Running head: SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 1

SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS

Name of Student

Institution affiliation
 SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 2

Introduction

Established by Tajfel & Turner in 1979, social identity theory was developed to try to

explain the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination (McLeod, 2008). Hence, the duo

tried to identify conditions that lead to members of a certain social group to behave in a

particular manner towards a different racial group, in favor of the in-group they belong to. It

appears like a discursive approach, but the primary principle of social identity theory entails the

categorization of people as they define themselves into a different social group and struggle to

prove their group is highly valued than others (McLeod, 2008). Similar to Tajfel & Turner's

thoughts, other psychologists believe that social identities tend to be formed to encourage a sense

of creativity as well as boosting esteem. With this in mind and for the sake of shedding more

light on identity theory. We will seek to address one identity theory pertaining to black/African

American. In this case, the identity theory that will be discussed is the nigrescence theory.

Developed in 1971 by William Cross, nigrescence theory was believed to address two

racial preferences: 1) being part of a black’s identity and 2) how it affects a person’s mental

health. In this identity model, African Americans who embraced the model were considered to be

psychologically healthy, while those who agreed to white societal values were considered to be

suffering from low-esteem. Cross (1971) continues to assert that African Americans tend to

undergo a series of identity stages to become black. Hence, the existence of the model came as a

result of trying to chart the identity transformation of people participating in the black power

phase in the United States. During this period theorist had an assumption that blacks had self-

hatred. Most traditional literature portrayed blacks as self-hating. Moreover, the media depicted

blacks to be dumb and inferior. Hence, the negative characteristics and the thought that blacks

had poor self-image led to the development of the nigrescence theory.

 SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 3

Looking at the strength of the theory, it’s definite that the theory has had a critical role in

the development of African American identity for many years. Hence, it serves as a pillar that

has been used by other theorists in the development of other models pertained to Black identity

development.

On the other hand, in terms of weakness. It’s clear that the nigrescence theory clearly

explains the social identity development of Blacks. But, still, some factors make the theory weak.

For instance, despite nigrescence theory having some components of stage theory, it predicts

qualitative differences in behavior over time, as the nigrescence stage shares one conceptual

base-meaning that it’s not clear if the other stage-theory components are present. Secondly,

based on the theory movement from one stage to another tends to be accelerated by negative

experiences with another race. But, Gayden (2015) in his article indicates that the movement

from one stage to the other could be accelerated by both positive experiences with blacks or

negative interactions with whites. Hence, racial identity development does not only start with

response to racism experiences, but there may be positive experiences.

Looking further, Guido (2010) states that Cross introduced five stages that help explain

how blacks/ African American identity is developed, but in 1991 Cross condensed it into four

stages namely: pre-encounter, encounter, emersion, and internalization-commitment. These four

stages critically explain the habituation and internalization of the black’s new identity. Therefore,

we will discuss these stages in details to effectively explain how the nigrescence model critically

explains the social identity of African Americans:

Pre-encounter Stage

Under the pre-encounter stage, persons tend to hold high attitudes which range from

existing low salience to race neutrality to anti-black (Cross, 1991). But, in this stage, less
 SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 4

emphasis is put on race and people tend to focus on aspects such as lifestyle, religion, and

occupation. Still, they never acknowledge that race is something affecting them. Hence, some

individuals are proud of being black while some hold extreme ends of anti-Blackness. Cross

(1991) argues that anti-Blacks tend to loathe other Blacks, meaning that they don’t feel alienated

from them and don’t view Blacks as an actual source of their support (191). At this stage, one

doesn’t realize that he/she has been raised with White’s ideologies since it’s embedded in their

culture.

Encounter Stage

At this stage, individuals shatter the relevance of their worldview and ideology. At the

same time, others offer insights on which direction to point to transform or re-socialize. This

stage encompasses two steps; personalize and encounter. Under encounter, an event could

happen thus shaping how one views his race. But, personalization occurs as a result of an

individual taking personal impact on an event that evoked his personal world view. According to

Guido (2010), the encounter in this stage needs to be negative for the impact to steer nigrescence.

Here, the crucial part is that the encounter should have a personal impact that acts as a catalyst

that sparks change in their thinking.

Immersion-Emersion Stage

In this stage, the sensation aspect of Black identity tends to be addressed as it entails the

psychological vortex of nigrescence (Cross, 1991). Here, Black people will start to shed off their

worldview and develop new constructs of reference with the information they understand about

race. At this level, the individual hasn’t changed but is committed to change. Gayden (2015)

states that “immersion tends to be strong powerful domination that is progressively energized by

rage, guilt, and development of a sense of pride”.

 SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 5

Internalization-Commitment Stage

Here, Blacks tend to focus on long-term interests. In his articles, Ritchey (2014) indicates

that at this stage one awaits the results of future results. This means that Blacks start shedding the

poor self-worth and embrace a positive definition of themselves. It is described as an ultimate

transformation, as someone now has a healthy racial identity. Domination, privilege, and racism

are now interwoven into society. Hence, race and racism stress may be experienced at an

individual, institutional and cultural level. Besides, being experienced by Blacks, it may also

affect other races. Hence, the need for having a healthy racial identity for everyone, no matter the

race.

Perhaps to shed more light on the context of the stages in the theory. Recent research by

Neville & Cross in 2017 on the phenomenon of epiphany experiences of Blacks. The duo was

interested in explaining the context and expected the outcome of epiphanies among participants'

understanding of what being black means. Therefore, 64 adults were involved to take part in the

racial life narrative interview. The number of men and women were equal participating from

different regions: South Africa, Bermuda, the United States, and Australia. According to the

results attained the triggering, turning points in one’s racial identity. Specifically, this research

was sparked from experiences, observation, activism, and education. Most participants cited

increased racial pride, racial activism and they will continue to explore the issue of racial

identity. Only one participant cited disappointments after facing racial epiphany. In conclusion,

it’s evident from the study that people develop a sense of racial consciousness out of an

impacting event, as portrayed in the above stages of nigrescence theory.

Lastly, it’s evident that the nigrescence theory clearly explains the social identity

development of Blacks. But, still, there are research gaps that need to be done. For instance,
 SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 6

consideration and attention need to be given to other Black identity theory. For example, take the

case of Baldwin's multidimensional Model of Racial Identity. Do the assimilation and subscales

of Black Nationalists have similar constructs to subscales found on MMRI? Is the theory close to

achieving an overarching theory on Black racial identity? Therefore, the existence of all these

instruments creates a fertile climate for research on high order factors pertained to Black identity

development. Still, there is an existing gap for future researchers as they need to identify the

prototypic stories that waken racial identity and offer counsel in regards to the provision of

opportunities that assist individuals in making a meaningful and healthy social identity process.
 SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS 7

References

Gayden, R. (2015). Comparison of Two Theories of Racial Identity: Nigrescence Theory and

Cultural Ecology Theory (Doctoral dissertation, MA thesis, 2015, Education Leadership

Department, Winona University).

Guido, F. M. (2010). Ethnicity in College: Advancing Theory and Improving Diversity Practices

on Campus. Journal of College Student Development, 51(6), 728-730.

Neville, H. A., & Cross Jr, W. E. (2017). Racial awakening: Epiphanies and encounters in Black

racial identity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23(1), 102

Cross Jr, W. E. (1991). Shades of black: Diversity in African-American identity. Temple

University Press..

McLeod, S. (2008). Social identity theory. Simply Psychology.