Acculturation of Personality

Abstract

The present study tests the hypothesis that involvement with a new culture instigates changes in personality of immigrants that result in (a) better fit with the norms of the culture of destination and (b) reduced fit with the norms of the culture of origin. Participants were 40 Japanese first-generation immigrants to the United States, 57 Japanese monoculturals, and 60 U.S. monoculturals. All participants completed the Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI) as a measure of the Big Five; immigrants completed the Japanese American Acculturation Scale. Immigrants’ fits with the cultures of destination and origin were calculated by correlating Japanese American mothers’ patterns of ratings on the Big Five with the average patterns of ratings of European Americans and Japanese on the same personality dimensions. Japanese Americans became more “American” and less “Japanese” in their personality as they reported higher participation in the U.S. culture. The results support the view that personality can be subject to cultural influence.

The Relationship of Acculturation Strategies to Resilience: The Moderating Impact of Social Support among Qiang Ethnicity following the 2008 Chinese Earthquake

“…All the path coefficients of validation model were good fit for the data (in Table 2 ). These results supported the view that personality traits and spiritual beliefs can be subject to cultural influence [ 79 ] and predict on resilience [ 47 , 80 ].…”

The Specificity Principle in Acculturation Science

“…Normative personality profiles on the Big Five contrast in Japanese and European Americans (Bornstein et al, 2007). An examination of personality concordance in Japanese American immigrants with mainstream groups in Japan and the United States revealed that greater involvement in the mainstream European American culture changed personality in Japanese immigrants (Güngör, Bornstein, De Leersnyder, Cote, Ceulemans, & Mesquita, 2013). …”

Cross-Cultural Mental State Reading Ability in Antillean Dutch, Moroccan Dutch, and Dutch Young Adults

“…Furthermore, they appear to be highly consistent. Similar effects of familiarity can be seen in other facets of acculturation such as personality (Eap et al, 2008;Güngör et al, 2013) and self-concept (Heine & Lehman, 2004). Investigating these mechanisms in the socially relevant construct of mental state reading can contribute significantly to understanding the impact of intercultural contact, especially when the focus is on groups other than the often-investigated Asian and Western ones.…”