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Weekly UpdatesA multi-category split method will be used to distinguish high-acculturated respondents from low-acculturated respondents. (For ease of discussion, the remainder of the paper refers to only two groups, high and low, since at this point the number of groups is not possible to ascertain.) These groupings will then be used to compare their respective ratings on materialism, English-language television viewing hours, affluence estimates, and purchase patterns. Based on previous research, I propose that buying and consumption patterns as well as media usage will vary with level of the consumer's acculturation. Generally speaking, the more acculturated the individual (high-acculturation scores), the greater the progression toward the attitudes and values of the host (American) society (Faber et al., 1987).
Due to changes that may be necessary in Szapocznik et al.'s (1978) original survey based on sample selection, the first proposition is offered to validate the final measurement scales that would be used in the current study. If the scales show high alpha reliability scores (c.f. Peterson, 1994) the subsequent propositions may be tested. Additionally, the items from the surveys will be factor analyzed to reduce the items into acculturation dimensions. If Szapocznik et al.'s (1978) instruments do not differentiate among the various dimensions (language, interaction, customs, and media utilization), the study would not be validly testing acculturation.
Proposition 1: International students with high acculturation scores will report higher levels of English usage, higher interaction with Americans, more familiarity with American Customs, and more English-based media interaction than international students with low acculturation scores.
Time in the host country influences acculturation levels. Research shows a strong correlation between time in a foreign culture and assimilation with that culture, (i.e., Wallendorf and Reilly, 1983; McCracken, 1986; Wallendorf and Arnould, 1988; Zimmermann, 1995). Younger populations tend to exhibit higher levels of acculturation than older individuals from the same culture. (Kara and Kara, 1996). Most international students arrive between the ages of 19 and 29 (Institute of International Education, 1996). While age range may not vary within the international student population in the present study, time in the US will. Based on findings regarding influence of age and exposure to host country nationals on acculturation levels, I predict the proposed research will observe international students living in the US for longer time periods will have higher levels of acculturation.
Thus far, the discussion focuses on indicators of cultural assimilation. These indicators tell us the process is occurring but do not fully explain how assimilation occurs. Next I briefly describe the mechanisms that influence assimilation and highlight how culture influences an individual's behavioral patterns. Two competing paradigms are developed, which outline the acculturation process and resulting consumption patterns: (1) acculturating individuals who use mass media as a source to internalize societal values will consume more personal products and, contrarily, (2) acculturating individuals "stripped" from their home environment and personal possessions will seek other, nonmaterial, sources of self-identity and societal integration. I offer cultivation and materialism theories as support for each paradigm and suggest methodologies to test their influence and interaction in this study of consumer behavior.
Cultivation Theory
Individuals transitioning into a new culture strive for social acceptance and rapid understanding of behavioral expectations as part of the socialization processes of entering a new cultural environment. Researchers and practitioners alike recognize the role consumption plays in social recognition (Belk, 1978; McCracken, 1986). Studies of symbolic consumption (e.g., Hirschman, 1980), as well as product-image and self-image congruence (e.g., Gardner and Levy, 1955), enhance our understanding of how consumers use the products' social image to assert their self-identity.
Applying these concepts to individuals assimilating new cultures, research predicts a greater reliance on material symbols to create feelings of belonging and social acceptance (Wallendorf and Arnould, 1988). English language television (operationalized as American programming as opposed to native language programming) viewing functions as an efficient tool for understanding associations between products and societal images in American culture. Such viewing rarely provides consumption-relevant skills (Resnick and Stern, 1977); however, it does convey the idea of material abundance and the desirability of product ownership (O'Guinn et al., 1985; O'Guinn and Shrum, 1997). If television signals the importance of material possessions, it is reasonable to expect assimilating individuals with more American-program viewing hours to see the situations depicted on-screen as representative of target culture norms and seek to emulate them.
Cultivation theory (Gerbner, 1973; Gerbner et al., 1980) assumes that people are brought-up in a mass mediated environment that cultivates images based on the cultural norms of the society. Studies of the effect of television viewing on viewers generally find that individuals with little or no direct experience with societal phenomenon are more likely to think television portrayals are realistic. The implication of this theory is that those watching a great deal of television begin to accept what they see on-screen as realistic. (See McQuail (1983), Lee (1989), O'Guinn and Shrum (1997) for a thorough discussion of these effects.)
Lee (1989) applied cultivation theory when he examined the association between mass media and the perceptions of consumption reality among three groups of consumers. Subjects included Taiwanese nationals, Taiwanese residents in the US and Anglo-Americans. He studied the use of direct (personal interaction) and indirect (exposure to mass media) acculturation tools consumers apply to facilitate their understanding of American culture. Results revealed that the two groups with the lowest level of direct contact with American culture (Taiwanese nationals, and high-television-exposure Taiwanese residents in US), perceived greater affluence estimates than either low-television-exposure Taiwanese residents or Anglo-Americans. Lee concludes: "since ethnic minorities do not always have the advantage of being familiar with the American social and cultural systems, use of mass media, especially television, becomes an important way of learning the value system, the social and interpersonal role structure of American culture. It is no wonder they become heavy television watchers" (1989: 774). One problematic area of Lee's study is the lack of control variables for demographic factors (e.g., education, income) which may mediate the relationship between mass media and affluence estimates (see O'Guinn and Shrum, 1997).
Wallendorf and Reilly (1983) offer additional support for the use of mass media as a consumption reality cue in the Mexican-American population. After studying the garbage contents of three household types (income matched Mexican-Americans, Anglo-Americans, and Mexicans living in Mexico City) the authors conclude: Mexican-Americans may over-assimilate to prior perceptions of American cultural style and these conceptions of American life may originate from inferences drawn from the mass media.
This study attempts to measure the effect of mass media on acculturating individuals' affluence estimates and personal consumption. I propose that ethnic minorities, studied here as international students, will lessen their reliance on television as a source of consumption reality cues as acculturation increases. These predictions, based primarily on cultivation theory, emphasize the sociological motivations underlying acculturation. According to the theory, television viewing is an instrument to gain societal understanding, though the knowledge gained via this tool may not, in fact, reflect realistic societal behaviors (Smythe, 1954; DeFleur, 1964; O'Guinn et al., 1985). Specifically, low acculturated international students will, on average, report (1) fewer viewing hours of American television programming vs. native-language television programming (where available), (2) more viewing hours of American television programs than high acculturated individuals, (3) more total television viewing hours, (4) lower interaction with Americans, (5) higher affluence estimates, and (6) more purchases of personal (status) goods than Americans or high acculturated group. Generally, high acculturated international students will exhibit an understanding that American television programs do not portray the reality of living in the US and therefore will not be inspired to consume at the level depicted on television.
Proposition 2a: Low acculturated international students will report fewer viewing hours of American television programming vs. native-language television programming (where available) than high acculturated international students.
Proposition 2b: Low acculturated international students will report more viewing hours of American television programs than high acculturated international students.
Proposition 2c: Low acculturated international students will report more total television viewing hours than high acculturated international students.
Proposition 3: Low acculturated international students will report higher affluence estimates in the American population than high acculturated international students.
Proposition 4: Low acculturated international students will over-assimilate to US culture as evidenced by higher reported purchases of personal goods (clothing, jewelry, etc.) beyond their basic needs.
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