The emotional experiences of people who live together tend to be similar; this is true not only for dyads and groups but also for cultures. It raises the question of whether immigrants' emotions become more similar to host culture patterns of emotional experience; do emotions acculturate? Two studies, on Korean immigrants in the United States (Study 1) and on Turkish immigrants in Belgium (Study 2), measured emotional experiences of immigrants and host group members with the Emotional Patterns Questionnaire. To obtain a measure of the immigrants' emotional similarity to the host group, their individual emotional patterns were correlated to the average pattern of the host group. Immigrants' exposure to and engagement in the host culture, but not their acculturation attitudes, predicted emotional acculturation. © 2011 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

culture Emotional similarity Implicit measure Emotion Acculturation

social psychology psychological aspect Caucasian Emotions human middle aged Ethnic Groups Social Conformity ethnic group Turkey (republic) Adaptation, Psychological ethnology United States Young Adult Humans male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation female adaptive behavior questionnaire cultural factor Belgium Article emotion social adaptation Questionnaires adult migration European Continental Ancestry Group Turkey Emigration and Immigration Social Adjustment Korea