This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The diversity of cultural diversity : psychological consequences of different patterns of intercultural contact and mixing Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom 2018 Cheon, B. K. (2019). The diversity of cultural diversity : psychological consequences of different patterns of intercultural contact and mixing. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 22(1), 93‑105. doi:10.1111/ajsp.12321 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142951 https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12321 © 2018 Asian Association of Social Psychology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. All rights reserved.This paper was published in Asian Journal of Social Psychology and is made available with permission of Asian Association of Social Psychology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. Downloaded on 02 Oct 2021 01:01:23 SGT 1 RUNNING HEAD: Psychological consequences of culture mixing 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The diversity of cultural diversity: Psychological consequences of different patterns of 9 intercultural contact and mixing 10 11 Bobby K. Cheon1,2 12 1Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 13 Singapore 14 2Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research 15 (A*STAR), Singapore 16 17 18 Word count (Abstract): 200 words 19 Word count (Manuscript): 9,651 words (including references) 20 21 Keywords: culture mixing, polyculturalism, multiculturalism, globalization, cultural identity, 22 intergroup processes, intercultural contact 23 24 Please address correspondences to: 25 Bobby K. Cheon 26 Division of Psychology 27 Nanyang Technological University 28 14 Nanyang Drive 29 HSS-04-01 30 Singapore, 637332 31 Email: [email protected] 32 33 Abstract 34 Culture mixing is a critical consequence of globalization. Thus, predicting the effects of 35 globalization on individual psychology requires understanding the effects of exposure to culture 36 mixing on cognition, attitudes, and behaviors. Prior research has demonstrated that perceiving 37 the mixing of own and foreign cultures can trigger subsequent shifts across a wide range of 38 psychological processes. This paper proposes that the psychological consequences of culture 39 mixing can be understood through consideration of the specific form of culture mixing involved 40 and the fundamental psychological functions that cultures (particularly heritage cultures) fulfill. 41 Culture mixing itself is a diverse, heterogeneous phenomenon, and different forms of culture 42 mixing (e.g., simultaneous co-presence, superimposition, fusion) may activate different 43 psychological outcomes. Furthermore, heritage cultures serve critical psychological functions by 44 providing guides and normative standards for behavior, acting as markers that facilitate 45 differentiation of ingroup members from outgroups, and buffering against psychological threats. 46 The frustration or disruption of these functions by culture mixing may serve as a basis for 47 predicting psychological responses to mixing. Finally, this paper will suggest key areas for future 48 study in culture mixing and how studying diverse patterns of culture mixing may be critical for 49 enriching cognition and behavior in response to reminders of globalization. 50 51 Although contact and exchanges between cultures are ancient processes, intercultural 52 contact is accelerating with globalization and advancements in media, communication, and 53 information technology (Steger, 2013). Such intersections of cultures, peoples, and the diverse 54 practices and values they endorse presents exciting opportunities for sharing and learning 55 different perspectives and worldviews. Yet rather than excitement and open-mindedness at the 56 prospect of intercultural contact, some may react with increased closed-mindedness, xenophobia, 57 and rejection of such opportunities (Chiu, Gries, Torelli, & Cheng, 2011; Hong & Cheon, 2017). 58 What are the factors that determine how people will respond psychologically to one of the 59 hallmark features of a globalizing landscape: cultural diversity and intermixing between 60 cultures? 