Non-white Racial Identity Developmental Models. Alice in Wonderland CHAPTER V: Advice from a Caterpillar The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other

Non-white Racial Identity

Developmental Models

Alice in WonderlandCHAPTER V: Advice from a Caterpillar

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice. 'Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I-I hardly know, sir, just at present- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.' 'What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. 'Explain yourself!'

'I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, 'because I'm not myself, you see.'

'I don't see,' said the Caterpillar.

'I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly,' Alice replied very politely, 'for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.'

'It isn't,' said the Caterpillar.

'Well, perhaps you haven't found it so yet,' said Alice; 'but when you have to turn into a chrysalis-you will some day, you know-and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?'

'Not a bit,' said the Caterpillar.

'Well, perhaps your feelings may be different,' said Alice; 'all I know is, it would feel very queer to ME.'

'You!' said the Caterpillar contemptuously. 'Who are YOU?'

Individual Exercise

Who are you?(Answer 5 times, beginning with the words “I am”)

I am __________ I am __________ I am __________ I am __________ I am __________

Identity Development (Erickson)

Individual Exercise (feedback)

Many ways to answer:

1. As a personal characteristic

2. As a relationship to someone else

3. As a professional/occupational role

4. As an ideology

5. As part of social identity groups

Identity Development (Phinney)

May be viewed from the perspective of four statuses

Statuses vary along two key areas (1) exploration and (2) commitment

The four statuses include:

Diffused Status Individuals have neither explored nor committed to a particular identity meaning.

Foreclosed Status Individuals firmly committed to an identity based on influential others (e.g., parents) without engaging in exploration.

Moratorium Status Individuals are actively exploring the meaning of their ethnic identities but have not reached a commitment to a specific definition.

Achieved Status Individuals who have actively engaged in exploration and have committed to a specific definition of their ethnic identity.

Identity status categories (Marcia)

Identity Achievement

Moratorium

Identity Foreclosure

Identity

Diffusion

Present

Present

Absent

AbsentEXPLORATION

COMMITMENT

Implications of Identity Approach

Has real-world utility for understanding differences across the lifespan:

Adolescents were more likely to be in moratorium and less likely to be achieved than college students and adults.

College student and adults were more likely to be in the achieved status.

Reveals interplay between identity development and racial awareness:

Achieved individuals considered race to be more important than diffused, foreclosed, and moratorium individuals.

Moratorium and foreclosed individuals were more likely to perceive race to be central to self-concepts than diffused individuals.

Moratorium or foreclosed individuals felt more positive about their racial group than diffused individuals.

Group Identity

Fills variety of needs

Identity

Social comparison (Social Identity Theory)

Relief from existential angst (Terror Management Theory)

Encouraged through initiation rituals Usually constructive Sometimes used to promote hate Sometimes used as proof of

commitment/loyalty

Group Identity (cont)

Bidirectional Influences…

Group individual modeling of attitudes/behaviors instrumental conditioning… group extremity shift (exercise)

Individual group leaders non-conformists

Identity Politics

"Sooner or later, all disputes issue propositions of the following sort: the central subject for understanding is the difference between X (e.g., women, people of color), and Y (e.g., white males). P is the case because my people, X, see it that way; if you don't agree with P, it is (or more mildly, is probably) because you are a member of Y. And further: Since X has been oppressed or silenced by Y -- typically white heterosexual males -- justice requires that members of X, preferably (though not necessarily) adherents of P, be hired and promoted; and in the student body, in the curriculum, on the reading list, and at the conference, distinctly represented." (Gitlin, Dissent, 1993).

Mainstream-Minority approach

Multicultural approach

Two approaches to non-White racial identity

Multicultural approach

Society is thought to consist of a number of different cultural groups, in which no single group is dominant in all regions or in all social spheres and smaller groups are engaged in complex patterns of involvement and mutual influences with the larger groups

Racial/ethnic identity is seen as a combination of personal attitudes and experiences with both majority and minority groups.

Mainstream-Minority approach

Society is assumed to consist of a dominant culture (the “mainstream”), and a number of subordinate groups

Racial identity is a developmental process in which individuals traverse from one stage to another as a result of experiences with either the mainstream culture (in the case of the minority groups) or with one or more of the minority groups (in the case of the white majority)

Mainstream-Minority approach (cont.)

Four factors influence strength of racial/ethnic identity Size Power Discrimination Appearance

Dominant group's traditional aim:

Erase minority group consciousness (Why?)

http://core.ecu.edu/soci/juskaa/SOCI2110/Lectures/Race/sld007.htm

Copyright Arunas Juska, Ph.D.

