Biculturals’ personal value change in everyday intercultural movements

Acculturation includes value change, but what happens to the values of bicultural individuals who experience everyday intercultural moves between life contexts? We examined this question in two field studies complemented by an interview study that probed for awareness of the phenomenon. In Studies 1 and 2, students rated their values once in an individualistic life setting (the university library) and once in a life setting collectivistic for biculturals (their parental home), thinking that the double rating is intended to help develop a values questionnaire. Study 1 included participants who were bicultural all their lives and compared them to mono-cultural participants. Mono-culturals’ values were stable across life contexts but biculturals’ values changed to fit the cultural context. Study 2 included only bicultural students and tested whether the effect holds also for those who became bicultural later in life. We found the effect consistently in those who were bicultural by school age. Study 3 found that most bicultural participants were unaware that their values change across life contexts. Study 1 also included a measure of self-reported value-expressive behavior and found the same shift in behavior more in bicultural students than in mono-cultural students. In Study 1, we also found that in a sample with many bicultural participants, values related to value-expressive behaviors only if measured in the same life context. Our research suggests that bicultural people may have flexible values systems, with implications for theory on values, values change, and intercultural adaptation. We discuss implications for education and for value measurement. • Biculturals’ values changed automatically in real life to fit the cultural context. • The effect was more consistent in those who were bicultural throughout school. • Most biculturals are unaware of this automatic value shift. • Biculturals resemble monoculturals’ values and acts in the latters’ culture setting. • Values are not good predictors of behaviors in samples with many biculturals.