Cultural Identity and Cultural Ideologies Lecture Notes

Cultural Identity and Cultural Ideologies

Overview

• This lecture explores cultural identity, its formation, and related ideologies.
• Readings:
  • Ward & Szabó (2023) - prescribed.
  • Morris et al. (2015) - recommended.

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish unidimensional and bidimensional models of cultural identification.
• Identify the two processes and three configurations of cultural identity formation.
• Define bicultural identity integration (BII) and understand the implications of high and low BII.
• Define cultural frame switching (CFS) and describe how BII relates to CFS.
• Understand the consequences of identity denial.
• Compare the three cultural diversity ideologies: multiculturalism, polyculturalism, and colorblindness.
• Describe the three hypotheses underlying intercultural relations.
• Identify limitations of multiculturalism and consider how they may relate to polyculturalism.

Cultural Identity

• Social Psychology Perspective:
  • Cultural identity is a form of social identity.
  • Involves perceiving oneself in relation to a group ("us") versus another ("them"), aligning with self-categorization theory.
  • Provides a sense of belonging, affirmation, and pride.
• Cultural Psychology Perspective:
  • Cultural identity is a sense of who you are based on the cultural perspectives you adopt, including values, attitudes, ideals, and 'commonsense'.
  • Involves cognitive integration of personal experiences and understandings accumulated over time.
  • Involves a sense of attachment.
• Cultural identity is often rooted in one’s heritage, ethnicity, religious faith, nationality, etc.

Approaches to Cultural Identity

• Ward & Szabó (2023) summarize three psychological approaches:
  • Social Psychology: Focuses on identity structure and functions, such as intergroup perceptions, relations, and coping with prejudice and discrimination.
  • Developmental Psychology: Centers on the formation of identity, especially ethnic identity, and its implications for well-being and adjustment.
  • Cross-Cultural Psychology (Acculturation): Views cultural identity as an outcome of acculturation, examining its relationship with acculturation strategies/expectations and adaptation.

Uni-dimensional vs. Bi-dimensional Models

• Cross-Cultural Perspective:
  • The model of cultural identity assumed is determined by individual and society’s assumptions about acculturation.
• Unidimensional Models:
  • Assume acculturating individuals 'shed' their heritage culture and 'progress' towards absorption in the mainstream/national culture.
  • Based on Assimilation/Melting Pot assumptions.
• Bidimensional Models:
  • Assume acculturating individuals change in degrees of two identifications.
  • Individuals access two pools of resources to adapt.
  • Based on Integration/Multiculturalism assumptions.

Developmental Model of Cultural (Ethnic) Identity Formation

• Two key processes:
  • Identity Exploration:
    • Gaining an understanding of the cultural group’s history, practices, shared beliefs, and implications of the group membership.
    • Involves activities like talking to people, attending cultural events, and reading to gain relevant knowledge.
  • Identity Commitment:
    • Choosing and identifying with the values, beliefs, norms, etc., along with a positive attitude and pride.
    • Feeling comfortable despite possible negative implications such as perceived discrimination.
    • Gaining a sense of purpose and meaning in life, leading to well-being benefits (Phinney, 1989; Phinney & Ong, 2007).

Cultural Identity Configurations

• Cognitive-Developmental Model of Social Identity Integration: How do acculturating individuals organize their cultural identities within their self-concepts?
• Three configurations:
  • Categorization: Identification with one culture in exclusion of other cultures.
  • Compartmentalization: Two or more oppositional cultural identities (heritage, mainstream) kept separate within different contexts.
  • Integration: Connecting and reconciling cultural identities into a coherent sense of self.
• Progress is hindered by threats (e.g., discrimination) and facilitated by social support (Amiot et al., 2007, 2015; Yampolsky & Amiot, 2016).

