Y verás como quieren en Chile… los forasteros a los chilenos

Abstract

From a sample of Chileans and immigrants from Perú, Colombia and Venezuela, we researched the degree of perceived emotional and relational closeness among groups. Additionally, we elicited immigrants' perceptions towards Chileans before and after their arrival in Chile, including any sense of perceived cultural enrichment. For statistical analyzes, we used the Student's t-test comparisons between the groups. The results showed that immigrants value the inclusion and adoption of cultural elements of the host country in their own culture; improved perceptions towards Chileans once residing in Chile; and express greater affection and closeness towards Chileans than they feel they receive in return. In general, Chileans feel more distant and express less reciprocal affection than immigrants express towards Chileans.