Melting Pot or Mosaic? An Investigation of East-Asians' and Central-Americans' Attitudes Toward Acculturation and Assimilation Into the United States-American Culture

This research focuses on today's immigrants to the United States, who, according to Jimenez (2011), are primarily from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. The purpose of this study is to explore East-Asians and Central-Americans' attitudes toward acculturation and assimilation into the U.S.-American culture by examining two popular metaphors: the melting pot and the mosaic, which are commonly used to describe the culturally diverse United States' populations.;Is there a correlation between the country/region of origin of the co-researchers (participants) and their attitudes toward acculturation and assimilation? This research offered an opportunity to compare some the East-Asians and Central-Americans' experiences as immigrants in the United States, as well as to examine their attitudes toward acculturation and assimilation into the U.S.-American culture.;Extensive study of relevant literature was implemented, using qualitative research methods. Through in-depth interviews the researcher captured the co-researchers' (participants') experiences while interacting with members of the U.S.-American culture. The findings of this study showed that of the two immigrant groups: East-Asians and Central Americans, the Central American co-researchers had a more positive attitude toward acculturation and assimilation into the U.S.-American culture than the East-Asians. The East-Asians advocated strong cultural retention.