acculturation

n. Acculturation refers to the process of change in a person as a result of extended contact with another cultural group. At some point or another in their lives, virtually all people have contact with people from other cultural groups and hence can potentially undergo cultural change. Some groups of people, however, are more likely to experience acculturation than others. To distinguish these groups, John Berry provides a useful classification system which employs three dimensions: (1) the mobility of the group, (2) the voluntariness of the intercultural contact, and (3) the permanence of the intercultural contact. Various models have been proposed to capture the pattern of change experienced by acculturating individuals. Acculturation is a process that occurs over time, and hence longitudinal research designs, consisting of several assessments at multiple points in time, are the ideal method to understand the experience.  -KN