Theme 6 ( Multicultural Identity)
Multicultural Identity Development Theory and Research
Cultural Identity
Cultural identity: involves adopting the cultural worldview and behavioral practices
that unite individuals within a community.
o the cultural worldview includes our conception of human nature, the
relationship to society and moral and religious values.
Personality and Social Structure Perspective Model (PSSP): identity is a function
of three factors: Personality, interaction and social structure. Successful identity is
more likely when individuals possess several elements of identity capital, which
includes the financial, academic, human, social, linguistic and cultural resources
readily available to the individual.
o Personality: an individual indentiy formation is affected by self-perception
and cognitive structure
o Interaction: refers to patterns of behavior that bring the individual inton
contact with family, friends, and the community.
o Social structure: includes the prescribred roles available to the individual as
well as the political, social and economic conditions in their society.
Other theories suggest that membership in a cultural group or groups will indluence
how individual define themselves. Among these are social identity theory, self-
categorization theory. These suggest that as membership ina cultural group becomes
salient, individuals model their social beliefs and behavior and those they perceive to
be prototypical of the group.
Sources of Multicultural identity
Globalization: an ongoing process of interaction and integration among the people
and institutions of different nations. The process affects the environment, social and
political systems, economic development, and human wellbeing in societies around
the world. Adolescent identity formation may be particularly affected by globalization
in that adolescents tends to be significant consumers of popular/social media,
, including television movies music and the internet. All of which accelerate the speed
to which ideas spread from culture to culture.
o some theorists have expressed their concern that globalization will destroy
localities and produce people who are homogenized and uniform, others have
suggested that globalization removes the tradition anchoring of attitudes.
Cross-cultural Marriages: first of all when two parents of from different cultural
children are likely to receive conflicting pointsof view. Children of mixed marriages
will incorporate this multicultural identity in one of three ways when developing a
sense of self.
o Children of such marriages could draw upon aspects of both cultures, using a
mixture of independent and interdependent self-construal’s in which neither
culture is represented in a robust manner. Alternatively, children may develop
a strong sense of identification to both cultures, providing an exemplar of each
o Another possibility is that children with multicultural identities will develop a
sense of self that depend upon the context. These individuals may be
encouraged to use aspects of either an independent or an interdependent self-
construal, depending on the situation.
Immigration: adolescents immigrants may change their beliefs and values more than
adults. Researchers find that children under the age of 12 experience less acculturative
stress than did university students who had immigrates to the United States.
o Several factors may a play a role in this difference, including the relative ease
with which younger children acquire a second language.
o Another important factor in the adjustment process is the type of support and
assistance they receive from their primary caretakers while they make the
transition to the new culture, as well as the peer and institutional support in a
place to assist the newcomers.
o Cross created a model that can be applied to the experience of immigrants go
through in developing a new identity. The model consists of four stages:
Pre encounter: indiivudals think of the world in terms defined by their
cultural heritage.
Encounter: individuals experience attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that
are remarkably different from those to which they are accustomed.
Multicultural Identity Development Theory and Research
Cultural Identity
Cultural identity: involves adopting the cultural worldview and behavioral practices
that unite individuals within a community.
o the cultural worldview includes our conception of human nature, the
relationship to society and moral and religious values.
Personality and Social Structure Perspective Model (PSSP): identity is a function
of three factors: Personality, interaction and social structure. Successful identity is
more likely when individuals possess several elements of identity capital, which
includes the financial, academic, human, social, linguistic and cultural resources
readily available to the individual.
o Personality: an individual indentiy formation is affected by self-perception
and cognitive structure
o Interaction: refers to patterns of behavior that bring the individual inton
contact with family, friends, and the community.
o Social structure: includes the prescribred roles available to the individual as
well as the political, social and economic conditions in their society.
Other theories suggest that membership in a cultural group or groups will indluence
how individual define themselves. Among these are social identity theory, self-
categorization theory. These suggest that as membership ina cultural group becomes
salient, individuals model their social beliefs and behavior and those they perceive to
be prototypical of the group.
Sources of Multicultural identity
Globalization: an ongoing process of interaction and integration among the people
and institutions of different nations. The process affects the environment, social and
political systems, economic development, and human wellbeing in societies around
the world. Adolescent identity formation may be particularly affected by globalization
in that adolescents tends to be significant consumers of popular/social media,
, including television movies music and the internet. All of which accelerate the speed
to which ideas spread from culture to culture.
o some theorists have expressed their concern that globalization will destroy
localities and produce people who are homogenized and uniform, others have
suggested that globalization removes the tradition anchoring of attitudes.
Cross-cultural Marriages: first of all when two parents of from different cultural
children are likely to receive conflicting pointsof view. Children of mixed marriages
will incorporate this multicultural identity in one of three ways when developing a
sense of self.
o Children of such marriages could draw upon aspects of both cultures, using a
mixture of independent and interdependent self-construal’s in which neither
culture is represented in a robust manner. Alternatively, children may develop
a strong sense of identification to both cultures, providing an exemplar of each
o Another possibility is that children with multicultural identities will develop a
sense of self that depend upon the context. These individuals may be
encouraged to use aspects of either an independent or an interdependent self-
construal, depending on the situation.
Immigration: adolescents immigrants may change their beliefs and values more than
adults. Researchers find that children under the age of 12 experience less acculturative
stress than did university students who had immigrates to the United States.
o Several factors may a play a role in this difference, including the relative ease
with which younger children acquire a second language.
o Another important factor in the adjustment process is the type of support and
assistance they receive from their primary caretakers while they make the
transition to the new culture, as well as the peer and institutional support in a
place to assist the newcomers.
o Cross created a model that can be applied to the experience of immigrants go
through in developing a new identity. The model consists of four stages:
Pre encounter: indiivudals think of the world in terms defined by their
cultural heritage.
Encounter: individuals experience attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that
are remarkably different from those to which they are accustomed.
