Tearing down the ‘Wall in the head’? Culture contact between Germans

Culture contact theory proposes that contact between individuals from different cultures has positive effects on individuals. The re-unification of the two German parts in 1990 allowed an opportunity to test this theory in a ‘naturalistic’ quasi-experiment. People in both parts were socialized into different socio-cultural systems with different values and expectations and now are faced with problems of culture shock and re-adjustment. Expanding previous work that has investigated prejudices and inter-group attitudes as outcome variables of contact, the present study focuses on personal outcome variables. A three-wave longitudinal survey of East and West Germans between 1996 and 2000 reveals generally positive effects of contact on well-being and various measures of satisfaction, although conditions are not very favourable for contact. For example, the continuing disadvantage of East Germans leads to negative effects on some dimensions, because contact makes this disadvantage salient. Overall, effects of contact are stronger and more beneficial for the minority East Germans, compared to majority West Germans. Implications for culture contact in the context of Germany and the EU enlargement are discussed.