Theoretical Dimensions Of Acculturation Faced By Immigrants

Early studies of acculturation focused on the acculturation of immigrant groups, and on how immigrants orient themselves towards their heritage culture and the host culture. According to Berry (2001), immigrants are faced with two fundamental issues, which can be referred to as acculturation dimensions. The first acculturation dimension refers to maintenance of the heritage culture (‘Do I consider it important to maintain my heritage culture?’), and the second dimension refers to contact with the majority/host group (‘Do I consider it important to engage in contact with the host group?’). On the basis of the answers to these two questions, four acculturation strategies are distinguished. These are integration, assimilation, separation and marginalisation. In application to the present study, integration means that Badagry indigenes value maintenance of their heritage culture and that they also want to engage in regular contact with the tourists. Assimilation occurs when Badagry indigenes do not insist on maintaining their cultural heritage, but they value relationships with the tourist. Separation refers to a combination of preservation of one’s heritage culture and avoidance of contact engagement with the tourists. Marginalization is characterized by a loss of cultural and psychological connectedness with both the indigenous culture and the tourists.

Bourhis, Moise, Perreault and Senecal (1997) argued however that the two acculturation dimensions introduced by Berry, one referring to cultural maintenance and the other to intergroup contact, touch upon different psychological phenomena which makes it questionable to combine them. Indigenes position on the cultural maintenance dimension refers to an attitude towards culture whereas their position on the contact dimension refers to a behavioral intention. Bourhis et al. proposed then to replace contact with the tourists by adoption of the tourist culture resulting in two acculturation dimensions defined as cultural attitudes. The meanings of indigenous culture maintenance, tourist culture adoption and contact engagement with the tourist emerge within the relationship between the specific Badagry indigene and tourist and need not be the same for both groups.

Berry (2001) pointed out that not only the acculturation strategies of indigenes but also the acculturation expectations of members of the tourists groups have to be studied. Tourists’ acculturation expectations are defined by similar dimensions as the ones that determine Badagrys’ acculturation strategies. A combination of indigenous position on these two dimensions then again results in four different categories: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. Several studies reported that indigenous members who expect tourists to integrate hold more favorable intergroup attitudes (for example. , less feelings of threat, racism and rejection; less social distance) than indigenous members who expect assimilation, separation or marginalization. Cultural changes can be observed across a number of different domains such as attitudes, values, behaviours, and sense of cultural identity.

Two distinct theoretical frameworks have dominated the study of this complex cultural phenomenon. One camp of researchers stipulates that acculturation is a one-dimensional construct that can be conceptualized along a single continuum, ranging from the immersion in the indigenous’ culture to the immersion in the tourist culture. A competing perspective argues that acculturation consists of two distinct independent dimensions, adherence to the tourist culture and maintenance of the culture of indigenes. The use of these two models has produced a prolific literature that has explored the multiple changes that occur when individuals adapt to different cultural environments. This classic definition implies that acculturation is an interactive, developmental, multifactorial, and multidimensional process. Measures that abide by this definition assume that acculturation affects individuals at different levels of functioning such as behavioural, affective, and cognitive. One of the difficulties of specifying the different domains (such as values, attitudes, interpersonal relationships, language, behaviours) that are affected by this cultural process is that acculturation can be viewed as a group or individual phenomenon.

Acculturation has a dualistic effect; it affects the culture of a group as well as changes in the psychology of an individual.