Influence of Social Motivations on Cultural Learning, Adjustment, and Integration

When immigrants come to a new country, they will need to learn its norms and values. The project will examine cultural learning as a key mechanism that helps immigrants identify, integrate, and experience less conflict with the new culture.  

The project seeks to identify the socio-psychological factors that would facilitate the process of cultural learning, and provide insights on the dynamics of identity formation, specifically, about the forces that help people acquire new cultural identities and become integrated in new cultures. As such, the project has the potential to inform Singapore’s social integration initiatives to help new citizens learn the local norms and values, and support their adjustment, acculturation, and integration in Singapore.

Broad Findings

The project identified socio-psychological factors that help people learn the norms of a new culture. For example, we found that the immigrants with a high sense of power in the new culture were faster at learning new cultural norms. Further, immigrants who believed that they can improve their ability to learn new cultures also faster at learning new cultural norms. As such, the project informs Singapore’s social integration initiatives to help new citizens learn the local norms and values, and support their adjustment, acculturation, and integration in Singapore.