Three studies found support for the notion that immigrants' acculturation to the host culture is interactively determined by their need for cognitive closure (A. W. Kruglanski & D. M. Webster, 1996) and the reference group they forge on their arrival. If such reference group is fashioned by close social relations with coethnics, the higher the immigrants' need for closure, the weaker their tendency to assimilate to the new culture and the stronger their tendency to adhere to the culture of origin. By contrast, if the reference entry group is fashioned by close relations with members of the host country, the higher their need for closure, the stronger their tendency to adapt to the new culture and the weaker their tendency to maintain the culture of origin. These findings obtained consistently across 3 immigrant samples in Italy, 1 Croatian and 2 Polish, and across multiple different measures of acculturation.
Using structural equation modeling, this study examines the influences of motivational factors (Need for Cognitive Closure--NCC--and Decisiveness), coping strategies and acculturation strategies on levels of acculturative stress. Two groups of immigrants in Rome (Croatians n= 156 and Poles n= 179) completed a questionnaire that included scales for the various factors. Although our initial hypothesized model was not confirmed, a modified model showed that the motivational factors of NCC and Decisiveness indirectly influence acculturative stress. The modified model with good fit indices indicated that the relationship between NCC and Decisiveness are mediated by coping strategies and acculturation strategies. Specifically, NCC is associated positively with avoidance coping, which in turn is negatively associated with the host group relationships and positively with the original culture maintenance. The last two dimensions predicted lower levels of acculturative stress. Decisiveness was positively associated with the problem-oriented coping and, negatively, with emotional and avoidance coping.
The author validated Berry's model of acculturation (J. W. Berry, 1990a, 1990b, 1991; J. W. Berry, U. Kim, S. Power, M. Young, & M. Bujaki, 1989) and examined the relation between acculturation attitudes and sociocultural and psychological adaptation among Croatian and Polish immigrants to Italy, 2 groups whose cultures are not very different from the Italian culture. Moreover, the author investigated the relation between the need for cognitive closure (NCC; M. D. Webster & A. W. Kruglanski, 1994) and psychological and sociocultural adaptation. The participants completed a questionnaire including measures of sociocultural adaptation, psychological adaptation, social relationships, acculturation attitudes, and NCC. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance revealed main effects of acculturation strategies for both forms of adaptation and a main effect of NCC for psychological adaptation. The Croatian and Polish immigrants differed in the level of sociocultural adaptation but not in the level of psychological adaptation.
This paper aims to deepen the understanding of the role of “local norms” in explaining ecological behavior within Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. A longitudinal investigation (overall
N
= 222), focused on households waste recycling, tested the hypothesis that the effects of this type of norms on behavioral intentions varies as a function of the individual’s spatial proximity to the social categories relevant to the social-physical context (in this study: housemates, neighbors, inhabitants of the district or quarter, and inhabitants of the city) in which the behavior takes place. The hypothesis was confirmed and we also showed that the effects of local norms are empirically distinguishable from those of the social norms already considered by the model (i.e., subjective norms). Local norms, also have a direct influence on self-reported recycling behavior measured 1 month after intentions. We propose possible theoretical explanations for the results obtained and discuss the implications for applicative purposes.
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