Assimilation

Definitions

[Page 106]Assimilation, as a type of acculturation, the process by which migrants to a new culture manage the maintenance of their home culture and develop relationships with the new culture, may refer to group or individual processes. First, assimilation can be understood as a group phenomenon, most commonly known as cultural assimilation, which refers to the means by which whole minority groups come to resemble a dominant host culture. Groups can assimilate through a variety of means, including intermarriage and the adoption of language, clothing, and/or religion by individuals, which may lead to whole shifts in the culture of the minority group. Cultural assimilation does not take place in a vacuum, with only the minority culture “selecting” to assimilate. Rather, cultural assimilation always takes place within the context of the dominant culture. The members of the dominant culture may forcibly assimilate a minority culture (e.g., the forced integration of indigenous peoples such as the American Indians) or may consciously and unconsciously demonstrate attitudes and beliefs about members of marginalized groups, which contributes to their ability to assimilate.

More recently, assimilation has come to be recognized as not only the group phenomenon but also as an individual phenomenon, commonly known as psychological assimilation, whereby an individual of the minority culture changes their thoughts and behaviors to better integrate into the dominant culture. While a minority group itself may come to resemble the dominant culture, individuals have agency and choice to do so. Such psychological assimilation leads to a range of mental health outcomes.

Models

A range of models explain assimilation, but perhaps most well-known is the fourfold model of acculturation, which construes assimilation as one of multiple types of acculturation. Acculturation may also take place through separation, whereby individuals of the new culture fully reject the dominant culture, maintaining the values, language, and other cultural components of the home culture. Alternatively, minority cultures may engage in marginalization, whereby they lose their home values, and also choose not to take on the values of the dominant culture. Generally viewed as the most adaptive, minority cultures may also integrate with the dominant culture, whereby they both maintain a subset of their own values and beliefs, as well as adopting certain values and beliefs of the dominant culture.

Historical Examples

The experiences of the American Indians during the late 18th through early 20th century offer examples of assimilation. At the time, the federal government attempted to do what it considered civilizing and Americanizing indigenous populations through a variety of efforts, including so-called education. The government removed young American Indians from their families and educated them at Western-styled boarding schools, outlawing various American Indian religions and customs, and exchanging land with American Indians who adopted U.S. citizenship. In addition, one finds examples of assimilation in the experiences of various marginalized immigrant groups in the United States, including the Irish, German, Italian, Japanese, and Hispanic. In some cases, assimilation is associated with the experiences of Jews from across the world, who at various times made efforts to integrate into larger cultures in an effort to decrease their ostracism and stigma.

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