An exploration in psychology of culture : a phenomenological study with immigrants in Sweden

Abstract: We have been inspired by the existing concepts in the field of cultural psychology. With our empirical research we want to explore their eventual relevance in the life-world of immigrants in Malmö, with a phenomenological approach. We have used concepts mainly coming from J.W.Berry's works. He uses concepts like acculturation-strategy, majority/minority culture, and dominant/non-dominant culture, among others. We did a study in two schools, Lernia and Världens Hus, as we saw them as key-environments. We asked one question, about what kind of directions they would give to a newcomer to Sweden. The result we got from our 33 participants was very big and rich, but we analysed all of it in the Minerva-program. We found very positive attitudes towards Sweden, and a will to learn the language, but this does not necessarily include identification with the country, or a will for it.