Examples of Cultural Identity Configurations

• Categorization Example:
  • C. “I'm Canadian because I'm neither Italian nor Chinese, just by heritage, and the Guyanese part doesn't really come in because that's not me, that's my mother.” AA, a half Italian, half Chinese–Guyanese Canadian
• Compartmentalization Example:
  • A. “I have different cultural experiences within my being like half there, half there, so that I can bounce between two cultures, three cultures, four cultures … I feel different [in different cultural contexts] because it was always one or the other. It was never both at the same time.” JG, a half Italian and half Irish–British Canadian
• Integration Example:
  • B. “So what I like out of the Chinese tradition is a lot of respect and seeking to understand tradition, which I think is very important, but what I get out of my Western upbringing is the questioning at the same time. And so it enriches each other because every time I see an established tradition… I'll discuss and be very respectful, but at the same time… I'm not just staring at it blank-faced and just taking it on…” KC, Cantonese-Chinese Canadian

Biculturals/Multiculturals

• Acculturating people are considered biculturals/multiculturals.
• Include: Immigrants, Refugees/asylum seekers, Sojourners, Indigenous/colonized people, Ethnic minority people, People in intercultural relationships

Bicultural Experiences

• Biculturalism can evoke varied feelings:
  • Some feel special due to an enriched identity but also confused due to conflicting cultural views.
  • Others feel they have the best of both worlds and are not lacking anything.

Bicultural Identity Integration (BII)

• Individual differences in the degree to which bicultural individuals perceive their cultural identities (often heritage and mainstream) to be integrated and compatible vs. separate and oppositional.

  1. Two identities seem blended (vs. compartmentalized).
     • e.g., I am part of a combined culture (e.g., Chinese-Australian). I keep Chinese and Australian cultures separate (reversed).
  2. Two identities feel harmonious (vs. conflictual).
     • e.g., I never feel conflicted about being bicultural. I feel that the Chinese and Australian cultures are incompatible (reversed).

• (Benet-Martinez & Haritatos, 2005; Haritatos & Benet-Martinez, 2002)

Components of BII

• Blendedness: Represents behavioral/performance component.
  • Associated with open-mindedness, bicultural competence, linguistic fluency, living in a diverse community.
• Harmony: Represents affective component.
  • Associated with emotional stability and lack of social prejudice and rejection.
• Both blendedness and harmony are associated with lower endorsement of assimilation, separation, and marginalization.
• Only blendedness is associated with the integration acculturation strategy.
  • Individuals may take an integration strategy but still feel that two cultural identities are conflictual.
• (Benet-Martinez, 2012; Benet-Martinez & Haritatos, 2005; Huynh et al., 2011)

Cultural Identity Style

• How acculturating individuals achieve integrated cultural identities; mechanisms:
  1. Hybridizing: Combining elements from multiple cultures in a novel way.
     • e.g., "For me, being Syrian and being an Australian are intermingled."
  2. Alternating: Changing cultural identities depending on the circumstances.
     • e.g., "I alternate between being Syrian or an Australian depending on the circumstances."
• Both achieve successful integration and are associated with a positive attitude towards an integration strategy.
• Hybridizing style reveals more blended & harmonious BII compared to alternating style (Ward et al., 2021).

Cultural Frame Switching (CFS)

• Dynamic Constructivist Approach to Culture:
  • Bicultural individuals use cultural frame switching to negotiate different norms in the two cultures, e.g., Individualism and collectivism.
  • Relevant cultural frames/meaning systems/knowledge networks are triggered by cultural cues (prime).
  • The frame then guides their thoughts and behaviors (Hong et al., 2000).

Example: CFS among HK Chinese biculturals

1. Step 1: Bicultural Hong Kong Chinese are shown cultural cues (prime).
   • A. American cues (prime)
   • B. Chinese cues (prime)
   • C. Neutral Landscapes
2. Step 2: Shown a picture to explain fish’s behavior, designed to measure the degree of situational (vs. dispositional) attribution (Morris & Peng, 1994).
   • The fish is leading the other fish (dispositional attribution) - Consistent with the American cultural frame.
   • The fish is being chased by the other fish (situational attribution) - Consistent with the Chinese cultural frame.