61 Culture represents a system of knowledge, meanings and practices that are shared and 62 transmitted across groups of interconnected individuals (Barth et al., 2002). Based on this 63 conceptualization of culture, cultural diversity reflects the tendency for a plurality of systems of 64 knowledge, meanings and practices that vary in content and structure to coexist across human 65 populations, as well as within societies and organizations. Importantly, cultural diversity and 66 intercultural contact is itself heterogeneous and may manifest in different ways (Berry, 1997; 67 Hao, Li, Peng, Peng, & Torelli, 2016). Distinct cultures may coexist within a society, yet 68 segregated and with limited contact. Distinct systems of cultural knowledge may also exist 69 within an individual, who may rely on different cultural frames of cognition and behavior based 70 on situational demands(Hong, Morris, Chiu, & Benet-Martinez, 2000). Or, different cultures may 71 simultaneously be found together within the same context or situation while maintaining their 72 distinguishing features and identities. Such variations in how cultural diversity is conceptualized 73 and managed has been represented in prior research focusing on different frameworks and 74 ideologies regarding the structure and consequences of cultural diversity, such as biculturalism 75 (Chen, 2015; Hong et al., 2000), multiculturalism (Verkuyten, 2007; Wolsko, Park, Judd, & 76 Wittenbrink, 2000), polyculturalism (Morris, Chiu, & Liu, 2015), and strategies for managing 77 acculturation (Berry, 1997). 78 With accelerating globalization, traditional demarcating boundaries of both nation-states 79 and the corresponding cultures and identities within them are becoming more porous to foreign 80 cultural inflows. Given the dynamic nature of culture, and how readily its contents are 81 transmitted and shared, even elements from seemingly distinct cultures are becoming intermixed 82 and hybridized. In particular, polyculturalism reflects a framework or ideology of culture and its 83 diversity that critically recognizes the dynamic, plural, and mutually influencing properties of 84 cultures (Bernardo, Rosenthal, & Levy, 2013; Morris et al., 2015). Cultures do not exist in 85 vacuums. A such, the polycultural perspective proposes that a defining feature of cultures are 86 their plurality and mixtures, and navigating a culturally diverse environment ultimately involves 87 encountering and reconciling cultural mixtures (Cho, Morris, Slepian, & Tadmor, 2017; Hao et 88 al., 2016; Hong & Cheon, 2017). Consistent with this perspective, the aim of this paper is to 89 examine the different ways and patterns that mixtures and contact between cultures may manifest 90 and their respective psychological and potential societal consequences. 91 92 Culture Mixing as Cultural Diversity 93 94 What is culture mixing? 95 Culture mixing refers to a pattern of intercultural contact resulting in representations and 96 elements of distinct cultures occupying the same space at the same time (Chiu, Mallorie, Keh, & 97 Law, 2009). Importantly, culture mixing can involve the synthesis of any dimension or 98 representation of a culture, and is not limited to core values or norms that are perceived as deeply 99 defining or embraced by a particular culture. Consequently, culture mixing may manifest in 100 seemingly more incidental cultural representations and products, such as languages, practices, 101 foods, fashion, icons and symbols. Given that even minimal exposure to such symbols and 102 representations of a cultural group are sufficient to activate culturally congruent or stereotypical 103 mindsets, values, and cognitions (Guéguen, Martin, & Stefan, 2017; Hong et al., 2000; Wong & 104 Hong, 2005), exposure to culturally mixed stimuli may simultaneously activate more than one 105 set of cultural knowledge, which may be incongruent and require reconciliation. 106 107 Diverse manifestations of culture mixing 108 Culture mixing itself is a heterogeneous process, and can vary in the magnitude or degree 109 of overlap and blending between distinct cultural elements (for an overview and descriptions of 110 various forms of culture mixing, see Hao et al., 2016). This can range from simultaneous co- 111 presentation of distinct cultural elements (without actual contact between them), to actual 112 overlap between them (superimposition), in which two cultural representations are occupying the 113 same space or entity, yet maintain their distinct and identifiable characteristics (e.g., a 114 McDonald’s restaurant at the Great Wall of China) (Yang, Chen, Xu, Preston, & Chiu, 2016). 115 The most complete and integrated form of culture mixing is reflected by culture fusion, in which 116 features of distinct cultural representations are mixed together to create a new entity 117 simultaneously possessing features of its different cultures of origin (Cheon, Christopoulos, & 118 Hong, 2016; Cui, Xu, Wang, Qualls, & Hu, 2016). Possibly the most widely studied form of 119 culture mixing to date has been simultaneous presentation, which has also been referred to as 120 joint presentation, side-by-side presentation, or cultural co-presence (Chen et al., 2016; Cheng, 121 Leung, & Wu, 2011; Chiu et al., 2009; Morris, Mok, & Mor, 2011; Peng & Xie, 2016; Torelli, 122 Chiu, Tam, Au, & Keh, 2011). This manifestation of mixing