Heterogeneity of historical migration and individual-level cultural adaptation

In our rapidly globalizing world it has become increasingly common for individuals to move to or spend time in a foreign, host country. Previous research has largely focused on how personality characteristics affect cultural adaptation in the host country. In this project we extend previous research by measuring the influence of the social context, specifically the heterogeneity of the host country’s inhabitants. We predicted that individuals would have an easier time adapting to historically more heterogeneous contexts. In Studies 1 and 2, we used publicly available data to test whether heterogeneity influences cultural adaptation of International Business Students and Peace Corps volunteers. In Study 2, we experimentally manipulated heterogeneity and tested whether individuals anticipated adapting more in hypothetical work assignments that were in historically heterogeneous locations. Across both studies we found support for our hypothesis that greater historical heterogeneity is associated with higher levels of cultural adaptation. Implications for acculturation and immigration will be discussed.