Phenomenology of Acculturation: Retrospective Reports from the Philippines, Japan, Quebec, and Norway

Abstract

Acculturation refers to cultural learning and adjustment in the context of continuous cross-cultural experience. A phenomenology based on retrospective descriptions and analyses of self-observations in acculturation contexts may contribute to the development of theory, constructs, models, and innovative interventions. This phenomenology report focuses on 1) super-ordinate decisions, e.g., to eat all local foods; 2) metacognitive stress induced by biculturalism, e.g., anticipation of faux pas; 3) cultural play to cope with cultural incompetence, e.g., writing Haiku in a new language; 4) unconscious acculturative imitation, e.g., shifts in first-language prosody, phonology, or grammar; 5) sense of freedom, e.g., foreigners being excused from norms and expectations; and 6) the role of cultural mentors, e.g., to act as go-betweens with bureaucracies.