Cultural chameleons: Social mobility and cultural practices in the private and the public sphere

This article investigates whether the cultural practices of socially mobile individuals are predominantly associated with social position of origin or with social position of destination. Using data representative of the Flemish population of Belgium (n ¼ 2,849), we find evidence of a substantial association with the social position of destination, which we argue to be both profound and superficial. By contrasting private and public practices, we find that (1) both private and public practices are predominantly related to social position of destination and (2) that public practices are more strongly correlated with social position of destination than private practices. This suggests that underlying cultural preferences are mainly associated with the secondary socialization context and, moreover, that in the public sphere socially mobile individuals overstress their conformity – probably to fit in – and in a way become cultural chameleons.

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