Individual Differences Midterm

characteristics of a culturally competent psychologist

awareness, knowledge, skills

cultural competence

a lifelong process in which one works to develop the ability to engage in actions or create conditions that maximize the optimal development of client and client systems

aka acquiring skills to work with diverse clients

cultural humility

an openness to working with culturally diverse clients; understanding that no culture is better than another

aka looking at the self to work with diverse clients

microaggression

brief, everyday verbal or behavioral indignities that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights

microassault

not unconscious, intent to harm

microinsult

convey rudeness, insensitivity, or snubbing

microinvalidation

communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of POC

colorblindness

happens in individuals who have difficulty seeing the invisible veil of cultural assumptions, biases, and prejudices that guides their perceptions and actions

color evasion

“I don’t see color, I just see human beings”

power evasion

“racial discrimination doesn’t exist, it’s a thing of the past”

ADDRESSING acronym - A

age and generational influence

ADDRESSING acronym - D

developmental disabilities

ADDRESSING acronym - D

acquired disabilities

ADDRESSING acronym - R

religion and spiritual orientation

ADDRESSING acronym - E

ethnic and racial identity

ADDRESSING acronym - S

socioeconomic status

ADDRESSING acronym - S

sexual orientation

ADDRESSING acronym - I

indigenous heritage

ADDRESSING acronym - N

national origin

ADDRESSING acronym - G

gender

confirmatory strategy

searching for evidence or information that supports one’s hypothesis and ignoring data that are inconsistent with their perspective

attribution error

placing an undue emphasis on internal causes regarding a client’s problem

judgmental heuristics

quick-decision rules that may short-circuit our ability to engage in self correction

diagnostic overshadowing

providing inadequate treatment of the client’s problem because one’s attention is diverted to a more prominent characteristic

implicit bias

racial or diversity stereotypes that may be unintentionally communicated either physically or verbally with diverse populations

Hardiman White Racial Identity Model: Naivete

• obliviousness

• Characteristic of early childhood

• Individual is innocent, open, unaware of racism

• Curiosity relating to differences in race is the norm

• “I was taught to be nice to everyone, so I don’t think race matters”

Hardiman White Racial Identity Model - Acceptance

• Belief in democratical ideal

• All have equal opportunities to succeed

• Those who fail are responsible for failure

• Strong victim blaming

• Denies existence of oppression, discrimination, racism

Hardiman White Racial Identity Model - Resistance

• White superiority assumptions challenged

• Challenged denial of racism and discrimination

• Individual becomes conscious of being White

• Aware of harboring racist attitude

• Anger, pain, hurt, rage, frustration are present

• “I don’t know how to talk about race without feeling guilty

Hardiman White Racial Identity Model - Redefinition

• Questions racial heritage

• Confronts biases and prejudices

• Accepts responsibility for Whiteness

• New ways of defining membership and social group

• “Being White doesn’t mean being oppressive— I want to be part of the solution”

Hardiman White Racial Identity Model - Internalization

• Forms new social and personal identity

• Greater understanding of self

• Greater understanding of nonracist White identity

• Accepts responsibility for affecting personal/social change

• ”I’m comfortable talking about race and privilege even when it’s hard”

Helms White Racial Identity Model - Phases

abandonment of racism

defining a nonracist White identity

Helms White Racial Identity - contact status

• Oblivious to and unaware of racism

• Believe everyone has an equal chance for success

• Lack an understanding of prejudice and discrimination

• Have minimal experiences with POC

• May profess to be colorblind

Helms White Racial Identity - disintegration status

• Breakdown of obliviousness

• White person becomes conflicted over irresolvable racial moral dilemmas that are frequently perceived as polar opposites

  • I.e. believing themself to be nonracist, but not wanting their child to marry a minority

Helms White Racial Identity - reintegration status

• In an attempt to resolve the dissonance created during disintegration, they may retreat to the dominant ideology associated with race and their own socioracial group identity

• A firmer, more conscious belief in White racial superiority emerges

Helms White Racial Identity - pseudo-independence status

• Involves defining a nonracist White identity

• Often propelled into this phase because of a painful or insightful encounter or event that jars them from reintegration status

• Awareness of visible racial/ethnic minorities, the unfairness of their treatment, and discomfort with a racist White identity

Helms White Racial Identity - immersion/emersion status

• Willingness to confront one’s own biases and to become more active in directly combatting racism and oppression

• Marked by a shift in focus from trying to change POC to changing oneself and other White Americans, and an increasing experiential and affective understanding that was lacking in the previous status

Helms White Racial Identity - autonomy status

• Increasing awareness of one’s own Whiteness, reduced feelings of guilt, acceptance of one’s role in perpetuating racism, and renewed determination to abandon White entitlement 

• Becomes knowledgeable about racial, ethnic, and cultural differences; values diversity; and is no longer fearful with the reality of race

R/CID Model - conformity

the person tends to prefer the dominant (often White) culture and may reject or feel negatively about their own culture

R/CID Model - dissonance

a person starts to question earlier beliefs and notice racism or cultural differences more clearly

R/CID model - resistance and immersion

person rejects the dominant culture and strongly identifies with their own racial or cultural group

R/CID Model - introspection

person reflects on their strong feelings and realize that total rejection of the dominant culture may not be the answer

R/CID Model - integrative awareness

the person develops a balanced and confident identity, appreciating all cultures

microintervention

everyday words or deeds, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate to targets of microaggression

goals of microinterventions

• make the “invisible” visible

• disarm the microaggression

• educate the perpetrator

• seek external reinforcement or support

etic

culturally universal

Western concepts of normality and abnormality can be considered universal and equally applicable

emic

culturally specific

lifestyles, cultural values, and worldviews affect the expression and determination of behavior disorders

ethnocentric monoculturalism

the individual, institutional, and cultural expression of the belief in the superiority of one group’s cultural heritage over that of another combined with possession of the power to impose one’s standards broadly on less powerful groups