Kunst Jonas R, Mesoudi Alex
University of Oslo, Norway.
University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2025 May;29(2):111-144. doi: 10.1177/10888683241258406. Epub 2024 Jul 26.
Although acculturation psychology is extensively studied in the social sciences, research progress has slowed due to overused methodologies and theories and emerging challenges to core conceptual tenets. Here, we seek to stimulate scientific inquiry into acculturation by integrating underutilized cultural evolutionary perspectives. We propose that cultural evolutionary mechanisms, such as (anti)conformity, prestige bias, payoff bias, and vertical transmission are instrumental in understanding when, why, and how minority- and majority-group members acculturate. The direction and potency of these mechanisms are proposed to be modulated by a combination of contextual and individual factors, resulting in acculturation strategies that at the population level form "cultural evolutionary equilibria." These equilibria in turn have consequences for the long-term, population-level dynamics of cultural evolution. We outline how our integration of perspectives can allow researchers to model the dynamics of large-scale cultural change, increasing our understanding of the complex challenges faced by today's diverse societies.Public AbstractAcculturation describes the cultural and psychological changes resulting from intercultural contact. Here, we use concepts from "cultural evolution" to better understand the processes of acculturation. Cultural evolution researchers view cultural change as an evolutionary process, allowing them to borrow tools and methods from biology. Cultural evolutionary mechanisms such as conformity (copying the numerical majority), anti-conformity (copying the numerical minority), prestige bias (copying famous individuals), payoff bias (copying successful people), and vertical cultural transmission (copying your parents) can cause people to adopt elements from other cultures and/or conserve their cultural heritage. We explore how these transmission mechanisms might create distinct acculturation strategies, shaping cultural change and diversity over the long-term. This theoretical integration can pave the way for a more sophisticated understanding of the pervasive cultural shifts occurring in many ethnically diverse societies, notably by identifying conditions that empower minority-group members, often marginalized, to significantly influence the majority group and society.
尽管文化适应心理学在社会科学领域得到了广泛研究，但由于方法和理论的过度使用以及核心概念原则面临的新挑战，研究进展已有所放缓。在此，我们试图通过整合未充分利用的文化进化视角来激发对文化适应的科学探究。我们提出，文化进化机制，如（反）从众、威望偏见、收益偏见和垂直传播，对于理解少数群体和多数群体成员何时、为何以及如何进行文化适应具有重要作用。这些机制的方向和效力被认为是由情境因素和个体因素共同调节的，从而产生在群体层面形成“文化进化平衡”的文化适应策略。这些平衡反过来又会对文化进化的长期群体层面动态产生影响。我们概述了视角的整合如何使研究人员能够对大规模文化变迁的动态进行建模，增进我们对当今多元社会所面临的复杂挑战的理解。
公共摘要
文化适应描述了跨文化接触所导致的文化和心理变化。在此，我们运用“文化进化”的概念来更好地理解文化适应过程。文化进化研究人员将文化变迁视为一个进化过程，这使他们能够借鉴生物学的工具和方法。诸如从众（模仿数量上的多数）、反从众（模仿数量上的少数）、威望偏见（模仿名人）、收益偏见（模仿成功人士）以及垂直文化传播（模仿父母）等文化进化机制，会促使人们采纳其他文化的元素和/或保留自身的文化遗产。我们探讨这些传播机制如何可能创造出独特的文化适应策略，从长期塑造文化变迁和多样性。这种理论整合可以为更深入理解许多种族多样化社会中普遍存在的文化转变铺平道路，特别是通过确定使往往处于边缘地位的少数群体成员能够显著影响多数群体和社会的条件。
