Skip to main content

Double-Edges of Acculturation from the n-Culturals’ Lens

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
n-Culturalism in Managing Work and Life

Abstract

Being multicultural has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages emanate from the multiple cultural experiences gained and skills developed from these experiences. The disadvantages mostly originate from challenges faced in the process of developing multicultural skills, adjustment processes, and some exogenous factors that are beyond the multiculturals’ control. In this chapter, I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being multicultural. Due to n-Culturals’ capacity and ability identify with, internalize and maintain saliences of more than two cultures, n-Culturals are presented as the extreme end of the multiculturalism continuum with additional capabilities of maintaining simultaneous multicultural identities and saliences of multicultural frameworks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aldrich, H., & Herker, D. (1977). Boundary spanning roles and organization structure. Academy of Management Review, 2, 217–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2002). The psychology of globalization. American Psychologist, 57(10), 774–738.

    Google Scholar 

  • Au, K. Y., & Fukuda, J. (2002). Boundary spanning behaviors of expatriates. Journal of World Business, 37, 285–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benet-Martínez, V. (2012). Multiculturalism: Cultural social and personality processes. In K. Deaux & M. Snyder (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of personality and social psychology (pp. 623–648). New York NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benet-Martínez, V., & Haritatos, J. (2005). Bicultural identity integration (BII): Components and psychosocial antecedents. Journal of Personality, 73(4), 1015–1050.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benet-Martínez, V., Lee, F., & Leu, J. (2006). Biculturalism and cognitive complexity; Expertise in cultural representations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (1990). The psychology of acculturation: Understanding individuals moving between cultures. In R. Brislin (Ed.), Cross-cultural research and methodology series: Applied cross-cultural psychology, 14 (pp. 232–252). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 697–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (2006). Stress perspectives on acculturation. In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 43–57). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., & Annis, R. C. (1974). Acculturative stress: The role of ecology, culture and differentiation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 5, 382–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Minde, T., & Mok, D. (1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review, 21, 491–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., & Sam, D. L. (1997). Acculturation and adaptation. In J. W. Berry, M. H. Segall, & C. Kagitcibasi (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Social behavior and applications (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 291–326). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blazejewski, S. (2012). Betwixt or beyond the lines of conflict? Biculturalism as situated identity in multinational corporations. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 8(2), 111–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bochner (1981). The social psychology of cultural mediation. In S. Bochner (Ed.), The mediating person (pp. 6–36). Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brannen, M. Y. (2004). When Mickey loses face: Recontextualization, semantic fit, and the semiotics of foreignness. Academy of Management Review, 29(4), 593–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brannen, M. Y., & Thomas, D. C. (2010). Bicultural individuals in organizations: Implications and opportunity. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 10(1), 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self: On being the same and different at the same time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 475–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, P. J. (1991). Identity processes and social stress. American Sociological Review, 56(6), 836–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, C. L., Zander, L., Mockaitis, A., & Sutton, C. (2012). The global leader as boundary spanner, bridge maker and blender. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on science and practice, 5(2), 240–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caliguiri, P. M. (1997). Assessing expatriate success: Beyond just “being there”. In Z. Aycan (Ed.), New approaches to employee management (Vol. 4, pp. 117–140). New York, NY: Elsevier Science/JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carbaugh, D. (1996). Situating selves: The communication of social identities in American scenes. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clement, R., Noels, K. A., & Deneault, B. (2001). Interethnic contact, identity, and psychological adjustment: The mediating and moderating roles of communication. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 559–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Constant, A. F., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2008). Measuring ethnic identity and its impact on economic behavior. Journal of the European Economic Association, 6(2–3), 424–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., Major, B., & Steele, C. (1999). Social stigma. In D. Gilbert, S. Fiske, & G. Lindsey (Eds.), The Handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 357–411). Boston: McGraw Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruz, J. L., & Blancero, D. M. (2017). Latina/o professionals’ career success: Bridging the corporate American divide. Journal of Career Development, 44(6), 485–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downie, M., Koestner, R., ElGeledi, S., & Cree, K. (2004). The impact of cultural internalization and integration on well-being among tricultural individuals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 305–314.