Identification assimilation
Identification assimilation is a key stage in the process of how minority groups integrate into a host society, as outlined by sociologist Milton Gordon. This stage occurs when individuals from minority groups, often recent immigrants, begin to identify themselves primarily with the dominant culture of the host society. They adopt the memories, sentiments, and attitudes prevalent within that culture, even while their racial, ethnic, or religious identities may remain unchanged.
There are several pathways to identification assimilation, including reactive, selective, and symbolic forms. Reactive assimilation can happen when individuals face discrimination, prompting them to modify their behaviors or appearances. Selective assimilation involves adopting specific traits or behaviors to improve social or economic opportunities, whereas symbolic assimilation reflects a more superficial change in identity following economic success. The pace at which different groups achieve this assimilation can vary, influenced by factors like socioeconomic status, intermarriage rates, and levels of prejudice.
Historically, many European Americans have reached this stage more readily than other racial and ethnic groups, such as African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans, who often encounter greater barriers in the assimilation process. Understanding identification assimilation is essential for exploring the complexities of cultural integration and social dynamics within diverse societies.
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Identification assimilation
Identification assimilation is the fourth of sociologist Milton Gordon’s (1918-2019) seven stages of assimilation of minority groups into a host society. At this stage, members of a minority group, usually newly arrived immigrants, develop a sense of peoplehood based exclusively on the host society, acquiring the memories, sentiments, and attitudes of people of the dominant culture. The assimilation of immigrants into American society provides a good example. Although racial, ethnic, and religious identity may or may not change, assimilating groups, when they reach this stage, identify themselves exclusively with the members of the host society.
Identification assimilation may be reactive, selective, or symbolic. Reactive assimilation results when an individual is subjected to discrimination and marginalization due to their racial or ethnic identity, causing them to alter their behavior or appearance. Selective assimilation occurs when an individual changes particular traits or behaviors to better assimilate to achieve economic or career success, and symbolic assimilation refers to a superficial change in ethnic identity that occurs following economic success.
The speed and number of generations required for identification assimilation vary among different racial and ethnic groups, depending upon their socioeconomic status, rate of interracial or interethnic marriage, and degree of prejudice and discrimination against them. First-generation immigrants, usually foreign-born, have difficulties achieving this stage because of cultural differences, lack of integration with mainstream Americans at the primary level of socialization, and prejudice and discrimination. Most subgroups of European Americans, descendants of immigrants between the post-colonial period and the early 1900s, have achieved identification assimilation regardless of their ethnic background. However, numerous barriers—economic, cultural, and educational, among others—have prevented some members of other racial and ethnic groups, such as African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans, from achieving the same degree of identification assimilation as European Americans.
Bibliography
Bailey, Eric J. The New Face of America: How the Emerging Multiracial, Multiethnic Majority is Changing the United States. Praeger, 2013.
Brown, Susan K., and Frank D. Bean. "Assimilation Models, Old and New: Explaining a Long-Term Process." Migration Policy Institute, 1 Oct. 2006, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/assimilation-models-old-and-new-explaining-long-term-process. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Greenman, Emily, and Yu Xie. “Is Assimilation Theory Dead? The Effect of Assimilation on Adolescent Well-Being.” Social Science Research, vol. 37, no. 1, 2008, pp. 109–37, doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.07.003. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Kivisto, Peter. Incorporating Diversity: Rethinking Assimilation in a Multicultural Age. Paradigm, 2005.
Martino, Daniel. "Accelerating “Americanization”: A Study of Immigration Assimilation." Manhattan Institute, 12 Oct. 2023, manhattan.institute/article/accelerating-americanization-a-study-of-immigration-assimilation. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
McKinney, Tiara. "How Assimilation Changed My Identification with My Culture." Facing History, 25 Feb. 2021, www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/how-assimilation-changed-my-identification-my-culture. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.