock can occur in reverse,
when you return from someplace
quite foreign, to what should be
home, but isn't.

• The re-entry phase occurs when you

return to your homeland.
 Reverse Culture shock

• Surprisingly, many travelers actually

experience as much or more culture shock
coming home! For some, this can be the most
painful phase of all.

• You will be excited about sharing your

experiences, and you will realize that you
have changed, although you may not be able
to explain how.
 Reverse Culture shock
• You have changed over the course of
your stay in the other culture, and now
your home culture seems out of place.

• One set of values has long been instilled

in you, another you have acquired in the
host country. Both may seem equally
valid.
 Reverse Culture shock
• It is much harder to adjust to your own
(former) culture, and can have greater
impact on relationships and life outlook.

• Some research suggests that the easier

one’s adjustment to the new culture, the
more difficult will be the return home.
 What are some of the main reasons for
reverse-culture shock?
• Change in self and others. We expect others to
change in same way we did; they expect us to be the
same as when we left.

• Unrealistic expectations (you may expect everything

to be the same and return to be easy). Either we
expect home to be perfect, or we become critical.

• Many travelers are no longer comfortable, or in total

agreement with own culture's values.
 What are some of the main reasons for
reverse-culture shock?
• Lack of appreciation:
• Many people simply don’t want to hear about your visit
abroad.

• They might want to, but often after a few brief minutes, they
tire of hearing about it and want to talk about other things.

• The result is that you have a lot of “stuff” inside of you that
you want to share, but people do not want to hear about it.
No one wants to listen
VIDEO – Reverse Culture Shock
 Acculturation

What is acculturation?
 The concept of Acculturation
• The concept of acculturation has been studied
scientifically since 1918 (Rudmin 2003).

• Due to the fact that it has been approached at

different times from the fields of psychology,
anthropology, and sociology, numerous theories and
definitions have emerged to describe elements of the
acculturative process.
 The concept of Acculturation
• Despite definitions and evidence that
acculturation entails a two-way process
of change, research and theory have
primarily focuses on the adjustments
and adaptations made by minorities
such as immigrants, refugees, and
indigenous peoples in response to their
contact with the dominant majority.
 DEFINITIONS - ACCULTURATION
• Acculturation is the study of the cultural
transmission process. (Herskovits, I949:523)

• Despite definitions and evidence that

acculturation entails a two-way process of
change, research and theory have primarily
focuses on the adjustments and adaptations
made by minorities such as immigrants,
refugees, and indigenous peoples in response to
their contact with the dominant majority.
 The concept of Acculturation

• Contemporary research has primarily

focused on different strategies of
acculturation and how variations in
acculturation affect how well
individuals adapt to their society.
 DEFINITIONS - ACCULTURATION
• “…acculturation comprehends those phenomena
which result when groups of individuals having
different cultures come into continuous first-
hand contact with subsequent changes in the
original culture patterns of either or both
groups”. (Redfield, Linton & Herskovits 1936: 149-52)

• Acculturation explains the process of cultural

change and psychological change that results
following meeting between cultures (Sam, Berry et
al, 2010).
 DEFINITIONS - ACCULTURATION
• Acculturation is a process in which members of
one cultural group adopt the beliefs and
behaviours of another group.

• Acculturation as “the process of becoming

communicatively competent in a culture we
have not been raised in” (Hall 2005: 270).
 DEFINITIONS - ACCULTURATION
Cai & J. I. Rodriguez (1996-7) writes that
intercultural adaptation refers to the adjustment of
communicative behaviour to decrease the
probability of being misunderstood when speaking
with someone from a different culture.

Hence, understanding occurs when individuals can

interpret messages in a such a way that the
communicative goals of the interactants are
attained.
 Acculturation
• Although acculturation is usually in the
direction of a minority group adopting
habits and language patterns of the
dominant group,…

• Acculturation can also be reciprocal - that

is, the dominant group also adopts
patterns typical of the minority group.
 Acculturation
• Acculturation takes place gradually.

• Acculturation is not the absorption of different cultures as

a result of a mere physical contact or superficial exposure.

