Re-thinking Psychological Acculturation: From Explicit to Implicit Cultural Affiliations

Introduction

The topic of psychological acculturation – i.e., changes in psychological and behavioural patterns due to sustained contact with another culture – is both timely and relevant. 29% of European citizens are ethnic minorities, and ‘integration’ is omnipresent in debates on inequality and societal tension. Yet, our scientific understanding of this process is still poor.

Current Understanding of Acculturation

The current approach to acculturation narrowly focuses on ethnic minorities’ explicit willingness to (not) be part of a culture, as reflected in their cultural attitudes and identities.

PsychAcc's Contribution

PsychAcc pushes boundaries by proving the existence of acculturation in self-construal, cognition, and motivation. It builds on the notion that people’s ways of being, thinking, and drivers for action signal cultural affiliations implicitly.

Interplay of Acculturative Changes

From there, PsychAcc elucidates the complex interplay between acculturative changes in explicit and implicit cultural affiliations. It identifies people with distinct acculturative profiles, which are then used to predict well-being and educational outcomes.

Micro-Processes in Acculturation

Finally, PsychAcc opens the ‘black box’ of acculturation by showing that these changes are driven by specific micro-processes in majority-minority interactions, such as establishing common ground.

Methodology

It builds its evidence through four studies:

1. A cross-cultural study
2. A 2-year representative longitudinal study
3. An experimental study
4. An observational study

All studies focus on ethnic minority and majority youth (14-18 years) in Belgium.

Rethinking Psychological Acculturation

Together, the envisioned results re-think psychological acculturation: no longer as minorities’ willingness vis-à-vis cultures, but as a multi-faceted process of change that emerges from meaningful intercultural interactions.

Conclusion

In sum, PsychAcc offers a novel theory, a beyond-state-of-the-art methodological toolbox, and pivotal evidence to trigger a paradigm shift in acculturation research. It also inspires entirely new research lines in other social sciences and encourages policymakers to look beyond outer signs of ‘integration’.