Presenter

Haozhe Liu, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta

Abstract

The process of fitting into the cultural normative emotional patterns is referred as emotional acculturation. Research shows that the more an individual’s emotional pattern concurs with that of the receiving culture, termed emotional fit, the better their well-being. Two factors are thought to influence this process for migrants, including length of residence in the culture and social contact with the mainstream cultural members. However, the researchers did not examine these two factors simultaneously. Therefore, this proposed study investigates how these factors may interact to influence emotional acculturation. The participants will consist of Chinese migrants and local Canadians. The Canadian participants will only receive the emotional pattern questionnaire to establish a comparison standard for the dominant emotional patterns in Canada. Chinese migrants will receive a questionnaire that also measures their age of arrival, emotional patterns, length of residence, and quality and frequency of interactions with the receiving cultural members. It is hypothesized that migrants with more interaction with Canadians and greater length of residence in Canada would take less time to emotionally acculturate. It is also expected that there is an interactive effect, such that the length of residence primarily affects emotional acculturation when there is also extensive interaction. This study extends understanding of emotional acculturation to Chinese Canadians, a population that has not been previously examined. Also, if the hypotheses hold, the findings help to explain the mechanism by which emotional acculturation occurs. Finally, it may provide insight regarding how to help newcomers to better adapt in the receiving culture.

Poster

Authors & Affiliations

Haozhe Liu & Kimberly A. Noels (Psychology Department, University of Alberta)