International Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior

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Ward, C.: The A,B,Cs of Acculturation. In: Matsumoto (ed.): The Handbook of Culture and Psychology, New York, 2001.

Which passage impressed you the most?

On page 418, it is said that younger immigrants appear to be more malleable than older ones, and they tend to take on more readily host culture norms and values (Marín et al. 1987, Mavreas et al., 1989). (…) One possible reason is that younger immigrants tend to have better language skills and are more easily accepted into the receiving country (Liebkind, 1996). I completely agree with these conclusions. However, I think that there can be more logical reasons for the easier adaptation of younger people to a host country. When talking about toddlers and infants who immigrated with their parents, their age can be an advantage. Most of the time, children imitate their parents, teachers, other children and what they see in their surroundings in general. This way, the adaptation follows immediately and without thinking. Children are also not yet fully ‘formed’ by their home culture. They don’t have all the habits yet and if they do, it is often easy to overcome these habits. Finally, in my opinion, children don’t prejudice against other children because of race or nationality and consequently have an open mind towards other cultures.

Which passage did you not like at all?

‘Are the features of a successful transition defined by good relations with members of the host culture, psychological well-being, competent work performance, positive attitudes towards the transition, or identification with host nationals?’ (page 414)           I believe that this is not a question of one thing or the other. A transition is not successful solely because of a positive attitude towards the transition or due to the psychological well-being of the immigrant. Thanks to a combination of all these features, a transition can be successful. Nevertheless, some features are more important. For example, a positive attitude towards the transition is crucial, from my point of view. Without a positive attitude, you will never reach psychological well-being. These features are connected to each other and it is important to cover as many of them as possible.

In which aspects does the text match your personal experience?

On page 420, it is written that: ‘…increased contact provides first-hand knowledge that sharpens or crystallizes intergroup perceptions’ (Triandis and Vassiliou, 1967). This is a clear and logical conclusion that not only suits immigrants, but can be used to describe the first steps in every possible relationship. Everybody prejudices against other people, including me. When I arrived in Vienna in September, I took part in the orientation program set up by the university to get to know the city and the other exchange students. I met a boy from the Netherlands, who seemed quite likeable. Unfortunately, he said that he didn’t want to hang out with other Dutch-speaking people, because that was not why he was here. Judging someone based on language is also a form of discrimination. In this case, I would call it ‘in-group defavoritism’.

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