• Concrete objects like tools, utensils, and ornaments are

generally the first things adapted by the newcomers to any
culture.

• The transfer of in-tangible elements, such as patterns of

behavior, takes place long after the newcomers' initial
exposure to the new culture, if at all.
 ACCULTURATION
Acculturation may be evidenced by;

• changes in language preference

• adoption of common attitudes and values

• membership in common social groups and institutions

• and loss of separate political or ethnic identification.

 The concept of Acculturation
• The processes of cultural transmission and cultural
borrowing are the result of conscious decision
making on the part of an individual or a group that is
approaching a culturally distinct group.

• If no force or coercion is involved, the individual or

group must decide whether and to what extent the
new culture will be accepted or rejected.
 FORCED ACCULTURATION
• There are instances where the new culture will
be imposed upon an individual or a group
through force or coercion.

• In such forced circumstances, the individual or

group retains the ability to consciously accept
or reject certain aspects of the new culture.
Examples of forced Acculturation
• Historically, some groups have been
forced to acculturate.

• Native Americans
• Canadian Aboriginals
• Australian Aboriginals
 Native Americans
• In 1786, the US established it's first reservation for Native
Americans. The Indian Removal act of 1830 forced Native
Americans to relocate west of the Mississippi River in
reservations.

• When the Europeans migrated to America, they tried to force

the Native Americans to acculturate to their culture.

• "For many Native Americans, the federal government’s

reservation system became the only means for survival.”

(Source: Immigration- loc.gov)

 Native Americans
• As part of a multidimensional approach to the forced
assimilation of Native Americans into European
American culture, the U.S. government established a
policy of mandatory boarding schools for Native
American youth.

• The American boarding schools had a negative impact

on two of the most important aspects of Native
American culture: language and spirituality.
 Canadian Aboriginals
• Throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries,
Canada sought to forcibly assimilate aboriginal
youngsters by removing them from their homes and
placing them in federally funded boarding schools
that prohibited the expression of native traditions or
languages.

• Known as Indian Residential Schools, the institutions,

were often administered by churches
It is estimated that about 150,000 aboriginal, Inuit and Métis children were
removed from their communities and forced to attend residential schools.

(Source: Library and Archives Canada/PA-042133)

 Australian Aboriginals
Assimilation policies incorporated several ideas that aimed to ensure
that Indigenous people lost their Indigeneity as it was expressed
through biology and through culture.

The Australian assimilation policy had two strands;

1. “Biological absorption”, or “the desired removal of Indigenous

physical characteristics” through interracial relationships.

1. “social integration”, or taking on the social attributes of non-

Indigenous society (cultural assimilation)

(Chesterman & Douglas, 2004, pp. 48-49)

Quadroon: a person who is 1/4 black by descent
Octaroon: a person who is 1/8 black by descent.
 Australian Aboriginals
• After WW2, ideas about biological absorption
were discredited. Social and economic
assimilation became the dominant official
policy.

• In the first half of the 20th century, right up

until the 1960's, the Australian government
sought to create a single, uniform white
Australian culture.
 Australian Aboriginals
• Assimilation policies presumed that Indigenous
Australians could enjoy the same standard of living as
white Australians if they adopted European customs
and beliefs and were absorbed into white society.

• Consequently, one of the main features of the

assimilation era was the forcible removal of
Indigenous children from their families. (Stolen
generations)
 Effects of acculturation
• The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels
in both interacting cultures:

• At the group level, acculturation often results in

changes to culture, customs, and social institutions.
Noticeable group level effects of acculturation often
include changes in food, clothing, and language.

• At the individual level, differences in the way individuals

acculturate have been shown to be associated not just
with changes in daily behaviour, but with numerous
measures of psychological and physical well-being.
 Effects of acculturation
• Some individuals and groups respond
favourably and with relative ease to the
possibility of acculturation. This is because this
incoming group views its acculturation in a
positive light

• On the other hand, other groups and

individuals respond unfavourably and with
unease. This is because this incoming group
views its acculturation in a negative light.
 Effects of acculturation
• If the larger (host) society views the possibility of an
incoming group’s acculturation as favourable and with
ease, there will be less hostility and discomfort
throughout the process.

