Influence of Acculturation Styles on Perceptions of Conformity Am
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Paruzu: Influence of Acculturation Styles on Perceptions of Conformity Am Perceptions of Conformity 39 Influence of Acculturation Styles on Perceptions of Conformity Among Immigrants and Non-Immigrants Ghazaleh Parizi Framingham State College This study examined lhe effecls of acculturation styles on perception of conformity. A total of 120 college students were solicited from a college in the Northeast and randomly assigned to read one of three scenarios involving an immigrant with either an assimilation, integration or separation acculturation style. They completed questionnaires that included measures of conformity, cultural attitudes, self-esteem, and self-monitoring tendencies. The results indicated that college students reported more positive attitudes toward individuals with an integration acculturation styles than individuals with an assimilation and separation styles. Furthermore, college students perceived immigrants with assimilation acculturation styles as more conforming than those wilh integration and separation styles. The United States is the land of acculturation involves a change in attitude and immigrants. Every person living in this behavior when there is contact with members country, with the exception of the Native of a host group that is also the dominant social Americans, can trace his or her ancestry to group in a community. If this acculturation countries outside of the United States. Some process is a two-way interaction between the people were shipped to America against their individuals and their host culture, it is called will, some carne in search of more religious integration and can be mutually beneficial for and political freedoms, while others came in both groups. However, those individuals who search of a better life, the American dream. lose their ethnic identity in order to adapt the According to the United States Census Bureau identity of the host culture are going through (2000) today a total of more than 30,500,000 assimilation, while those who keep their foreign-born individuals from all over the ethnic identity and reject any identification world live in the United States. Almost with the members of the host culture are going 22,000,000 of these people emigrated to the through separation (Perez & Padilla 2000). United States between 1980 and 2000 (Census Phinney and Chavira (1992) asked 417 high Bureau, 2000). Unlike earlier immigrants to school students in a diverse inner-city school the United States who were mainly from and 223 college students in a diverse inner northern and western European nations, today city university to complete a questionnaire to the majority of immigrants are from places assess their attitudes toward assimilation, such as South and Central America, Asia, integration, and separation. The results Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Despite the indicated that American students in culturally differences in culture, language and lifestyle diverse settings favored integration the most. one commonality among all immigrants is the In addition, ethnic minorities who endorsed fact that they all go through an acculturation integration reported higher levels of self process. esteem than those who endorsed assimilation. According to Perez and Padilla (2000), In a similar study, Eshel and Rosenthal- Published by Digital Commons at Framingham State University, 2013 1 FSU Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 10 [2013], Iss. 1, Art. 5 40 Perceptions of Conformity Sokolov (2000) surveyed 300 Jewish students individuals with lower socioeconomic status of the Russian federation who studied in are more conforming to mainstream culture Israel. Self-report measures were used to than those with higher socioeconomic status. assess the students' acculturation strategies In a related study, Sam (2000), examined the and perceived cross-cultural adjustment. The theories of family values, acculturation students' personal consultants were also asked strategies and social group identity as to rate each student's social adjustment, using predictors of the psychological well being of a short form of the High School Adjustment immigrant adolescents. The participants, 506 Scale. Results suggested that those who adolescents with immigrant backgrounds in preferred the integration strategy of five Norwegian cities, were asked to complete acculturation were better adjusted to the new several questionnaires assessing their social culture than those who preferred the group identity, acculturation strategies, life separation strategy. ln addition, those who satisfaction, mental health and self-esteem. chose integration received higher consultant The results suggested that family values had ratings than those who chose separation. no significant impact on mental health, while Furthermore, students who adjusted to their group identity had the greater predictive new culture by integration tended to conform power for self-esteem, mental health and life more to the cultural norms of their host satisfaction. society. Social environments are divided into Conformity is also related to social group meaningful groups and categories. identity and majority identity, which are Individuals often see themselves as part of a major contributing factors in cultural group. Ethnic groupings are one way to adjustments and feelings of inclusion. For categorically identifY individuals. Research example, Barlow, Taylor, and Lambert (2000) indicates that individuals in a group consider interviewed 315 mothers ranging in age from members of their own group as possessing 16 to 68 with a mean age of39.83 from three more positive traits than members of other ethnic groups, namely white American groups (Phinney, 1996; Phinney, Ferguson, women, African American women and Cuban &Tate, 1997; Rustemli, Mertan, & Ciftci, American women, to explore to what extent 2000). Research also indicates that having they perceived themselves to be American, favorable attitudes toward one' s own group and how much they felt they were perceived does not mean having negative attitudes to be American by other groups. Results toward the out-group (Phinney et al. , 1997; suggested that white Americans felt Wolsko, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink; 2000). In completely included in the national category order to examine the influence of ethnic of being American. However, African identity and inter-group contact on Americans perceived themselves as being adolescents' attitudes toward other ethnic American but felt excluded by white groups, Phinney, et al. ( 1997), conducted a Americans. Cuban Americans on the other study where participants were 54 7 African hand, did not perceive themselves as being an American, Latinos, and Asians between the American and they were not perceived as such ages of 13 to 18. They completed by Americans. In addition, immigrants with questionnaires during class, assessing their low socioeconomic status viewed assimilation out-group and in-group attitudes, and ethnic to the American culture more positively than identity. Other measures, such as those with a higher socioeconomic status. neighborhood ethnicity, were used to assess This finding may be an indication that opportunities for inter-group contact in the http://digitalcommons.framingham.edu/journal_of_behavioral_sciences/vol10/iss1/5 2 Paruzu: Influence of Acculturation Styles on Perceptions of Conformity Am Perceptions of Conformity 41 adolescents' current neighborhoods. Ethnicity acculturation style than those with either of prior school was used to assess assimilation or separation style. Second, non opportunities for inter-group contact in the immigrant college students would rate adolescents' prior schools. Parental education scenario characters with an assimilation style information was used as an approximation of more favorably than would immigrant college socioeconomic status. In addition data were students. Third, immigrants would rate collected on age, grade, sex, ethnicity of self scenario characters with a separation style and of parents and country of birth. The more favorably than non-immigrants. Fourth, results indicated that individuals rated their college students would rate scenario own groups more highly than the other characters with an assimilation acculturation groups. Furthermore, those with positive style as more conforming than those with attitudes toward their own ethnic groups either an integration or separation style. tended to have positive attitudes toward other Several correlational hypotheses were also groups as well. Finally, adolescents who had examined. First, college students with high more contact with members of other ethnic levels of conformity would have low levels of groups had more positive attitudes toward self-esteem. Second, college students with them. high levels of self-monitoring tendencies Factors such as acculturation styles and would also be high in conformity. Third, group identity have been researched individuals reporting a weak ethnic identity separately as having an influence on the would also report a lower level of self-esteem. perception of adjustment among immigrants. Fourth, scenario characters that were The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived to be more conforming would be effects of these factors on perception of rated lower on the impression scale. conformity. By looking at individuals with different acculturation styles, instead of Method looking at a particular ethnic group, the findings in this study might be more Participants generalized to the larger population of immigrants. Several questions