Honor, dignity, and migration: Navigating cultural norms and threat responses among Indians, Germans, and Indian migrants in Germany

Many studies on honor-related variables have mainly compared honor and dignity cultures. Still, few have addressed the issue concerning migration from honor to dignity cultures, where the lives of these migrants are shaped by both, the honor culture of origin and the host culture of dignity. The purpose of the present study is to test the association between acculturation and honor-dignity endorsement by comparing Indian (N = 317), German (N = 312), and Indian migrant participants in Germany (N = 320). Participants completed online measures assessing the endorsement of both, honor and dignity norms, and their responses to hypothetical threat scenarios. Migrant participants additionally completed an acculturation assessment based on Berry’s (1997) psychological model and Esser’s (2001) sociological framework. Results revealed that Indian migrant participants endorsed both honor and dignity norms significantly stronger than Indian participants in India and German participants. They also reacted more intensely to honor threats than both native groups, and their dignity threat responses were comparable to those of German participants. We explored this further by examining its connection with acculturation. From Berry’s strategies, only integration positively predicted the endorsement of both these norms. Moreover, sociological factors like language acquisition and interracial friendships predicted greater dignity norm endorsement. By incorporating both honor and dignity into acculturation research, this study offers insights into cultural adaptation, paving the way for practical strategies to enhance migrant integration and cross-cultural understanding.