Harnessing Diversity: Majority‐Group Acculturation Predicts Creativity and Flourishing Over Time

ABSTRACT

Creativity and flourishing are core aims of higher education (HE) institutions and government initiatives globally. Large‐scale projects have linked creativity and flourishing with cultural diversity, yet their associations with majority‐group acculturation (i.e., how members of dominant culture groups adopt minority‐cultural elements and/or maintain their national culture) remain unexplored. We tested relationships between majority‐group acculturation and seven components of creativity and flourishing in UK (Study 1, N = 323) and Chinese (Study 2, N = 174) majority‐group university students and a three‐wave, English majority‐group longitudinal sample (Study 3, N at Time 1 = 219). Results found integration (i.e., adopting other cultures while maintaining one's own) predicted higher cognitive flexibility (Study 1), meaning‐in‐life (Studies 1 and 2) and quality of interpersonal relationships (Studies 1 and 2), while cultural adoption predicted higher cognitive flexibility, curiosity‐exploration and flourishing over time (Study 3). Findings align majority‐group acculturation with key priorities of HE and government programmes.