immigrants
Definition
Immigrants refers to individuals who have relocated across national borders and who undergo acculturation, a dynamic process of cultural, behavioral, and psychological change that unfolds across different life domains and societal contexts. A central concern in the study of this population is how structural integration, particularly educational attainment, shapes psychological orientations toward the host society. Contrary to expectations from classical assimilation thinking, research documents what has been termed the integration paradox: higher educated immigrants report greater perceived discrimination, lower sense of belonging, reduced national identification, and less trust in political institutions than their lower educated counterparts. This pattern is attributed to social comparison processes in which structurally integrated immigrants benchmark their outcomes against similarly educated majority members and perceive an unfair disadvantage, producing feelings of relative deprivation.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
Related Terms
Applications
Immigrants and Relative Deprivation
Relative deprivation among immigrants emerges when intergroup comparisons produce the perception of unfair disadvantage relative to majority group members. Higher educated immigrants are particularly susceptible because educational attainment increases contact with majority members, making that group a salient referent, while occupational outcomes for immigrants remain inferior to those of similarly qualified majority peers. Immigrants who pursue higher education also develop greater expectations, making the gap between anticipated and actual rewards more acutely felt.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
Immigrants and Acculturation Strategies
Acculturation strategies, which concern orientations toward heritage cultural maintenance and mainstream culture adoption, are shaped in part by the comparison processes in which immigrants engage. Variation in these strategies is linked to the specific life domain under consideration, the situational context, and whether an individual compares themselves to co-ethnics, other minorities, or majority members. Social comparisons that produce perceptions of unfair treatment can lead structurally integrated immigrants to psychologically distance themselves from the host society rather than orient more strongly toward it.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
Immigrants and Perceived Discrimination
Higher educated immigrants report more perceived discrimination than lower educated immigrants, a finding that runs counter to predictions from acculturative models of subjective discrimination. Greater contact with majority members and higher consumption of national media increase exposure to, and awareness of, structural discrimination and negative public discourse. The capacity of higher educated immigrants to attribute blocked opportunities to discrimination rather than to personal deficits makes discrimination more salient as an explanation for unequal outcomes.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