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (2002). Self and social identity. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 161–186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, A. T., & Sohn, C. C. (1999). Aspiration to community: Community responses to rejection. Journal of Community Psychology, 27(6), 715–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, S. T., Kinder, D. R., & Larter, M. W. (1983). The novice and the expert: Knowledge-based strategies in political cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 381–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, A. P., & Tetlock, P. E. (1997). Taboo trade-offs: Reactions to transactions that transgress spheres of justice. Political Psychology, 18, 255–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34, 906–911.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, G. J. O., Rosanowski, J., Rhodes, G., & Lange, C. (1992). Accuracy and speed of causal processing: Experts versus novices in social judgment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 28, 320–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Germain, E. R. (2004). Culture or race? Phenotype and cultural identity development in minority Australian adolescents. Australian Psychologist, 39(2), 134–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, M., Milorad, M., Novicevic, M., Buckley, R., & Fung, H. (2005). Reducing inpatriates manager’ ‘Liability of Foreignness’ by addressing stigmatization and stereotype threats. Journal of World Business, 40(3), 267–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, M., Treadway, D. C., & Heames, J. T. (2007). The occurrence of bullying in global organizations: A model and issues associated with social/emotional contagion. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37(11), 2576–2599.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hong, H.-J. (2010). Bicultural competence and its impact on team effectiveness. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 10, 93–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Y., Wan, C., No, S., & Chiu, C. (2007). Multicultural identities. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of cultural psychology (pp. 323–345). New York, NY: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Y.-Y., Morris, M. W., Chiu, C. -Y., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2000). Multicultural minds: A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55, 709–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreiner, G. E., Hollensbe, E. C., & Sheep, M. L. (2006). On the edge of identity: boundary dynamics at the interface of individual and organizational identities. Human Relations, 59(10), 1315–1341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakshman, C. (2013). Biculturalism and attributional complexity: Cross-cultural leadership effectiveness. Journal of International Business Studies, 44, 922–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liebkind, K. (2006). Ethnic identity and acculturation. In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 78–96). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, W. J., McGuire, C. V., Child, P., & Fujioka, T. (1978). Salience of ethnicity in the spontaneous self-concept as a function of one’s ethnic distinctiveness in the social environment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(5), 511–520.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molinsky, A. (2007). Cross-cultural code switching: The psychological challenges of adapting behavior in foreign cultural interactions. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 622–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesdale, D. (2002). Acculturation attitudes and the ethnic and host-country identification of immigrants. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32(7), 1488–1507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesdale, D., & Mak, A. S. (2000). Immigrant acculturation attitudes and host country identification. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 10, 483–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, A. M. D., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2007). Biculturalism unpacked: Components, individual differences, measurement, and outcomes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1, 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppedal, B. (2006). Development and acculturation. In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 97–112). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pekerti, A. A. (2008). The interdependent family-centric career: Career perspective of the overseas Chinese in Indonesia. Career Development Quarterly, 56, 362–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekerti, A. A., & Thomas, D. C. (2016). n-Culturals: modeling the multicultural identity. Cross Cultural and Strategic Management, 23(1), 101–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penn, D. L., Sanna, L. J., & Roberts, D. L. (2008). Social cognition in schizophrenia: An overview. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 34(3), 408–411.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. F., Tropp, L., Wagner, U., & Christ, O. (2011). Recent advances in intergroup contact theory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 271–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J., Ferguson, D., & Tate, J. (1997). Intergroup attitudes among ethnic minority adolescents: A causal model. Child Development, 68, 955–969.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roccas, S., & Brewer, M. B. (2002). Social identity complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(2), 88–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D., Ranieri, N., & Klimidis, S. (1996). Vietnamese adolescents in Australia: Relationships between perceptions of self and parental values, intergenerational conflict, and gender dissatisfaction. International Journal of Psychology, 31(2), 81–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudmin, F. (2003). Critical history of the acculturation psychology of assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization. Review of General Psychology, 7(1), 3–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudmin, F. (2009). Constructs, measurements and models of acculturation and acculturative stress. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33, 106–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (1995). Acculturative stress among young immigrants in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 36, 10–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. H. (2014). Rethinking the concept and measurement of societal culture in light of empirical findings. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(1), 5–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snauwaert, B., Soenens, B., Vanbeselaere, N., & Boen, F. (2003). When integration does not necessarily imply integration: Different conceptualizations of acculturation orientations lead to different classifications. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34(2), 231–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparrow, L. M. (2000). Beyond multicultural man: Complexities of identity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24(2), 173–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spurgeon, A., Jackson, C. A., & Beach, J. R. (2001). The life events inventory: Re-scaling based on occupational sample. Occupational Medicine, 51(4), 287–293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stryker, S. (1980). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. Menlo Park, CA: The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tadmor, C. T., & Tetlock, P. E. (2006). Biculturalism: A model of the effects of second-culture exposure on acculturation and integrative complexity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37(2), 173–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tadmor, C. T., Tetlock, P. E., & Peng, K. (2009). Acculturation strategies and integrative complexity: The cognitive implications of biculturalism. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40(1), 105–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: Studies in social psychology. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. C. (1994). The boundary-spanning role of expatriates in the multinational corporation. Advances in International Comparative Management, 9, 145–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D, C., Brannen, M. Y., & Garcia, D. (2010). Bicultural individuals and intercultural effectiveness. European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, 1(4), 315–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. C., Elron, E., Stahl, G., Ekelund, B. Z., Ravlin, E. C., Cerdin, J.-L., et al. (2008). Cultural intelligence: Domain and assessment. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 8(2), 123–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. C., Liao, Y., Aycan, Z., Cerdin, J,-L., Pekerti, A. A., Ravlin, E. C., et al. (2016). Cultural intelligence: A theory-based short form measure. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(9), 1099–1118. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Acker, K., & Vanbeselaere, N. (2011). Bringing together acculturation theory and intergroup contact theory: Predictors of Flemings’ expectations of Turks’ acculturation behavior. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 334–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Laer, K., & Janssens, M. (2011). Ethnic minority professionals’ experiences with subtle discrimination in the workplace. Human Relations, 64(9), 1203–1227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verkuyten, M., & Pouliasi, K. (2006). Biculturalism and group identification: The mediating role of identification in cultural frame switching. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 312–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vora, D., Kostova, T., & Roth, K. (2007). Roles of subsidiary managers in multinational corporations: The effect of dual organizational identification. Management International Review, 47(4), 595–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C. (2008). Thinking outside the Berry boxes: New perspectives on identity, acculturation and intercultural relations. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 105–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2001). The psychology of culture shock. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1999). The measurement of sociocultural adaptation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 23, 659–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., & Leong, C.-H. (2006). Intercultural relations in plural societies. In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 484–503). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • 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(4), 471–485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yagi, N., & Kleinberg, J. (2011). Boundary work: An interpretive ethnographic perspective on negotiating and leveraging cross-cultural identity. Journal of International Business Studies, 42, 629–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yagmurlu, B., & Sanson, A. (2009). Acculturation and parenting among Turkish mothers in Australia. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40(3), 361–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, X., Sang, D., & Wang, L. (2004). Acculturation and subjective well-being of Chinese students in Australia. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 57–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andre A. Pekerti .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Pekerti, A.A. (2019). Double-Edges of Acculturation from the n-Culturals’ Lens. In: n-Culturalism in Managing Work and Life. Springer Series in Emerging Cultural Perspectives in Work, Organizational, and Personnel Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27282-1_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics