Differing Levels of Acculturation among Hispanics.

The U.S. Hispanic population has grown rapidly to over 45 million people, which is more than four times the size of the market in 1980. Marketers have begun to realize the importance of gaining a solid understanding of this segment. One topic that has become an important factor in dissecting the Hispanic market is the level of acculturation of consumers. Acculturation can be described as “the modification of the culture of a group of people or an individual as a result of contact with a different culture.”

Acculturation is not a replacement of the first culture with a second: this is assimilation. Instead, acculturation is the mixing of a second culture with a person’s original culture. “Ali,” a 21 year old Mexican-American female, explains how she herself is an example of acculturation. She grew up in the United States having mostly non-Hispanic friends, but she eats authentic Mexican food daily which her mother prepares. Similarly, “Momo,” a 26 year old Guatemalan, states that he is highly influenced by the American style of dress that he sees from his non-Hispanic friends. But he still has strong ties to his family and culture in Guatemala.

In her study on acculturation, Cecilia Alvarez explains that the mixing of cultures takes place through interaction with the second culture, role playing, modeling and reinforcement. This is to say that Hispanics who surround themselves with non-Hispanics will gradually pick up elements of the culture to infuse into their lives. This can be done through the food Hispanics eat, music they listen to, their dominant language and the way they dress.

Take for example, a young Mexican immigrant woman whose family was featured on FX’s “30 Days.” The show focuses on placing people in a situation which is the complete opposite of their own. In this particular episode, a border patrol minuteman lived with the young woman’s family in their small home in East Los Angles. While the girl was born in Mexico, she immigrated to the United States at a young age with her parents and had since picked up American tendencies. She enjoyed playing golf and even shared her passion for the game with the minuteman. In addition, she was fully bilingual in that she used Spanish at home with her parents and English at school with her friends. The woman had developed a moderate level of acculturation through the fusing of the American culture with her strong Mexican traditions.

The question then becomes, is this girl and other Hispanics like her more American or more Hispanic? Marketers try to answer this question in hopes of determining the appropriate way to reach Hispanics through advertising. The answer is both simple and complex at the same time. Hispanics have different levels of acculturation which can cause them to have differing consumer behaviors.

Acculturation has been described as a multidimensional process, implying that individuals change along various dimensions of social functioning. Felipe and Betty Ann Korzenny describe this as bidimensional acculturation segmentation. Hispanics can either have a high or low level of Hispanic orientation mixed with either a high or low level of Anglo orientation. Based on where Hispanics fall on both these axis, they can be considered Hispanic dominant, bicultural, culturally unique or assimilated. Hispanics like “Momo” who still have strong family ties to their country of origin have a higher Hispanic orientation. On the other hand, “Momo” looks to his non-Hispanic peers for queues on how to dress, types of music to listen to and speaks predominately English with these peers. This places him high in the Anglo orientation as well. Hispanics like “Momo” and the girl from “30 Days” could be classified as bicultural.

Now take for example, “Ali” who is a third generation Mexican-American. She grew up attending private school where she was usually one of only a few Hispanics in the classroom. Almost all of her friends were non-Hispanic and were totally Anglo dominate. “Ali” then lost most of her Spanish since she only spoke it with elderly family members who were Spanish dominate. However, her parents made sure that her and her brother learned about their Hispanic heritage and participated in traditional Hispanic events, such as Mexican Independence day celebrations. “Ali” could be considered bicultural.

The level at which Hispanics retain their original culture and mix it with a second is another way in which to classify the Hispanic market. Marketers can use such classification to develop effective advertising and marketing campaigns to the Hispanic population.

By Michelle Orrick
Florisa State University

Alvarez, Cecilia. The Acculturation of Middle Income Hispanic Households. Il Coloquio Predoctoral Latinoamericano XXXIX Asamblea Annual de CLADEA. Puerto Plata, Santa Domingo. Octobre 19 y 20, 2004.
Korzenny, Felipe and Betty Ann Korzenny. Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective. Boston, Massachusetts: Elsevier Inc. 2005.