• If the acculturation of an incoming group is viewed

unfavourably and with unease by the larger society,
there will be greater hostility, discomfort, and the
process will require more effort on the part of this
incoming group.
 Examples of favourable responses to
acculturation
The acculturation of immigrant populations has
particularly been an issue with some communities e.g;

• the Muslim population in France

• the Turkish population in Germany
• the Caribbean and Asian populations in England.

• These societies are religiously and ethnically different

from the populations of their host countries.
 Enculturation and Deculturation
• Acculturation is also related to other important words:

• Enculturation: the learning of one’s own culture as we are

brought up. While enculturation is used to describe the
process of first-culture learning, acculturation can be thought
of as second-culture learning.

• Deculturation: the process of unlearning our original culture,

leaving behind its patterns when we move to a new culture.
The Fourfold model of Acculturation
• John Berry (1997), along with others,
have described a four-fold pattern of
acculturation by a person or group to
a culture.

• The fourfold model categorizes

acculturation strategies along two
dimensions
 First dimension of acculturation
• The first dimension concerns the
retention or rejection of an individual's
minority or native culture

The question of concern here would be?

… Is it considered to be of value to
maintain one's identity and
characteristics?
Second dimension of acculturation
• The second dimension concerns the adoption
or rejection of the dominant group or host
culture

The question of concern here would be?

…Is it considered to be of value to maintain
relationships with the larger society?

• Four acculturation strategies emerge from the

above two dimensions.
 (1) Integration
• Integration occurs when individuals are able to
adopt the cultural norms of the dominant or host
culture while maintaining their culture of origin.

• In a multiculturalist society, in which multiple

cultures are accepted and appreciated, individuals
are encouraged to adopt an integrationist
approach to acculturation.

• Integration leads to, and is often synonymous

with biculturalism.
 (2) Assimilation
• Assimilation occurs when a person does not wish to maintain
his or her cultural identity hence takes up the cultural identity
of the dominant society.

• In assimilation, individuals adopt the cultural norms of a

dominant or host culture, over their original culture.

• In a melting pot society, in which a harmonious and

homogenous culture is promoted, assimilation is the endorsed
acculturation strategy.

• Inherent in a policy of assimilation is the assumption that the

majority group is superior to the minority.
 Assimilation
• Assimilation being the highest degree of adaptation
theoretically conceivable.

• Hence assimilation is the process by which strangers re-

socialize into a new culture so as to attain an increasing
functional fitness.

• Gudykunst and Kim (2003: 360) defined intercultural

adaptation as an "upward-forward" progress of
acculturation that brings about change in strangers in the
direction of assimilation.

• “Complete adaptation is a lifetime goal.”

 (3) Seperation
• Separation occurs when individuals reject the
dominant or host culture in favour of
preserving their culture of origin.

• Separation is often facilitated by immigration

to ethnic enclaves.

• In segregationist society, in which humans are

separated into racial groups in daily life, a
separation acculturation strategy is endorsed.
 (4) Marginalization
• Marginalization occurs when individuals
reject both their culture of origin and
the dominant host culture.

• In societies where cultural exclusion is

promoted, individuals often adopt
marginalization strategies of
acculturation.
 Berry‘s model: Acculturation

Relinquish home Maintian home culture

culture

Accept host culture Assimilation Integration

Reject host culture Marginalization Separation

 Explaining Berry’s Model of Acculturation
• Some cultures try to force assimilation

• Others encourage pluralism

• Some people separate themselves from

the minority

• And some seek to segregate the

minority culture.
 Explaining Berry’s Model of Acculturation
• A person can be highly adjusted to one
culture (host/dominant or original/ethnic),
both (bicultural) or neither (marginal).

• For example, some minority members are

more efficient in one or the other culture,
some are very competent in both, and some
become “marginalized”—not effective in
either.
 Explaining Berry’s Model of Acculturation
• Studies suggest that individuals' respective
acculturation strategy can differ between their
private and public live spheres.

