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Psychological Phenomena

Acculturation

Clinical and Motivational Phenomena

Acculturation refers to the psychological, social and cultural transformation that takes place through direct contact between two cultures, in which one or both groups engage in adapting to the dominant cultural influences they encounter. It describes the changes in attitudes, values and everyday behavior that follow sustained contact between people of differing cultural backgrounds, whether experienced by an individual or by a wider community.

Facts
Partially Attested
First Described Year
1918 1
1918 is the first psychological theory of acculturation, with active academic focus beginning that year; the phenomenon itself is older
Core Claim
Psychological, social and cultural transformation through direct contact between two cultures 1
Connections

Associated With

John W. Berry, Psychologists

Developed the influential fourfold model of acculturation strategies: assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization.

In Branch

Sources
1. Acculturation - Wikipedia
  • Intro, sentence 1
    the psychological, social, and cultural transformation that takes place through direct contact between two cultures
  • Historical approaches, paragraph 3
    The first psychological theory of acculturation was proposed in W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki's 1918 study
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