Inside-Out: Migrants’ Experiences of How German Culture Shapes Their Sense of Belonging

Cultural psychology is studying how human culture and psyche interact and mutually constitute each other. Diverse cultural models have been developed to describe cultural features or dimensions to explain differences and similarities between people’s behaviours, emotions, values and interactions across cultures. The present study takes an in-depth and outsider approach, by investigating migrants’ perspectives on German culture. Using go-along, semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis we investigate how migrants’ perceptions of elements of German culture interact with their sense of belonging. Five themes describe this experience (1) relying on German rigidity, (2) discovering authenticity in the reservedness of social minimalism, (3) living out freedom in a limited social space, (4) navigating subcultural collectivism within a culture of neoliberalism and (5) living between assimilative expectations and the integration of multiculturalism. Together, these themes show that migrants’ belonging is shaped not only by interpersonal dynamics but also by structural practices, implicit cultural scripts, and perceived contradictions within national identity discourse. The findings refine cultural-psychological theories by demonstrating how cultural meaning-making unfolds in migration contexts and point to practical implications, such as educating people on the importance of minimal bonding acts, supporting sub-cultures, and reflecting on implicit assimilation attitudes in policy messaging for fostering belonging in migrants in Germany.