GESIS Pretest Database: Documentation Questions Details - International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2013/2014 (English Version)

General Information:

*Note: The item was tested in German. This is an English translation of the original German wording. The translations do not correspond exactly to the formulations in the English ISSP source questionnaire.*

Question Text:

Which of the following statements about immigrants comes closest to your views?

[Welche der folgenden Aussagen über Zuwanderer kommt Ihren Ansichten am nächsten?]

Answer Categories:

Immigrants should preserve their own culture and not adopt German culture. [Zuwanderer sollten ihre eigene Kultur bewahren und nicht die deutsche Kultur übernehmen.]
Immigrants should both preserve their own culture and adopt German culture. [Zuwanderer sollten sowohl ihre eigene Kultur bewahren als auch die deutsche Kultur übernehmen.]
Immigrants should give up their own culture and adopt the German culture. [Zuwanderer sollten ihre eigene Kultur aufgeben und die deutsche Kultur übernehmen.]
Don't know [Kann ich nicht sagen]

Recommendations:

Question: No changes recommended.

Response Option: The term "adopt" could be replaced by "accept".

Cognitive Techniques:

General Probing, Specific Probing

Findings for Question:

With the exception of one test person (TP 05), all but one of the test persons choose the middle category, indicating that they believe that immigrants should both preserve their own culture and adopt German culture. Test person 05 sees a logical contradiction in this answer category, since according to their understanding, "taking something over" is always only possible if "something is given" in return:

„If the question were to be that one takes over certain criteria from another cultural area and keeps its own, then I would fully agree with that. But that is not how I understand the question here. Preserving one's own culture and taking over another culture, that doesn't go together. If you take over certain parts, a variation or a mix, I would fully support that. If you add something new, then you have to give something else away.“ (TP 05)

Test person 15 also feels a similar contradiction, at least with regard to different religions. Nevertheless, she chooses the middle category:

„I cannot do both: take over the German culture and preserve the old culture. You can live together without any problems. If I see this from the perspective of a Turk, he can't preserve his own culture as a Muslim AND take over German [Christianity] - when it comes to religion. To culture there is also music etc., but from the point of view of religion it doesn't fit together. Either the one or the other.“ (TP 15)

Two test persons (TP 07, TP 13) state that they would struggle with the word "take over" as this would express a somewhat too strong demand. Test person 07 suggests the word "accept" as an alternative.

When asked what specific "behavior" the respondents had in mind when answering the question, various aspects of culture are mentioned that can be adopted or retained: cultural practices (e.g., smoking a water pipe), national dishes, customs and festivals (e.g., Ramadan, carnival processions, Christmas cookies), languages, and religious or cultural values.

Question Topic:

Society & social affairs/ Attitudes to social groups

Construct:

Ethnic assimilation