Towards an Interactive Acculturation Model: A Social Psychological Approach

Abstract

The ® rst part of this paper proposes a continuum of ideological premises that seeks to account for the broad range of immigrant integration policies adopted by Western democratic states. In the second part, a review of Social Psychological models of immigrant acculturation strategies demonstrates the need to explain more clearly the interactive nature of immig rant and host community relations. The Interac tive Acculturation Mode l (IAM) presented next proposes that relational outcomes are the product of the ac culturation orientations of both the host majority and immigrant groups as in¯uenced by state integration policies. The model makes predictions regarding the acculturation combinations most likely to produce consensual, problematic, and con¯ictual relational outcomes betw een immigrants and members of the host community. Social psycholog ical research is needed to test the validity of the IAM model empirically.La premie Á re partie de cet article propose un continuum des pre  misses ide  ologiques qui animent les e  tats de  mocratiques dans la formulation de leurs politiques d' inte  g ration envers les immigrants. En deuxie Á me partie, un survol des mode Á les propose  s par la Psychologie Sociale pour de  c rire les modes d' acc ulturation des immigrants de  montre la ne  cessite  de tenir compte de l' interaction entre les aspirations culturelles des groupes d' immigrants et celles de la communaute  d' accueil. Le mode Á le d' acculturation interactif (MAI), pre  sente  en troisie Á me partie, propose que les rencontres interculturelles seront consensuelles, proble  matiques ou con¯ictuelles, selon les permutations des modes d' ac culturation des immigrants et des membres de la communaute  d' accueil. Les assises the  oriques du MAI sont a Á ve  ri® er dans des recherches empiriques a Á venir.

Measuring employee perception on the effects of cultural diversity at work: development of the Benefits and Threats of Diversity Scale

“…Attitudes and behavior of the majority group may also strongly influence those of minority members. In this vein, Bourhis et al (1997) have shown that, in addition to acculturation strategies employed by immigrants, the host society's preference for immigrant's acculturation strategies may be just as influential on the outcomes of the acculturation process.…”

Migration and Multiculturalism

“…Minority and majority attitudes towards acculturation can either be concordant and give rise to consensual relations between majorities and minorities (especially when both groups agree on integration or assimilation as preferred modes of acculturation), or discordant, evidenced by a mismatch between minority preferences and majority expectations, leading to problematic or even conflictual relationships (Bourhis et al, 1997). The relational outcomes of a mismatch of intergroup definitions of acculturation orientations include, for migrants, heightened acculturative stress, and, for members of the receiving society, stereotyping and discriminatory behaviors, for example in educational or health care institutions, at the workplace, in housing decisions or in encounters with the police.…”

“…In the wake of the intergroup perspective developed by the Interactive acculturation model (Bourhis et al, 1997), recent research has examined the effects of match and mismatch between acculturation orientations held by migrant groups and receiving societies (van Oudenhoven, Ward, & Masgoret, 2006;Roccas et al, 2000;Zagefka & Brown, 2002).…”

Identity experiences of black people in the Netherlands

“…In Western contexts (both North American and Western European) the acculturation of immigrant or minority groups is studied . However, depending on the immigration and integration policies of the host nation, the mainstream culture might influence the acculturation strategy adopted by the immigrant group (Bourhis, Moïse, Perreault, & Senécal, 1997) .…”