• For instance, an individual may reject the values and

norms of the dominant culture in his private life
(separation), whereas he might adapt to the dominant
culture in public parts of his life (i.e., integration or
assimilation).
 Explaining Berry’s Model of Acculturation
• Berry (1997) notes that the dominant
culture works either for or against the
sojourner or minority member with its
own approaches of acceptance.

• This can apply either to the person

adjusting in a new culture or to a person
who is a minority member in a dominant
culture.
 Criticisms
• In a way, such an approach anticipates
Melissa Curtin’s (2010) criticism of
intercultural adjustment literature. She says
we should neither insist on the sojourner
adapting nor think that the sojourner is the
only one adapting.

• Members of the dominant culture also adapt

to the sojourner, just as dominant culture
members shift their behaviour in interaction
with minority members.
Bennet‘s (1993) model of intercultural
competence
 Group Work

1. What factors influence the type or

level of acculturation that an
individual achieves? What are the
barriers to acculturation?

2. What are the effects of acculturation

on individuals and their families?
 “Atheoretical” lists of Variables
• Studies on acculturation have routinely found a
correlation between a person’s socio-economic
status and the level of acculturation one has
experienced.

• A highly educated and high-income member of

a minority group is likely to have experienced
more acculturation than a person from that
same minority group with less education and
income.
 “Atheoretical” lists of Variables
• The exact impact of immigration on adaptation will depend on
how one defines adaptation.

• One might adjust psychologically (be very happy and

comfortable), but not adjust in terms of adopting to the norms
of the new culture.

• One might move to an “ethnic” community of people from

one’s own group, such as the Turks in Germany, live among
many of one’s own nation and not really learn the new culture,
yet be quite happy!
 “Atheoretical” lists of Variables
• Whether one defines acculturation in terms of “assimilation” or
in terms of “psychological adjustment,” it will be influenced by
the patterns of immigration, including many sociological factors
such as:

• Whether one moves to an immigrant community or is

integrated into the larger society
• The continued influx of ideas, language, or people from one’s
group of origin
• The social status of the immigrant
• The conditions of the immigration, for example forced
immigration (refugees) versus voluntary immigration
 Types of immigrants and it‘s
impact on acculturation
Of course, even immigrants can vary on several
dimensions, such as:

Purpose (Voluntary/Obligatory) Immigration:

• Some emigrate (leave a culture) to seek better
opportunities

• Others leave, for example, as refugees or asylum

seekers. Many of these do not have a choice of the
culture to which they choose to immigrate (enter a
culture).
Types of immigrants and it‘s impact on
acculturation
Social class/support:
• Often, but not always, social class combines with the purpose
of immigration.

• Those who emigrate because they choose to do so, often have

more financial support and higher social status (depending on
the closeness of the culture to which one is immigrating and
the firmness of the border between cultures).

• Refugees can be of any social status, but, if the travel distance

is far and transportation difficult, refugees are more likely to be
lower income than voluntary immigrants.
Types of immigrants and it‘s impact on
acculturation
• Cohesion of group in the new culture, including a wide variety
of factors such as ethnolinguistic vitality of the group in a given
area

• For example, Turks moving to suburbs like Kreuzberg or

Neukölln in Berlin might find many stores, sports, clubs, etc.
that are catering to their culture; While Turks moving to other
suburbs will not find the same

• Factors such as the number of people continuing to move (as in

a continued immigration, or one of the past), or segregation in
the new area, or efforts of those in the new culture to maintain
some cultural/historical link to the past, play a key role in the
integration of the new immigrants into the new culture.
Types of immigrants and it‘s impact on
acculturation
Educational Level
• Padilla (1980) maintains that education is related to the level of
acculturation.

• In general, it appears that individuals with higher education

are better adjusted to a new society. The more education an
individual had attained, the lower their predictive stress.

• Three different reasons have been suggested for this

association. The first is that formal education helps to instill a
personal resource in an individual, specifically related to
problem solving and problem analysis.
Types of immigrants and it‘s impact on
acculturation
• Education can correlate to the other resources, such as
income and occupational status.

