Public views of biculturalism

Abstract

As America becomes increasingly globalized, concepts such as multiculturalism and biculturalism will be important to consider in public policy and social issues. Biculturalism in a psychological light refers to the process by which an individual considers two distinct ethnic cultures as integral to their ethnic identity and behaves in a manner that expresses elements from both cultures (Nyugen & Benet-Martinez, 2007). Bicultural individuals, generally from minority groups, will comprise an estimated 40% of the population by 2020 (US Census Bureau, 2008). As such, considering biculturalism in a public light could illustrate existing attitudes in public relations in America. Estimating the public opinion of biculturalism could indicate the type of social environment within which immigrants and their children live, as well as possible public issues in relation to globalization and biculturalism. To understand the public opinion of biculturalism today, we have composed a questionnaire to comprehensively determine if and what kind of public opinion exists regarding biculturalism. The questionnaire is meant to discern what kind of reaction the term biculturalism produces, how internalized the idea of biculturalism is, and how important biculturalism is perceived to be in America. The responses to this questionnaire could indicate any common attitude towards bicultural individuals in America.