Keywords
motivation
immigrants
cultural maintenance
cultural exploration
How to Cite
Abstract
There is a lack of acculturation research on the motivations underpinning the behaviors of immigrants, which influence how they adapt in their new country of residence. The authors suggest that Motivation for Cultural Maintenance (MCM) and Motivation for Cultural Exploration (MCE) influence acculturation behaviors of immigrants and that these acculturation behaviors in turn impact psychological and sociocultural adaptation. The present research investigates a dual-process model based on the relationships between these novel motivations, acculturation behavior of connections with ethnic/national peers, and psychological and sociocultural adaptation in a large New Zealand immigrant sample (N = 280, 64.6% female, Mage 39 years). Results from structural equation modeling largely support the proposed dual-process model and demonstrate that the novel motivations have predictive power. MCM predicted psychological adaptation through ethnic peer connections, whereas MCE and national peer connections predicted sociocultural adaptation directly. Implications of the findings and how the proposed dual-process model can contribute to the acculturation literature are discussed.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachment as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x
Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 697-712. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013
Berry, J. W., Phinney, J. S., Sam, D. L., & Vedder, P. (2006). Immigrant youth: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 55, 303-332. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2006.00256.x
Cacioppo, J. T., & Petty, R. E. (1982). The need for cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 116-131. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.42.1.116
Chirkov, V., Vansteenkiste, M., Tao, R., & Lynch, M. (2007). The role of self-determined goals for study abroad in the adaptation of international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 31, 199-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2006.03.002
DeYoung, Colin G. (2006). Higher-order factors of the Big Five in a multi-informant sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1138-1151. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.6.1138
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Fiske, S. T. (2008). Core social motivations. Views from the couch, consciousness, classroom, computers, and collectives. In J. Y. Shah & W. L. Gardner (Eds.), Handbook of motivation science (pp. 3-22). New York: Guildford Press.
Gezentsvey, M., & Ward, C. (2008). Unveiling agency: A motivational perspective on acculturation and adaptation. In R. Sorrentino & S. Yamaguichi (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition across cultures (pp. 213-235). London: Academic Press.
Gouveia, V. V., Milfont, T. L., Fonseca, P. N., & Coelho, J. A. P. M. (2009). Life satisfaction in Brazil: Testing the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) in five Brazilian samples. Social Indicators Research, 90, 267-277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9257-0
Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52, 1280-1300. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.52.12.1280
Jasinskaja-Lathi, I., Liebkind, K., Jaakkola, M., & Reuter, A. (2006). Perceived discrimination, social support networks, and psychological well-being among three immigrant groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 293-311. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022106286925
Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M. (1996). Motivated closing of the mind: “Seizing” and “freezing”. Psychological Review, 103, 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.103.2.263
Li, A., & Gasser, M. B. (2005). Predicting Asian international students’ sociocultural adjustment: A test of two mediation models. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 561-576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.06.003
Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 151-173. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2008). The Satisfaction with Life Scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3, 137-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701756946
Pearson, P. H. (1970). Relationships between global and specified measures of novelty seeking. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 199-204. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029010
Recker, C. (2013). A dual-process motivational model of cross-cultural adaptation (Unpublished Master’s thesis). Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Rothbaum, F., Pott, M., Azuma, H., Miyake, K., & Weisz, J. (2000). The development of close relationships in Japan and the United States: Paths of symbiotic harmony and generative tension. Child Development, 71, 1121-1142. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00214
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000a). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000b). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-006X.55.1.6
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6
Searle, W., & Ward, C. (1990). The prediction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 14, 449-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(90)90030-Z
Sorrentino, R. M., & Yamaguchi, S. (2008). Motivation and cognition across cultures. In R. M. Sorrentino & S. Yamaguchi (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition across cultures (pp. 1-15). London: Academic Press.
Tepper, K., & Hoyle, R. H. (1996). Latent variable models of need for uniqueness. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 31, 467-494. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr3104_4
Vedder, P., & van de Vijver (2006). Methodological aspects: Studying adolescents in 13 countries. In J. W. Berry, J. S. Phinney, D. L. Sam & P. Vedder (Eds.), Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation, identity and adaptation across national contexts (pp. 47-70). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Vedder, P., van de Vijver, F. J. R., & Liebkind, K. (2006). Predicting immigrant youth’s adaptation across countries and ethnocultural groups. In J. W. Berry, J. S. Phinney, D. L. Sam & P. Vedder (Eds.), Immigrant youth in cultural transition: Acculturation, identity and adaptation across national contexts (pp. 143-165). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Vedder, P., & Virta, E. (2005). Language, ethnic identity, and the adaptation of Turkish immigrant youth in the Netherlands and Sweden. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 317-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.05.006
Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1994). Acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment, and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 18, 329-343. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/0147-1767(94)90036-1
Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1993). Where’s the “culture‟ in cross-cultural transition? Comparative studies of sojourner adjustment. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 24, 221-249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022193242006
Ward, C., & Kus, L. (2012). Back to and beyond Berry’s basics: The conceptualization, operationalization and classification of acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36, 472-485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.02.002
Ward, C., Okura, Y., Kennedy, A., & Kojima, T. (1998). The U-curve on trial: A longitudinal study of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transition. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 22, 277-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(98(00008-X
WHO Collaborating Center for Mental Health. (1998). WHO (Five) Well-Being Index (1998 version). Hillerød, DE: Frederiksborg General Hospital, Psychiatric Research Unit. Retrieved from http://www.who-5.org/
Wilson, J., & Ward, C. (2010). Revision and expansion of the Sociocultural Adaptation Scale. Unpublished manuscript, Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Wilson, J., Ward, C., & Fischer, R. (2013). Beyond culture learning theory: What can personality tell us about cultural competence? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44, 900-927. doi: 10.1177/0022022113492889
This journal is registered under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License. Thus, this work may be reproduced, distributed, and publicly shared in digital format, as long as the names of the authors and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana are acknowledged. Others are allowed to quote, adapt, transform, auto-archive, republish, and create based on this material, for any purpose (even commercial ones), provided the authorship is duly acknowledged, a link to the original work is provided, and it is specified if changes have been made. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana does not hold the rights of published works and the authors are solely responsible for the contents of their works; they keep the moral, intellectual, privacy, and publicity rights. Approving the intervention of the work (review, copy-editing, translation, layout) and the following outreach, are granted through an use license and not through an assignment of rights. This means the journal and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana cannot be held responsible for any ethical malpractice by the authors. As a consequence of the protection granted by the use license, the journal is not required to publish recantations or modify information already published, unless the errata stems from the editorial management process. Publishing contents in this journal does not generate royalties for contributors.