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Zwernemann J 1983

Culture History and African Anthropology

A Century of Research in Germany and Austria

. UppsalaStudies in Cultural Anthropology 6, University of Uppsala,Uppsala, Sweden

M. Dı

az-Andreu

Ethnic Identity, Psychology of

Ethnic identity is a dynamic, multidimensional con-struct that refers to one’s identity, or sense of self, as amember of an ethnic group. An ethnic group can bethought of as a subgroup within a larger context thatclaims a common ancestry and shares one or moreof the following elements: culture, race, religion,language, kinship, and place of origin. Ethnic identityisacentraldefiningcharacteristicofmanyindividuals,particularly those who are members of minority orlower status groups (Liebkind 1992, Phinney 1990).Ethnicidentityhastraditionallybeenmostsalientinimmigrant-receiving countries like the USA andAustralia,butithasbecomeanincreasinglyimportantissue throughout the world, as social and politicalchanges have increased the amount of contact amongpeoplefromdifferentethnicgroupsand,insomecases,have led to ethnic conflict. Social scientists haveattemptedtounderstandethnicidentityfromavarietyofperspectives.Thisarticleexaminesthedevelopmentofethnicidentityandthewaysinwhichethnicidentitychanges over time and contexts. It concludes with adiscussion of the implications of ethnic identity.

1. The Formation of Ethnic Identity

1.1 The Beginnings of Ethnic Identity

An ethnic identity is developed and modified asindividuals become aware of other groups and of theethnic differences between themselves and others, andattempt to understand the meaning of their ethnicitywithin the larger setting. Ethnic identity may have itsoriginsintheinfant’sattachmenttocaregiversandthefear of strangers that is experienced early in life. Thefamily provides the initial bases for feelings aboutwhatisnormalandcomfortable,andthesefeelingsaregenerally supported in the immediate community. Inhomogeneous settings, familiar practices are notrecognized as ethnic.Once children encounter others who are different inappearance, language, behaviors, or attitudes, theybegin to categorize themselves and others. FrancesAboud (1987) has shown that children learn theirethnic self-label between the ages of four and sevenyears, although the age varies with the group and theamount of contact with other groups. By eight or tenyears of age, children develop an understanding of ethnic constancy (the fact that their ethnicity does notchange over time or superficial changes). Cognitivedevelopmental level influences the way in whichchildren understand ethnicity. Young children under-standethnicityinliteralandconcreteterms,definedbyfood, customs, and language. With increasing cog-nitive competence, children begin to develop a groupconsciousness and to understand ethnicity in terms of norms and values (Quintana 1998).Socialization plays an important role in the contentand meaning children attach to their own ethnicity.Childrenacquireknowledgeabouttheirethnicculturethrough the process of enculturation (Bernal andKnight 1993). Children’s feelings about their ethnicityare influenced from an early age by the family andcommunity. When families provide strong positiveimages of their ethnicity, children’s early feelingsabout their ethnic group are likely to be positive. Avital ethnic community also provides a context inwhich children can form a positive sense of theirgroup.Children are influenced as well by messages fromother groups and the larger society. When a group isheld in lower esteem or is disparaged by others, thesenegative messages may become internalized. Childrenmay then hold conflicting or negative feelings abouttheir ethnicity and express the desire to belong toanother group. However, in childhood ethnic identityremainslargelyunexamined;thatis,childrenhavenotthought through for themselves the meaning of theirethnic group membership (Phinney 1989).

1.2 The Search for a Meaningful Ethnic Identity

Beyond childhood, the process of ethnic identitydevelopment becomes more complex. During adol-escence, identity formation is a critical developmentaltask, particularly in complex modern societies. Likeego identity, the process of ethnic identity has beenconceptualized in terms of stages, with an individualmoving from the unexamined attitudes of childhood,through a moratorium or period of exploration, to asecure achieved ethnic identity at the end of ado-lescence (Phinney 1989). The moratorium periodbegins for adolescents as a result of their increasingcognitiveability,theirgrowingunderstandingofsocialand historical processes, and in some cases, personalexperiences of discrimination. As ethnic identitybecomes a salient issue, many youths, especially thosefrom ethnic groups with lower status or power,questionthemeaning oftheir ethnicity andits place inthe larger context (Phinney 1989).Thissearchforameaningfulethnicidentitycanleadto a wide range of emotional reactions, both positiveandnegative.Individualsmaybecomedeeplyinvolvedin learning about their ethnicity. This process maylead to exaggerated claims about their group. It may4821

