Emotional acculturation: a first review
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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content
Published on: June 29, 2016
1Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102 - Box 3727, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Programme Group Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129B, 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
When people move from one cultural context to another, their patterns of emotional experience and expression may change; that is, they may acculturate emotionally. In the current article, I review empirical studies on immigrant minorities that provide first evidence for (i) the phenomenon of emotional acculturation; (ii) the co-existence of heritage and new culture emotional patterns and minorities' switching between the two; and (iii) the potential benefits of minorities' emotional fit with culture. In addition, I outline future directions in this emergent field and highlight how the study of emotional acculturation may inform emotion psychology as it calls for a truly socio-dynamic perspective on what emotions are and how they can/should be studied.
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