Blackwell Reference Online

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Pragmatic acculturation refers to “the cultural system of behavior and attitudes that allows and often encourages culture-borrowing or the adoption of aspects of non-native cultures for the purpose of satisfying specific needs” ( Quah 1989 : 6). It refers to a person's or group's borrowing ways of thinking (ideas) and ways of doing things (procedures) from other cultures to solve specific problems. Pragmatic acculturation is usually but not exclusively found in ethnically plural societies and it is conceptually different from acculturation or assimilation usually defined as “the process by which an outsider, immigrant, or subordinate group becomes indistinguishably integrated into the dominant host society” ( Marshall 1996 : 20; Kovacks & Cropley 1975 : 10). In contrast to acculturation, the notion of “culture borrowing” in pragmatic acculturation is more than just a “movement of things among societies”; it encompasses patterns of behavior and attitudes. The concept pragmatic acculturation in comparative sociological research contributes to an effective understanding of the permeability of cultural boundaries and its effect on various aspects of social life; of the permanent or temporary transformation in belief systems; and of the way cultural beliefs and norms influence accounts of social life processes and events such as work productivity, governance styles, or disease incidence ... log in or subscribe to read full text