Abstract
Acculturation processes are, by definition, processes of change over time. Yet, acculturation science is dominated by static and a-developmental theorizing that makes no specific assumptions about temporal change processes. This review paper presents concepts and methods that utilize a developmental science perspective and demonstrates how these concepts can make acculturation science more dynamic and embedded in contextual developmental theorizing, particularly (but not exclusively) for studying immigrant youth. The described concepts include the life stage principle (e.g., how acculturative experiences may differ in their effects depending on the developmental stage in which individuals face them), the concept of phase transitions from Dynamic Systems Theory (e.g., acculturation may be seen as a phase transition with higher susceptibility to risk factors), ideas about distal and proximal sources of ontogenetic (acculturative) change, dynamic approaches to pubertal development (i.e., novel concepts of acculturation timing), insights on nonergodicity (i.e., a discussion on whether between subject effects indeed present within-person processes in acculturation), and a person-in-context perspective. This review presents the background of these concepts, describes the benefits for acculturation research, and suggests methodological approaches to use them in studies on immigration and acculturative change. Overall, this overview will instigate a novel understanding of acculturation research, which is arguably more in line with earlier aims of acculturation research: A better understanding of change in cultural patterns due to continuous first-hand contact between individuals from different cultures.Key Takeaways
- Acculturation research, which is often static, can be significantly advanced by integrating concepts from developmental science to better understand acculturation as a dynamic process of change over time.
- Applying a developmental lens introduces concepts like the life stage principle, where experiences have different effects depending on age, and phase transitions, which are periods of disequilibrium where individuals are more susceptible to risk factors.
- The paper advocates for improved methodologies, such as using longitudinal designs that account for developmental timing, teasing apart within-person and between-person effects, and employing intervention studies to better establish causality in acculturation processes.
Author Details
Citation
Titzmann, P.F. & Jugert, P. (2024). The dynamics of acculturative change: The potential of a developmental perspective in acculturation science. advances.in/psychology, 2, e553629. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00029
Transparent Peer Review
The current article passed two rounds of double-blind peer review. The anonymous review report can be found here.