Ethnic Identity, Psychology of

result in constructive and creative actions aimed ataffirming the value and legitimacy of one’s group andestablishingapositivebasisforagroupidentity(Tajfeland Turner 1986).Conversely, the process of examining and dealingwith the social implications of one’s ethnicity maylead to feelings of insecurity, confusion, or anger.Individuals who are confused or ambivalent abouttheirethnicidentityarelikelytoreactmorestronglytoperceived threats to their ethnicity (Worchel 1999).They may experience strong negative feelings towardother groups, particularly in cases where a group hasbeen the victim of negative or exploitative intergroupbehaviors or where group members feel that theirneeds and aspirations are being thwarted. Suchattitudes can lead to violence when legitimate meansof ethnic affirmation are seen as ineffective. Muchinterethnic violence results from feelings of threat toone’s ethnic identity. This process is assumed to berelevant primarily to disadvantaged minority groups,but it can apply as well to members of a dominantgroupwhofeelthreatenedbychangingdemographics,for example as a result of large-scale immigration.

1.3 The Achie

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ement and Internalization of EthnicIdentity

The optimal outcome of the ethnic identity formationprocess is the achievement of a secure and conﬁdentsenseofone’sethnicity.Thismaturesenseofselfasanethnic group member is assumed to include positivefeelings about one’s group and to be a sourceof personal strength and positive self-evaluation(Phinney1989,TajfelandTurner1986).Feelingsecureabout one’s own ethnic identity is also assumed to beassociated with more positive attitudes toward othergroups. An achieved ethnic identity may be related tothe ability to assume the perspective of other groups,to adopt a multicultural perspective, and to see theplace of one’s own group in a larger perspective.

2. Ethnic Identity Across Time and Contexts

Although developmental processes underlie theformation of ethnic identity, ethnic identity may berenegotiatedthroughout lifeinresponse toindividual,contextual, and historical changes. Ethnic identityvaries in the short term over diﬀering contexts, withstrong ethnic feelings emerging in settings whereethnicity is highly salient, such as traditional ethniccelebrations, and receding in settings which de-emphasize ethnicity. Many bicultural individuals ex-perience variation in the strength of their groupidentities as they move between ethnic and nonethniccontexts, such as home, school, and workplace, andchange their language and behaviors to suit thecontext.

2.1 Ethnic Identity and Immigration

Group identity issues are raised most dramaticallywhen individuals and groups move across nationalandculturalborders,orwhenpoliticalborderschangearound stable groups. As migrants, refugees, guestworkers, and other travelers come in contact withothercultures,questionsofidentityareraisedbothforthe mobile groups and for the societies where theysettle. These processes are highly dependent on theenvironmental context, including the size and struc-ture of ethnic communities, the history and currentstatus of ethnic groups in the larger society, andattitudes of other members of the society towarddiversity.Forimmigrants,changesinethnicidentityovertimedepend on a number of inﬂuences, including age attime of immigration and generation of immigration(that is, whether one is an immigrant, child of immigrants, grandchild of immigrants, etc.). Adultimmigrantstypicallyretainastrongidentitywiththeirculture of origin without identifying strongly asmembers of the larger society. Children who migrateat a young age adapt more quickly than their parentsto a new setting and are likely to become bicultural,identifying with both the ethnic group and the largersociety.

