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Multicultural Identity Processes Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Multicultural identity processes 1,2 1 3 Ying-yi Hong , Siran Zhan , Michael W Morris and 4 Vero´ nica Benet-Martı´nez The study of multicultural identity has gained prominence in eral cultural traditions. It is precisely this that defines my recent decades and will be even more urgent as the mobility of identity. Would I exist more authentically if I cut off a individuals and social groups becomes the ‘new normal’. This part of myself? paper reviews the state-of-the-art theoretical advancements and empirical discoveries of multicultural identity processes at (Amin Maalouf, 2000, p. 1) the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and collective (e.g., organizational, societal) levels. First, biculturalism has more Since 1990, the worldwide count of immigrants and benefits for individuals’ psychological and sociocultural expatriates by birth or citizenship has grown by 75 percent adjustment than monoculturalism. Bicultural individuals’ racial [1]. On top of migration, international tourism has in- essentialist beliefs and Bicultural Identity Integration affect creased from 25 million to 1133 million in 2014 [2]. Global cultural frame switching, racial categorization, and creativity. internet usage has grown from 14 million to 2.93 billion Second, identity denial and identity-based discrimination by between 1993 and 2014 [3]. These aspects of globaliza- other people or groups threaten multicultural individuals’ tion have heightened intercultural exposure and the psychological health and performance. Third, multiculturalism diversity of societies. and interculturalism policies are associated with different conceptions of and attitudes toward diversity, and have distinct As an adaptation to this globalization, Amin Maalouf’s outcomes for multicultural individuals and societies. identification with multiple cultures is shared by an ev- Addresses 1 er-wider fraction of humankind. To understand the forma- Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, tion and maintenance of multicultural identity, researchers 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore 2 Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Outer St, Haidian, Beijing study influential factors at multiple levels: intrapersonal, 100875, China interpersonal, and collective. In this paper, we provide a 3 Columbia University, 718 Uris Hall, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY review of the latest scholarship on these multi-level pro- 10027, USA 4 cesses. Specifically, the research addresses (a) how indi- ICREA at Pompeu Fabra University, Ramon Trias Fargas 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain viduals navigate and manage multicultural identities at the intrapersonal level, (b) how exclusion and discrimination at Corresponding author: Hong, Ying-yi ([email protected]) the interpersonal level affect multicultural identity forma- tion and negotiation, and (c) how organizations’ and socie- ties’ diversity policies also affect such processes. Current Opinion in Psychology 2016, 8:49–53 This review comes from a themed issue on Culture Edited by Michele J Gelfand and Yoshihisa Kashima Intrapersonal processes For a complete overview see the Issue and the Editorial Early models of acculturation assumed that high identifi- cation with one culture (e.g., host culture) implied low Available online 9th October 2015 identification with other cultures (e.g., heritage culture). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.020 Recent conceptual advancement recognizes that high 2352-250X/# 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. identification with one culture does not entail low iden- tification with all other cultures [4]; multiple strong identifications are not only possible but also beneficial [5,6]. For instance, a meta-analysis of 83 studies shows that biculturalism, that is, attachment to and competency in two cultures, is associated with both positive psycho- logical (e.g., self-esteem, lack of depression) and socio- How many times, since I left Lebanon in 1976 to live in cultural (e.g., career success, lack of delinquency) France, have people asked me, with the best intentions in adjustment, but not with health [7]. This link between the world, whether I felt ‘‘more French’’ or ‘‘more Leba- biculturalism and adjustment was stronger than the asso- nese’’? And I always give the same answer: ‘‘Both!’’ I say ciation between monoculturalism (exclusive orientation that not in the interests of fairness or balance, but because toward either the dominant or heritage/ethnic cultures) any other answer would be a lie. What makes me myself and adjustment. The positive relationship between rather anyone else is the very fact that I am poised biculturalism and adjustment may be due to a variety between two countries, two or three languages and sev- of factors internal (e.g., bilingual competence, having www.sciencedirect.com Current Opinion in Psychology 2016, 8:49–53 50 Culture social support networks in two cultures) and external American (compared to those with higher BII-distance) (e.g., non-discriminatory policies) to the acculturating [22]. Saad et al. [23 ] found that Chinese-Americans with individual (see review [8] for related research on immi- low BII-distance had better creative performance in a grant acculturation). bicultural contexts (where both Chinese and American symbols were present) but not in a monocultural context New insights have also been gained about ‘marginals’ [9], (where either Chinese or American symbols were pres- multicultural individuals who have low identification with ent). Tadmor et al. [13] found that low BII-distance all their cultures [10]. Recent evidence contradicts the individuals exhibited higher cognitive complexity and traditional view that these individuals are maladjusted ultimately creativity. [11]; instead, these culturally ‘marginal’ individuals are found to be well adapted and highly successful [13,14], as Identity conflict is anxiety provoking [21 ]. However, demonstrated by their superior creativity [13], intercul- surprisingly, a high level of BII-conflict (perceiving high tural communication skills [14], and likelihood of being in tension between two cultures) is associated with some upper management positions [15]. Based on these new positive cognitive outcomes. For example, Tadmor et al. insights, Arasaratnam [16] proposed an alternative defini- [12] and Benet-Martinez et al. found that biculturals who tion of multicultural identity as ‘the condition of persons experience identity conflict exhibit greater cognitive who have formed an identity that is not affiliated with one complexity. Similarly, Thomas et al. [24] found that particular culture but instead a blend of multiple cultures biculturals perceiving greater identity conflict have and contexts’, themes that are developed in recent theory higher cultural metacognition — self-awareness of their on polyculturalism [17 ]. That said, the same identity cultural assumptions and inferences. structure that may signal independence in business executives may signal alienation in the underclass, thus Biculturals’ level of identity conflict also moderates how future research from a broader strata of economic groups they respond to cultural primes through frame switching is necessary. [5]. High BII-conflict individuals shift their biases to contrast with norms of the primed culture rather than Research has revealed both positive and negative con- to assimilate with it. Mok and Morris [25 ,26,27] com- sequences of priming international students with symbols pared Asian-American with conflicted cultural identities of their home versus host culture. On the one hand, to those with compatible cultural identities. Conflicted Zhang et al. [18 ] found that immigrants from mainland Asian-Americans exhibited a contrastive or contrarian China speak English less fluently when exposed to Asian response — more Western biases (on measures such as than Caucasian faces or when exposed to Chinese rather focal/holistic attention, need for uniqueness, and individ- than American images. Visual primes of the home culture ualism) after Chinese priming and more East Asian biases activate structures of their native language that interfere after American cultural priming. One explanation is that with second language processing. On the other hand, the conflicted biculturals feel dis-identified with their cul- same primes can have a positive emotional effect; Fu tures, motivated to dissociate themselves from each cul- et al. [19] found that home-culture primes soothe inter- ture [4]. An alternative explanation is the motivation to national students’ relational insecurities that hinder their protect the non-cued cultural identity [25 ,26,27]. Recent cultural adjustment. Similarly, Hong et al. [20 ] found that studies using subliminal priming indicate this response subliminally exposing international students to home occurs implicitly rather than through conscious impres- cultural cues would increase subjective well-being in that sion management [25 ]. Although this response of con- it buffers perceived discrimination, and acculturation flicted biculturals may prevent them from meshing with stress. These studies have broadened the range of con- cultural contexts, it is useful in protecting them from sequences explored in cultural priming research. groupthink when working in groups from their two cul- tures [28]. This finding implies that bicultural individuals Bicultural individuals differ in the extent to which they with conflicted identities can contribute to avoiding de- integrate their two cultural identities
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