• Education can help individuals become familiar with the new

society even before migration. Individuals can become
acquainted with the history, language, norms, and even the
values of the new society.

• Overall, education is related to the economic world. A high

status due to education is a resource, but can become a status
loss if emerging into a vastly different host society (Berry et al.,
2002).
 Cultural Distance

• Cultural distance is the extent to which two

(national) cultures are similar or different.

• The distance between two cultures, the

country of origin and the host culture, can
influence how one acculturates in the new
culture.
 Cultural Distance
Cultural distance can reflect differences in;
1. Language (e.g., language families, tonal languages,
2. Family structure (e.g., monogamous vs. polygamous
marriages can create distance)
3. Religion (e.g., animist and Christian religions)
4. Wealth and lifestyle (e.g., the difference between a
wealthy jetsetter and a member of a culture of
hunters and gatherers)
5. Values (e.g., the difference between conservative,
very traditional values and self-actualizing, hedonistic
values).
 Cultural Distance
• Consistent findings reveal that the greater the cultural
differences, (e.g language and religion) the less positive the
adaptation is for an individual (Berry et al., 2002).

• For example, an individual that comes from a primarily

collectivistic background may experience confusion in an
individualistic society.

• The individual may prioritize close relationships and may feel

confused in a Western environment, where independence and
self-reliance is valued (Yeh & Inose, 2003).
 Language
• Language has been shown to create a positive
relationship with acculturation.

• The greater the familiarity of language from the host

culture, the greater the acculturation (Padilla, 1980).

• Language fluency is a predictor of lower levels of

acculturative stress. This finding may be associated with
the fact that higher local language usage is related to
smoother interaction with the larger society. Hence, this
may lead to a feeling of greater adjustment.
 Language
• However, when a student cannot express
himself/herself in the dominant language,
it can also affect academic ability.

• A student may have had high academic

ability in their home country, but may feel
distressed due to the language barrier.
(Yeh & Inose, 2003).
 Attitude of Host Culture
• A society in which cultural diversity is present, there appears
to be less perceived stress of acculturating individuals.

• It is believed that migrants experience less stress in a

multicultural society because they can maintain supportive
cultural traditions.

• In unicultural societies, in which there is one dominant culture,

there is a need to assimilate rather than acculturate. With a
clear set of standards, in a unicultural society, an individual
must either adjust or be in opposition of the host society
(Padilla, 1980).
 Attitude of Host Culture
• Ethnocultural groups usually retain their
cultural identity, but also participate in a
shared norm (such as legal, economic,
political) with the host culture (Berry et al.,
2002).

• Movement along the continuum of

acculturation requires drive from the
acculturating group, but also lack of
resistance by the host society (Mettler, 1998).
 Social Support
• Another significant predictor of acculturative stress is
social support.

• For example, if an international student were to

become deprived of social support, he/she may feel
anxious or even disoriented in their new host culture
(Yeh & Inose, 2003).

• Good relationships can reduce the stress perceived

during the acculturation process.
 Social Support
• Various studies have reported that relationships,
particularly familial, were strengthened during the
process of acculturation.

• For example, Mexican Americans that adjusted more to

the majority culture revealed that their contacts and
support among family members increased (Bornstein &
Cote, 2006).
•
• The family appears to be a protective shield, a vital part
of an individual’s existence, to ward off barriers that
occur when an individual is caught between two cultures
(Padilla, 1980).
 REFERENCES
• Foster, G. (1962) Traditional Cultures and the Impact of Technological Change. Harper &
Row, New York.
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Approach to Intercultural Communication (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
ISBN 9780071195379.
• Hall, B. J. (2005). Among cultures: The challenge of communication. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
• Herskovits, M. (1950) Man and His Works. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
• R. Redfield, R. Linton, and M. J. Herskovits, "A Memorandum for the Study of
Acculturation," American Anthropologist, XXXVIII (1936), 149-52
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of Different Cultural Backgrounds Meet". Perspectives on Psychological Science 5 (4): 472.
doi:10.1177/1745691610373075.
 Bibliography
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