2.2 Retention of Ethnic Identity

For later generations of immigrants, that is, thechildren and grandchildren of immigrants, and forstable ethnic groups within larger societies, the re-tention of ethnic identity depends both on factorswithin the ethnic group and on the broader societal orhistorical context. Ethnic group members differ in theextent to which they desire to retain their culture andthe degree to which they wish to become part of thelarger society. Societies differ widely in their relationswith minority groups, their policies toward ethnicgroups,andtheattitudesofmembersofsocietytowardimmigrants and minorities.As a result of these varied influences, ethnic groupsand their individual members may adopt differentgroup identity modes, similar to modes of accultura-tion (Berry 1990). When individuals or groups wish toretain their ethnic identity and maintain their ethniclanguage and customs, and when ethnic institutionssupport such activities, ethnic identity can remainstrong over long periods. If they also develop a senseof belonging to the larger society, they becomebicultural or integrated. If they retain a strong ethnicidentity and do not become part of the larger society,either by choice or because of nonacceptance, theymay be described as separated. On the other hand,individuals and groups who give up their ethnicidentity and become identified with the larger societyareassimilated.Finally,thosewhogiveuptheirethnic4822

Ethnic Identity, Psychology of

identity but do not become part of the larger societyare seen as marginalized.The ways inwhich these patterns playout over timeis highly variable. Ethnic communities may be main-tained over many generations and can be revitalizedwhencircumstancespermit.Groupsthatareculturallyor phenotypically diﬀerent from the larger society, orthat experience prejudice and discrimination, mayremainseparatedovermanygenerations,asinthecaseof gypsies in Europe or African Americans in theUSA. For these groups, ethnic identity typicallyremains strong and salient over time. In contrast,when distinctive cultural or phenotypic markers areabsent and when there is little desire to maintain one’sethnic culture, assimilation is likely in the third andlater generations, as has been the case for mostEuropean Americans in the USA (Waters 1990).

3. Implications of Ethnic Identity

Because of the centrality of ethnic identity for groupmembers, together with social and political processesthat support or threaten such an identity, ethnicidentity can have positive or negative implications forthe individual and for the larger society.Most psychological research has shown that ethnicidentity is positively associated with psychologicalwell-being, but the relationship is complex, and theimpact is likely to depend on the particular aspectof ethnic identity being considered. A widely usedmeasure of ethnic identity (Roberts et al. 1998)suggest two distinct components of ethnic identity: anaffective component, comprising a sense of belongingand positive feelings about one’s group; and adevelopmental component, involving the extent towhich one has explored and resolved ethnic identityissues (Phinney 1990). The affective component showsa consistent though modest correlation with self-esteem; those who feel more positive about their ownethnicity have higher self-esteem and lower levels of depression. Conversely, internalized negative feelingsabout one’s own group are related to negative feelingsabout oneself. The developmental component has aweaker relationship with psychological well-being,perhaps because of the variability of attitudes thatoccur during development. Nevertheless, the attain-ment of a secure and confident identity appears to bethe basis of positive feelings about oneself and others.Feelings of belonging to the larger society alsocontribute to well-being. Research with immigrantshasshownabiculturalidentitytobethemostadaptive,and a marginal identity to be the least adaptive (Berry1990).Whenindividualsandgroupshavethefreedomto express their values and practice their ethniccustoms, ethnic identity can be the basis of powerfulpositive feelings. Societies that thwart the desire of ethnic group members to affirm and express theirgroup identity may experience turmoil and violence(Worchel 1999).The study of ethnic identity is relatively recent inpsychology.Theknowledgethatwehaveisbasedonalimited amount of research, and there are many areasin need of study. Longitudinal studies are needed toprovide deeper insight into the processes by whichethnic identity changes over time. Links to otheraspects of identity need to be explored, to determinethe extent to which ethnic identity is similar to ordifferentfromnational,racial,cultural,orothergroupidentities. Research has focused on relatively fewgroups and situations; future research should extendthe range of groups studied and the national andregional settings that provide contexts for ethnicidentity development and expression. Increased col-laborationamongresearchersfromdifferentcountrieswould be valuable in exploring whether the currentfindingsapplytothewidediversityofethnicgroups intheworld.Finally,becausethestudyofethnicidentityremains fragmented, there is need for conceptualmodels that can integrate research across differentsettings. Because of the growing importance of eth-nicity throughout the world, it is imperative for thebehavioral sciences to gain a better understanding of ethnic identity and its implications for society.