Psychological consequences of the decrease of ethnic diversity: an overview of problems and their management

In this article I report on psychological explanations for those linguistic and educational problems that arise as a result of the accelerated loss of ethnic diversity among european indigenous minorities. I have used knowledge from psychology of learning and psychology of motivation (for example unsuitable impulsive behaviour connected to executive functions, or culture shock) to describe the mechanisms of language shift and language loss connected to education There is a lack of such attempts in linguistic nad educational literature. The debates between representatives of pluralistic conceptions and their opponents on the possible linguistic and educational objectives in heterogeneous communities are presented. In addition, I also formulated guidelines how to mitigate the consequences of decrease of linguistic and cultural diversity on mind and behaviour of people who live and receive education in heterogeneous settings.