Effects of Diffusion (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Acculturation is the adoption of elements of a different culture, generally the predominant one in a particular location

• Tex-Mex cuisine is an example of acculturation, as it combines traditional Mexican recipes with American ingredients and flavor patterns

Assimilation is the process of a person or group losing the cultural traits that made them distinct from the people around them and the almost wholesale adoption of the predominant culture

• An immigrant who begins to speak the language of the host country exclusively is an example of assimilation

• Assimilation may be forced, such as the placement of Native American children in American and Canadian boarding schools where they were forced to speak English and wear non-traditional clothing

Syncretism includes the blending of traits from two different cultures to form a new trait

• Syncretic religious practices include Haitian Vodou and Santeria, both of which combine aspects of Roman Catholicism with West African religions. 

• Similarly, Daoism in China and Shinto in Japan combine Indigenous religious practices with Buddhism, which diffused across Asia from India

Multiculturalism refers to cultural diversity within a society when various ethnic groups coexist with one another without having to sacrifice their particular cultural traits

Cultural divergence occurs when people leave or abandon certain elements of their culture

• Causes of cultural divergence include immigration, age, and physical barriers

Cultural convergence refers to the process of cultures becoming more similar as interaction increases

• Causes of cultural convergence include colonization, telecommunications and technology, and global sports and media