Results:

• For Chinese cues, explain fish’s behavior as situationally caused (consistent with the Chinese frame).
• For American cues, explain fish’s behavior as dispositionally (less situationally) caused (consistent with the American frame).
• Biculturals possess two (or more) cultural meaning systems; switch frame and respond to cultural cues (Hong et al., 2000).

BII & CFS

• Do all biculturals show CFS equally?

• Hong et al.'s results depend on BII level.

• First-generation or immigrant Chinese American biculturals.

• Explain fish behavior: 1 (dispositional attribution) to 9 (situational attribution).

  • High BII (two identities compatible): Culturally consistent behavior.
  • Low BII: Culturally inconsistent behavior (cultural reactance).

Identity Denial

• A person is not recognized as a member of the cultural group; suggesting that the person is not fitting in the mainstream culture or not matching the prototype of the dominant cultural group.
• Challenging one’s cultural identity.

Example: Identity Denial

• Asian Americans confronted with identity-denying suggestions (Cheryan & Monin, 2005):
  • Being asked “Do you speak English?”
  • Being told “You have to be an American to be in this study.”
• Demonstrate authentic American identity:
  • Generate longer lists of American TV shows and practices (e.g., music, sports).
  • Publicly affirm their American identity.
  • Order less healthy, but more prototypical American food (e.g., hamburgers, cheesesteaks; Guendelman et al., 2011).

Psychological Impacts of BII

• A large meta-analysis shows higher BII is associated with:
  • Better psychological adaptation (e.g., life satisfaction, experience of positive affect, self-esteem).
  • Better sociocultural adaptation (e.g., sociocultural skills, career success, fewer behavioral problems).
• (Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2013)

Implications of BII

Cultural Diversity

• More countries are becoming pluralistic societies involving diverse cultures and cultural groups, requiring effective diversity management.
• More people are becoming multicultural individuals; their needs and talents must be better understood, so that they can flourish.

Cultural Diversity Ideologies

• Individual beliefs regarding the nature of intergroup relations and how to improve them in culturally diverse societies.
• Three diversity ideologies prominent in pluralistic societies today:
  • Colorblindness
  • Multiculturalism
  • Polyculturalism
• (Morris et al., 2015).

Key Aspects of Diversity Ideologies

Multiculturalism Policy

• Following the first Multicultural policy in Canada, Australia adopted its multicultural policy in 1973 to extend and assist new immigrants’ integration beyond the British Isles.
• Multicultural ideology values (a) cultural diversity and (b) equitable participation.
• Relative emphasis of (a) and (b) in policies differs across pluralistic societies.
  • Equitable participation is emphasized more in settler societies (e.g., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA) than in the former colonial societies (e.g., UK, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands).

Multiculturalism in Australia

• Multiculturalism is deemed successful, gaining strong support in Australia.
• An Australian survey (Dandy & Pe-Pua, 2010) found that on average, Australians:
  • Endorse Multicultural Ideology (e.g., Australians should recognize that cultural and racial diversity is a fundamental characteristic of Australian society).
  • Have positive attitudes toward Social Equality (e.g., It is good to have people from different ethnic groups living in the same country).
  • Feel secure (e.g., I’m rarely concerned about losing my cultural identity).
• Australia ranked top in multiculturalism policy, based on the Multiculturalism Policy Index (http://www.queensu.ca/mcp/).

Three Hypotheses underlying Intercultural Relations

1. Multiculturalism hypothesis
2. Contact hypothesis
3. Integration hypothesis

• (Berry, 1984, 2013)

Multiculturalism Hypothesis

• When individuals feel secure in their place in society, they are better able to accept those who are different from themselves.
• Feeling secure:
  • Cultural security – “I have no concern about losing cultural identity.”
  • Economic security – “We have enough for everyone to feel secure.”
  • Personal security – “Your chances of living a safe, untroubled life are good.”
• Feeling rejected, in contrast, leads to reciprocation of rejection:
  • Avoiding other groups.
  • Reactive identity - Stronger identification with the rejected ingroup (Berry et al., 1977).

