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<p>In increasingly diverse societies, people in intercultural contact must navigate cultural diversity to find their place and sense of belonging. Yet, research on acculturation has largely focused on minority groups, leaving majority group responses to cultural change underexplored. A substantial subset of majority group members adopts an undifferentiated acculturation strategy, expressing low or neutral scores on both heritage culture maintenance and other culture adoption. This pre-registered mixed-methods study provides the first comprehensive examination of this strategy’s internal heterogeneity. We surveyed 316 undifferentiated White British participants and applied Latent Profile Analysis across psychological, ideological, and demographic variables, integrating these results with quantified qualitative data. The analysis revealed two subgroups. The larger Humanistic profile (<i>n</i> = 242) was characterised by politically liberal views, stronger identification with all humanity, and inclusive attitudes towards immigrants, and scored significantly higher—though still neutral in absolute terms—on other culture adoption. Their neutrality appeared to reflect a universalist, equality-oriented outlook rather than indifference, suggesting a cosmopolitan form of belonging grounded in global human identification. The smaller Detached profile (<i>n</i> = 74) showed higher cultural-identity reflection and cultural essentialism, and greater indifference to intercultural contact, but did not differ from the Humanistic group on heritage culture maintenance. This orientation reflected a more disengaged or ambivalent sense of belonging, marked by scepticism towards cultural identity as a basis for social connection. These findings demonstrate that the undifferentiated strategy is not monolithic but comprises at least two orientations: one grounded in inclusive, humanity-based belonging and another reflecting detachment from cultural involvement. We propose extending acculturation theory to incorporate these humanistic and detached patterns, which may represent distinct adaptations to culturally complex, globalised societies. We discuss their implications for fostering or hindering belonging among a substantial segment of majority-group members.</p>

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From undifferentiated to defined: a mixed-methods, data-driven investigation of the acculturation of culturally undifferentiated majority members

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月1日

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  • Lucille Gibert,
  • Katharina Addington-Lefringhausen,
  • Justine Dandy,
  • Jonas R. Kunst

摘要

In increasingly diverse societies, people in intercultural contact must navigate cultural diversity to find their place and sense of belonging. Yet, research on acculturation has largely focused on minority groups, leaving majority group responses to cultural change underexplored. A substantial subset of majority group members adopts an undifferentiated acculturation strategy, expressing low or neutral scores on both heritage culture maintenance and other culture adoption. This pre-registered mixed-methods study provides the first comprehensive examination of this strategy’s internal heterogeneity. We surveyed 316 undifferentiated White British participants and applied Latent Profile Analysis across psychological, ideological, and demographic variables, integrating these results with quantified qualitative data. The analysis revealed two subgroups. The larger Humanistic profile (n = 242) was characterised by politically liberal views, stronger identification with all humanity, and inclusive attitudes towards immigrants, and scored significantly higher—though still neutral in absolute terms—on other culture adoption. Their neutrality appeared to reflect a universalist, equality-oriented outlook rather than indifference, suggesting a cosmopolitan form of belonging grounded in global human identification. The smaller Detached profile (n = 74) showed higher cultural-identity reflection and cultural essentialism, and greater indifference to intercultural contact, but did not differ from the Humanistic group on heritage culture maintenance. This orientation reflected a more disengaged or ambivalent sense of belonging, marked by scepticism towards cultural identity as a basis for social connection. These findings demonstrate that the undifferentiated strategy is not monolithic but comprises at least two orientations: one grounded in inclusive, humanity-based belonging and another reflecting detachment from cultural involvement. We propose extending acculturation theory to incorporate these humanistic and detached patterns, which may represent distinct adaptations to culturally complex, globalised societies. We discuss their implications for fostering or hindering belonging among a substantial segment of majority-group members.