New Immigrants’ Perceptions of Family Life in Origin and Host Cultures: In-Group and Out-Group Favoritism Effect
Author(s)
Sharlin, Shlomo A.; Moin, Victor
Abstract
Immigration is a phenomenon which requires adaptation to a new, culturally unfamiliar environment that generates a high level of uncertainty. Knowledge of different aspects of the host culture is one of the essential conditions required in order to effectively manage daily activities. New immigrants’ beliefs and attitudes towards life in the host culture are formed, in the main, by a process of comparison between their life before and after immigration, and between the old and newly found cultural environment. On the level of everyday consciousness, new immigrants are constantly performing cross-cultural “comparative studies.” The results of these “studies” can significantly impact on their adjustment to the host culture and on their attitudes towards the new environment.
