ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the possible functions of outdoor recreation in maintaining key cultural values of Mexican Americans in the face of countervailing pressures towards conformity with Anglo American standards. Using an approach based on ethnic-assimilation theory and the concept of "selective acculturation," compare Mexican Americans and Anglo Americans in terms of the social-psychological benefits each group receives from outdoor recreation participation. Yinger defines assimilation as a "process of boundary reduction that can occur when members of two or more societies or of small cultural groups meet." The classic assimilation taxonomy developed by Gordon lists seven assimilation "subprocesses". Recreation may play a critical role in the process of selective acculturation. This is because, as a form of behavior, it has potential to be both individually and culturally "expressive". Research suggests that one reason for this is that leisure experiences are perceived by participants as being relatively free from social role constraints.
