Emergent Insights into Cultural Dynamics: Advancing Acculturation Research through a Complexity Lens

Despite acknowledging the relational, dynamic, differentiated, and situated nature of acculturation (i.e., cultural change and learning), existing models and approaches for studying acculturation tend to minimise the dynamism and interconnection that are inherent to the process. Converging methodologi- cal tools that approximate the complex reality of acculturation without restricting from its dynamic and interconnected nature can therefore help us gain a more complete understanding of the process and mechanisms of change. That said, we contend that the discipline can benefit from a theoretical and methodological expansion towards a complex dynamic systems (CDS) approach to the study of acculturation. Understanding how the funda- mental assumptions of CDS translate to the characteristics of the acculturation process is crucial to the goal of this paper, as is understanding how these assumptions support the adoption of designs and methods that can alter our expectations about the nature of the processes being studied in acculturation research. To that purpose, we give an overview of the features that are frequently discussed in complex dynamic systems research, present our own model of acculturation as a complex dynamic system and how it can be approached using complexity-informed methods. Finally, we discuss the empirical, theoretical, and societal implications of using a complexity lens.