Cultural adaptation experiences of people in New Zealand

Abstract

The rich history of migration of people to New Zealand paved the way for the multicultural environment that it has today. As individuals from different countries with various cultures move to a new environment, they encounter transformations that commence contact and communication with members of the new environment. The constant interaction of both New Zealanders and migrants creates changes in feelings, perceptions, and lifestyles that can be analyzed along with the development of cultural adaptation theories. Social science researchers explained how individuals manage changes within themselves and in the environment and proposed working concepts on adaptation. This paper provides a literature review on the cultural adaptation experiences in New Zealand acculturation, cultural adaptation, and cultural fusion using Berry (1970, 2003, 2005, 2006), Aycan and Berry (1996), and Sam and Berry (2010) on acculturation, Kim (2001, 2017) on cross-cultural cultural adaptation, Kraidy (2005) on cultural hybridity, and Croucher and Kramer (2017) on cultural fusion theory. Discussions are centered on the interplay of concepts and empirical studies in understanding different perspectives on the process of adaptation in New Zealand through a communication lens.