Acculturation

Acculturation is a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and
behaviors of another group. Although acculturation is usually in the direction of a

minority group adopting habits and language patterns of the dominant group,
acculturation can be reciprocalthat is, the dominant group also adopts patterns typical
of the minority group. Acculturation may be evidenced by changes in language
preference, adoption of common attitudes and values, membership in common social
groups and institutions, and loss of separate political or ethnic identification.
Studies on acculturation have routinely found a correlation between a persons
socioeconomic status and the level of acculturation one has experienced. A highly
educated and high-income member of a minority group in the United States is likely to
have experienced more acculturation than a person from that same minority group with
less education and income.
Measuring Acculturation
How do social scientists assess acculturation? They can survey members of a particular
cultural group about the background of their parents, their upbringing as children and
their attitudes about family, to name a few. They may also ask the survey respondents
about the cultural background of the people with whom they attended school, socialized
and worked.
The most comprehensive measure of acculturation for use in health services and
epidemiological research in Mexican-American populations was developed by Hazuda
et al. (1988), according to Rice University in Houston. Hazuda's scales are based on a
theoretical model that views acculturation as a multi-dimensional process involving
language, cultural beliefs and values and structural assimilationthe integration of
members of the minority group into the social structure of the majority group.
Hazuda and colleagues asked survey respondents a lengthy list of questions, including
the following:
1. Throughout your adult life, have your neighbors been mostly Mexican American,
mostly Anglo, or about equal numbers of each?
2. Throughout your adult life, have your close, personal friends been mostly Mexican
American, mostly Anglo, or about equal numbers of each?
3. (Are the people with whom you work closely on the job/Are the people with whom you
work closely on your last job) mostly Mexican American, mostly Anglo, or about equal
numbers of each?
Each answer received a score ranging from 3 to 9 points. Survey respondents who
mostly had Anglo, or white, friends, coworkers and neighbors would be deemed the
most acculturated, while those who reported having mostly Mexican American friends,
coworkers and neighbors would be deemed the least acculturated.
Forced Acculturation
Historically, some groups have been forced to acculturate. This includes Native
Americans such as Luther Standing Bear. In 1879, he recounted his experiences of
acculturation at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in a personal essay called First Days
at Carlisle. At the school, Standing Bear, a Lakota, described how government officials
separated him and other Native children from their parents to send them to boarding
schools. There, the children were forced to cut their hair, stop speaking their native
languages and wearing indigenous dress. Forced acculturation drove a cultural wedge
between the children and their family members that never quite narrowed.
Link to work cited
http://www.rice.edu/projects/HispanicHealth/Acculturation.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/joyann/EDLPS549Bwinter2008/Standing_Bear_final.pdf
acculturation
noun acculturation \-kl-ch-r-shn, a-\
Definition of ACCULTURATION
1
: cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from

another culture; also : a merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact
2
: the process by which a human being acquires the culture of a particular society from infancy
enculturation
1. (noun) The gradual process of an individual or group learning and adapting to
the norms and values of aculture (or subculture) in which they are immersed
(e.g., learning a new language or clothing style).
2. (noun) Learning how to become a member of a society or culture.
Example:
1. A foreign exchange student learning to navigate a new educational system,
local customs, and new foods.
2. Refugees adapting to a new place after fleeing their homeland.
3. Enculturation is similar to socialization and often used synonymously. The
distinction between the two is enculturation is learning
cultural norms and socialization is learning societal norms, however,
neither process occurs independent of the other. Enculturation typically
refers to people in general and is informal and socialization typically
refers to children and is formal or deliberate.
4. Some sources list acculturation, enculturation, and socialization as
synonyms, while these terms are similar and easily confused, they are not
synonyms in an academic context.
5. Variant form: inculturation
emic and etic analysis A distinction borrowed by anthropologists from linguistics. Emicists concentrate
on describing the indigenous values of a particular society while eticists apply broader theoretical models
across a number of societies. The emic approach became popular in the late 1960s as part of the
movement towards cultural relativism. In practice, anthropological research has always entailed a mixture
of emic and etic approaches.
emic and etic analysis A distinction borrowed by anthropologists from linguistics. Emicists concentrate
on describing the indigenous values of a particular society while eticists apply broader theoretical models
across a number of societies. The emic approach became popular in the late 1960s as part of the
movement towards cultural relativism. In practice, anthropological research has always entailed a mixture
of emic and etic approaches.
The words emic and etic refer to two different approaches to researching human beings. The terms
originated in linguistics and anthropology in the 1950s and 1960s; over the following decades
researchers in numerous fields and disciplines, including education, have found the concepts useful
(Headland, 1990). Precise definitions vary drastically across authors, but a basic understanding is as
follows:
An emic approach (sometimes referred to as insider,

inductive, or bottom-up) takes as its starting point the perspectives and words of research
participants. As Lett (1990) explains, from an anthropological perspective, Emic constructs are
accounts, descriptions, and analyses expressed in terms of the conceptual schemes and categories
regarded as meaningful and appropriate by the native members of the culture whose beliefs and
behaviors are being studied (p. 130). In taking an emic approach, a researcher tries to put aside
prior theories and assumptions in order to let the participants and data speak to them and to allow
themes, patterns, and concepts to emerge. This approach is at the core of Grounded Theory, and is
often used when researching topics that have not yet been heavily theorized. Some of its strength lies
in its appreciation of the particularity of the context being studied, in its respect for local viewpoints,
and its potential to uncover unexpected findings.
An etic approach (sometimes referred to as outsider, deductive, or top-down) uses as its starting
point theories, hypothesis, perspectives, and concepts from outside of the setting being studied. As
Lett (1990) describes it, Etic constructs are accounts, descriptions, and analyses expressed in terms
of the conceptual schemes and categories regarded as meaningful and appropriate by the community
of scientific observers (p. 130). A researcher who takes an existing theory or conceptual framework
and conducts research to see if it applies to a new setting or population is taking an etic approach.
One of the strengths of the etic approach is that it allows for comparison across contexts and
populations, and the development of more general cross-cultural concepts (Morris, Leung, Ames, &
Lickel, 1999).
While in some cases methodologies heavily privilege one approach over the other, many researchers
live in the tension between these two extremes. A completely etic approach risks blinding oneself to
potentially new and groundbreaking concepts. At the same time, since all researchers come with
previous ideas, perspectives, and commitments (seeSubjectivity) it may be impossible to be purely
emic.
Etic and emic can also refer specifically to codes, such as those used in Thematic Analysisto label
sections of text according the themes and patterns. An etic code is one developed from the literature
or prior research, while an emic code arises from the data and is often built from a participants own
words.

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What is acculturation and how is it measured?

What is the difference between forced and voluntary acculturation?

Acculturation is a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and

behaviors of another group. Although acculturation is usually in the direction of a

: cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from

5. Variant form: inculturation

An emic approach (sometimes referred to as insider,

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