Social history of Black racial identity

Social history dominated by two competing processes

Deracination (attempt to erase “blackness”) Decreased collective awareness of issues pertaining to race/class Thought to increase acceptance into mainstream society Decreased probability of group mobilization

Nigrescence (development of Black identity; French: to become black)

Early attempts focused on stereotypical psychological profiles Traditional Negroes (Booker T. Washington) Agitators, Black Militants (W.E.B Du Bois, Black Panthers)

In 1970s, emphasis shifted to describing developmental processes

Double Consciousness

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness, -- an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

(W.E.B. Du Bois, Souls of Black Folks, 1903)

Black racial identity development model(Cross, 1971; 1991)

Stage 1 (Pre-encounter): Person identifies with White people and culture and rejects or devalues Black people and culture (may be diffused or foreclosed)

Stage 2 (Encounter): Characterized by an emotional personal experience, which fosters need to change (most likely moratorium)

Stage 3 (Immersion-Emersion): Person completely identifies with Blacks, idealizes Black culture, and abhors all things White (may be moratorium or achieved)

Stage 4 (Internalization): Person overcomes defensiveness, idealization, and psychological effects of racism and develops a positive and secure Black identity (most likely achieved)

Stage 5 (Commitment): Person maintains Black identity while resisting the various forms of social oppression (most likely achieved)

Racial Identity: The Case of Malcolm X

Stage 1 (Pre-encounter)

Person identifies with White people and culture and rejects or devalues Black people and culture

Stage 2 (Encounter)

Characterized by an emotional personal experience, which fosters need to change

Stage 3 (Immersion-Emersion)

Person completely identifies with Blacks, idealizes Black culture, and abhors all things White

Stage 4 (Internalization)

Person overcomes defensiveness, idealization, and psychological effects of racism and develops a positive and secure Black identity

Stage 5 (Commitment)

Person maintains Black identity while resisting the various forms of social oppression

Racial Identity: The Case of Malcolm X

Measuring Racial Identity(Helms & Parham, 1984)

Preencounter 31: I feel that black people do not have as much to be proud of as white people do. 08: I believe that white people look and express themselves better than blacks. 40: Sometimes, I wish I belonged to the white race.

Encounter 3: I am increasing my involvement in Black activities because I don’t feel

comfortable in White environments 19: I am changing my style of life to fit my new beliefs about Black people 44. I can’t feel comfortable with either Black people or White people

Immersion/Emersion 34: White people can't be trusted. 18: I believe that the world should be interpreted from a black perspective. 23: When I am with people I trust, I often find myself referring to Whites as

“honkies,” “devils,” “pigs”, “white boys” and so forth

Internalization/Commitment 06: I involve myself in causes that will help all oppressed people. 16: I involve myself in social action and political groups even if there are no other blacks

involved.

Black racial identity development model(Cross, 1991; 1995; 2001)

Pre-Encounter Assimilation: Racial group membership is minimized in favor of identity as an American and an individual.

Pre-Encounter Miseducation: Internalizes negative or stereotypical portrayals of Black people.

Pre-Encounter (Racial) Self-Hatred: Experiences profound negative feelings and self-loathing because he or she is Black.

Malcolm X

John Howard Griffin


Immersion-Emersion Anti-White: Persons who are consumed by hatred of White people and White society and will engage Black problems and Black culture but is unpredictable.

Immersion-Emersion Intense Black Involvement: Hold simplistic and romantic beliefs about Black culture and has an either/or mentality about complex issues.


Internalization Nationalistic: Stresses an Afrocentric perspective and engages Black problems and Black culture.

Internalization Biculturalist: Gives equal importance to “Americanness” and Africanness (e.g., the comfortable fusion of White and Black cultures). Persons engage in aspects of mainstream culture and still maintains dedication to Black culture.

Internalization Multiculturalist: Identity spans three or more social categories or frames of reference. Persons feel and are a part of Black culture he or she easily appreciates a wide range of cultural events and activities.

Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model (Sue & Sue, 1990)

Stage 1 (Conformity): Unequivocal preference for dominant cultural values over their own.

Stage 2 (Dissonance): Differential experiences challenge his/her self‑concept. Denial begins to break down = questioning of the beliefs of the conformity stage.

Stage 3 (Resistance & Immersion): Complete endorsement of minority‑held views, rejection of dominant values of society. Desire to eliminate oppression, considerable guilt & shame that "sold out" his/her own cultural group and/or were involved in oppression.

Stage 4 (Introspection): Dissatisfaction with rigid group views which may be in conflict with their individual views.

Stage 5 (Integrative Awareness): Belief that there are acceptable & unacceptable aspects of ALL cultures, but person should determine for themselves what is desirable.

