How Does Culture Matter in the Face of Globalization?

Abstract

Globalization has made exposure to multiple cultures not only possible, but often necessary and unavoidable. This article focuses on how people react and adapt to increasing globalization and multiculturalism. We posit that reactions to multiculturalism and intercultural contact are not universal and are themselves shaped by cultural experiences. That is, culture provides a frame of reference for reconciling and negotiating the inflow of foreign cultures and peoples. Although exposure to foreign cultures can widen one's worldview, thereby enhancing creativity and reducing prejudice, intercultural contact can also bring about negative exclusionary responses such as aversion, disgust, and defensiveness. We explore how culture and individual differences, such as a belief in racial essentialism, critically shape reactions to intercultural contact. Our discussion sheds light on recent geopolitical and societal shifts that reflect an increased backlash against rising globalization and cultural diversity.

The diversity of cultural diversity: Psychological consequences of different patterns of intercultural contact and mixing

“…Such intersections of cultures, peoples, and the diverse practices and values that they endorse present exciting opportunities for sharing and learning different perspectives and worldviews. Yet, rather than excitement and open‐mindedness at the prospect of intercultural contact, some may react with increased closed‐mindedness, xenophobia, and rejection of such opportunities (Chiu, Gries, Torelli, & Cheng, ; Hong & Cheon, ). What are the factors that determine how people will respond psychologically to one of the hallmark features of a globalizing landscape: cultural diversity and intermixing between cultures?…”

“…Cultures do not exist in vacuums. A such, the polycultural perspective proposes that the defining features of cultures are their plurality and mixtures, and navigating a culturally diverse environment ultimately involves encountering and reconciling cultural mixtures (Cho, Morris, Slepian, & Tadmor, ; Hao et al., ; Hong & Cheon, ). Consistent with this perspective, the aim of this article is to examine the different ways and patterns that mixtures and contact between cultures may manifest and their respective psychological and potential societal consequences.…”

“…One contributing factor to the emergence of cultural diversity is different opportunities, challenges, and threats that groups are exposed to in their local environments and contexts. Based on the magnitude and quality of opportunities and threats within an environment, groups may prioritize different social behaviors (e.g., cooperation vs. self‐interest) and social institutions (e.g., maintaining security vs. promoting growth) as well as promoting the values, norms, and meanings that support them (Cohen, ; Gelfand et al., ; Hong & Cheon, ; Oishi & Graham, ).…”

“…Culture mixing has indeed been shown to influence intergroup bias; yet, this relationship appears to be especially dependent on the type of mixing occurring. Intrusive forms of culture mixing in which a foreign cultural element “invades” a heritage cultural element through superimposition or fusion may be particularly disruptive to the identity‐bolstering function of cultural icons (Cheon et al., ; Hong & Cheon, ; Yang et al., ), leading to increased intergroup bias. For instance, exposure to superimposition of foreign representations on heritage ones accompanied by slogans that increased the cultural salience of the stimuli was associated with increased implicit prejudice against the intruding cultural group, an effect enhanced by greater identification with one's heritage culture (Shi et al., ).…”

The Dark Side of Cultural Intelligence: Exploring Its Impact on Opportunism, Ethical Relativism, and Customer Relationship Performance

“…Specifically, how can expatriates high in CQ excel in relationships with their customers, yet act opportunistically? Prior research has examined the dark sides of other types of personal resources, such as emotional intelligence (O'Connor & Athota, 2013), cross-cultural exposure and experiences (Hong & Cheon, 2017;Lu, Quoidbach, Gino, Chakroff, Maddux, & Galinsky, 2017), and moral integrity on relationship commitment (Li, Zhang, & Yang, 2018). Our research is the first to provide and empirically examine an encompassing theoretical rationale for a dark side of CQ.…”