Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 86, Issue 6, 2004, Pages 796-813

The social cognition of immigrants' acculturation: Effects of the need for closure and the reference group at entry (Article)

Kosic A. , Kruglanski A.W.* , Pierro A. , Mannetti L.
  • a European University Institute, Florence, Italy, Robert Schuman Ctr. for Adv. Studies, European Univ. Institute in Florence, Florence, Italy
  • b University of Maryland, United States, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, United States, Department of Psychology, Univ. of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742-4411, United States
  • c Univ. di Roma, La Sapienza, Italy, Dipto. Psicol. Proc. di Sviluppo, Univ. di Roma, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
  • d Univ. di Roma, La Sapienza, Italy, Dipto. Psicol. Proc. di Sviluppo, Univ. di Roma, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

Abstract

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.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

perception Croatia human Poland Adaptation, Psychological ethnology Humans male Acculturation female adaptive behavior questionnaire cultural factor Article Questionnaires adult migration Emigration and Immigration Italy Social Perception social behavior
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-2542566640&doi=10.1037%2f0022-3514.86.6.796&partnerID=40&md5=63d55a3a575e2a0d04abfa4dd533355e
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.86.6.796
ISSN: 00223514
Cited by: 94
Original Language: English