Stage 1: Pre-encounter/conformity

Attitude towards self

Attitude towards other members of the same minority group

Attitude towards members of other minority groups

Attitude towards the dominant group

Cross(1971, 1991)

likes self but race not salient or hates black part of self

group disinterest or group deprecating

discriminatory group-appreciating

Sue & Sue(1990)

likes self but hates ethnic part of self

group-deprecating

discriminatory group-appreciating

Stage 2: Encounter/Dissonance





Cross(1971, 1991)

anxious, guilty, angry

confused confused angry, resentful

Sue & Sue(1990)

conflict between self-deprecating & appreciating

conflict between group-deprecating & group- appreciating

conflict between dominant-held views & feelings of shared experience

conflict between group-appreciating & group- deprecating

Stage 3: Introspection/Immersion & Emersion





Cross(1971, 1991)

likes self, but primarily the black part of self

idealization of all things Black but also a “blacker-than-thou” attitude

disinterest uncontrolled rage, hate, prejudice

Sue & Sue(1990)

concern with the basis of self-appreciation

concern with the nature of unequivocal appreciation

concern with ethnocentric basis for judging others

concern with basis of group- deprecation

Stage 4: Resistance and Immersion/Internalization





Cross(1971, 1991)

self-appreciating

group-appreciating

varies from Black nationalism to multiculturalism

selective appreciation, controlled anger at oppressive systems

Sue & Sue(1990)

self-appreciating

group-appreciating

conflict between feelings of empathy & feelings of culturocentrism

group-deprecating

Stage 5: Integrative Awareness





Cross(1971, 1991)

self-appreciating

group-appreciating

varies from Black nationalism to multiculturalism

Same as stage 4 but with commitment to Black community and/or racial justice

Sue & Sue(1990)

self-appreciating

group-appreciating

group-appreciating

selective appreciation

Demographic Differences

• Gender

Men theorized to have a harder time embracing identity change (Munford, 1994) but could not find empirical data

• Class

Higher income associated with higher pre-encounter scores and less internalization (Parham and Williams, 1993)

• Education (no significant relationship)

Biracial identity

Cross (Langston Hughes)

My old man's a white old manAnd my old mother's black.If ever I cursed my white old manI take my curses back.If ever I cursed my black old motherAnd wished she were in hell,I'm sorry for that evil wishAnd now I wish her wellMy old man died in a fine big house.My ma died in a shack.I wonder were I'm going to die,Being neither white nor black?

The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI)

Racial Identity

Racial Salience“The extent to which one’s race is arelevant part of one’s self-concept

at a particular moment or in particular situation”

Racial Regard“A person’s affective and evaluative

judgment of his or her race.”

Racial Ideology“The individual’s beliefs, opinions,

and attitudes with respect to the way he orshe feels that the members of the race

should act.”

Racial Centrality“In general, being Black is an

important part of my self image.”

Public“Overall, Blacks are

considered good by others.”

Private“I feel good about Black people”

Nationalist“Blacks and Whites can neverlive in true harmony because

of racial differences.”

Oppressed Minority“The same forces which have

led to the oppression ofBlacks have also led to the

oppression of other groups.”

Assimilation“Blacks should try to work

within the system toachieve their political and

economic goals.”

Humanist“Blacks and Whites have more

commonalities than differences.”

Sellers, R. M., Shelton, J. N., Cooke, D. Y., Chavous, T. M., Rowley, S. A. J., & Smith, M. A. A Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: Assumptions, Findings, and Future Directions. African American Identity Development, 275-299

The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI)

Racial Ideology

“The individual’s beliefs, opinions, and attitudes with respect to the way

he or she feels that the members of the Race should act.”

Nationalist• Emphasizes the uniqueness of the

Black experience•Believes that Blacks should be in control of their own destinies with minimal input from other groups

(Self-determination)•Believes that Blacks should work

and/or socialize together in order to promote the advancement

of the race(Preference for African American

social environments)

Oppressed Minority•Emphasizes the commonalities of

Experience between African AmericansAnd other oppressed groups

•More likely to view coalition buildingas the most appropriate strategy for

Social change•Equally interested in the culture of

other minority groups as they are in their own

Assimilationist•Emphasizes the commonalities of African Americans and the rest of

American society•Believes in working within mainstream

structures to change these systemsand achieve life goals

• Stresses the importance of social interaction between Blacks and Whites

Humanist•Emphasizes the commonalities of

all humans•Believes people should be viewed as

Individuals, not representatives of their race

•May hold strong beliefs in a larger force that impacts the destiny

of all people•Less likely to define themselves interms of race; likely to exhibit low

levels of racial centrality

Sellers, R. M., Shelton, J. N., Cooke, D. Y., Chavous, T. M., Rowley, S. A. J., & Smith, M. A. A Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: Assumptions, Findings, and Future Directions. African American Identity Development, 275-299

Documents

Non-white Racial Identity Developmental Models. Alice in Wonderland CHAPTER V: Advice from a Caterpillar The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other