Contact Hypothesis

• Intercultural contacts will achieve greater mutual acceptance where three conditions are met:
  • Contact occurs in a collaborative environment involving equal status and continues over time.
  • Positive outcomes: Positive multicultural ideology shared by all participants, low ethnocentrism, racism, and discrimination, positive mutual attitudes among all ethnocultural groups, all groups feel an attachment to the larger society.
  • Negative outcomes: Some are skeptical of the benefit of multicultural ideology, some ethnocentrism, racism, and discrimination are felt, some ethnocultural groups are hostile to each other, not all groups feel an attachment to the larger society.
• (Allport, 1954)

Integration Hypothesis

• When individuals identify with and are socially connected to both their heritage culture and the larger society, they achieve higher levels of adaptation than if they relate to only one or the other culture, or to neither culture.
• Because social connections to both groups will increase:
  • Social capital — access to support and resources.
  • Cultural capital — different perspectives, skills, and practices.
  • Sense of belonging — more groups, variety of friends (Berry, 1997).

Positive Effects of Multiculturalism

• Positive effects of subjective multiculturalism—perception that one is living in a society that accepts and supports diversity:
  • Lower levels of acculturative stress.
  • Fewer behavioral problems and psychological symptoms.
  • Greater life satisfaction.
• Exposure to statements endorsing multiculturalism in the local society can enhance self-esteem among individuals who identify with their ethnic group (Verkuyten, 2009).

Limitations of Multiculturalism

• Gaps between dominant and non-dominant groups.
• Comparing group averages, the majority group is less supportive of multicultural policies than minority groups.
• The gap is larger where the majority sees the minority as a threat:
  • Competitors for jobs and scarce resources.
  • Spoilers for cherished heritage.
  • Security threats (e.g., terrorism).

Additional costs/limitations of multiculturalism

• Reduced national identity or sense of coherence.
• Limited dialogue between cultural groups in the society.
• Superficial multiculturalism breeds stereotyping.
• The majority group feels they are not represented.
• Despite the emphasis on “pure” ethnocultural traditions, cultural groups are increasingly more fluid and mixed.

Polyculturalism

• Polyculturalism provides a more flexible approach to culture and regards cultures as fluid, partial, and interrelated, rather than fixed, full, and separated.
• Multiculturalism
  • Categorical model.
  • “the world’s cultural traditions are all separate and unique”.
  • Cultural expert- “Culture lies inside people; experiences are always viewed through a cultural lens—a fixed way of thinking.”
  • Respect and preserve differences
• Polyculturalism
  • Network model.
  • “cultures are loosely organised systems of ideas and practices”.
  • Cultures on a menu - “Cultural influences are partial and plural; You could sample multiples of them appropriately but won’t know each fully.”
  • Interact and share
• (Morris et al., 2015)

Psychological Benefits of Polyculturalism

• Research shows people with a polycultural ideology:
  • Have greater cognitive flexibility.
  • Are more willing to criticize their own traditions (low ethnocentrism).
  • Are more eager for intergroup contact and empathy.
  • Report higher quality intercultural contacts.
  • Report higher personal flourishing.
• Polyculturalism may complement multiculturalism rather than compete or replace it (Virgona & Kashima, 2021).

Polyculturalism and Cultural Identity

• How do people construct their cultural identity from a perspective of polyculturalism?
• “I think [my identity is] fluid … I still retain… some of the things that I've learned that I think are valuable… values from my time in the US, plus from my time in Malaysia and from… my stay here [in Australia]”
• Polycultural Identity:
  • I mix cultural elements from diverse sources into my identity.
  • I am a product of multiple cultural influences from different groups.
• (Virgona et al., 2024).