Ch 6 Flashcards
racial, ethnic, culture (REC) identity attitudes in people of color
racial awakening
when a persons previous belief system is changed
Nigrescence
the process of becoming black
early attempts to define a process of REC identity transformation came primarily through…
the works of Black social scientists and educators
the original cross model was developed…
1971; during the civil rights movement (revised 1991) to further capture complexities in Black peoples meaning-making around race and racism
views Blackness as an awakening process in which people becomes increasingly clear about the realities and joys of being Black
race salience
(Cross 1991)
the degree to which race is an important and integral part of a person’s approach to life
Nigrescence model four main stages of REC identity (seven subtypes)
- preencounter (assimilation, miseducation, and anti-black)
- encounter
- immersion-emersion (anti-white, pro-black)
- internalization (black nationalist, biculturalist, and multiculturalist)
preencounter stage
characterized by African Americans consciously or unconsciously devaluing their own blackness and concurrently valuing white values and ways
preencounter assimilation
have slow salience for race, relatively unexplored feelings about blackness, and a desire to integrate and fit into dominant white spaces
preecounter miseducation
reflects internalization of negative messages in society about Black people but an ability to separate ones personal identity from ones racial group membership
preecnounter miseducation
describes individuals who hate black person in preencounter to experience the salience of race is very minor and to have their identity oriented toward an American perspective, without self-hate or low self-esteem
encounter stage
- the black person encounters a profound crisis or event that challenges their previous mode of thinking and behaving
- they begin to reinterpret the world, resulting in a shift in worldviews
immersion-emersion
the person withdraws from the dominant culture and becomes immersed in African American or other (AFRO) ethnic culture
internalization of positive attitudes is minimal
feelings of guilt and anger begin to dissipate with an increasing sense of pride
subtypes: anti-white and pro-black
internalization
characterized by inner security, as conflicts between old and new identities are resolved
types of identity:
black nationalist (high black positive race salience)
biculturalist (blackness and fused sense of americanness)
multiculturalist (multiple identity formation, including race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.)
Racial/culture identity development model (R/CID)
originally minority identity development model
purpose:
1. encompass a broader population
2. avoid the disempowering term minority
five levels of development that oppressed people experience as they struggle to understand themselves in terms of their own culture, the dominant culture, and the oppressive relationship between the two are described:
conformity
dissonance
resistance and immersion
introspection
integrative awareness
four corresponding beliefs and attitudes for each level above
- the self
- others of the same minority
- others of another minority
- majority individuals
The R/CID model located….
p 117
conformity
continues to be most characterized by individuals who have bought into majority societal definitions about their marginalized status in society
1. attitudes and beliefs toward the self (self-deprecating)
2. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the same group (group-depreciating attitudes)
3. attitudes and beliefs towards members of different marginalized groups (discriminatory)
4. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the dominant group (group appreciating)
meting-pot theory
the pressures for assimilation and acculturation
ethnocentric monoculturalism
- belief in the superiority of one groups cultural heritage – its language, traditions, arts-crafts, and ways of behaving (white) over all others
- belief in the inferiority of all other lifestyles (non-white)
- the power to impose such standards on to the less powerful group
internalized racism
the process by which POC absorb the racist messages that are omnipresent in our society and internalize them
racial self-hatred
dissonance
a gradual process
indicates that the individual is in conflict between disparate pieces of information or experiences that challenge his or her current self-concept
1. attitudes and beliefs toward the self ( conflict between self-depreciating and self-appreciating)
2. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the same group ( conflict between group-depreciating and group-appreciating)
3. attitudes and beliefs toward members of a different marganilized group (conflict between dominant-held views of minority hierarchy and feelings of shared experience)
4. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the dominant group (conflict between group-appreciating and group-depreciating attitudes)
resistance and immersion status
most active types of affective feeling are guilt, shame, and anger
tendency to endorse minority-held views completely and to reject values of the dominant society and culture
movement to this stage occurs:
1. a resolution of the conflicts and confusions of the previous stage allows greater understanding of social forces and ones own role as a victim
2. a personal questioning of why people should feel ashamed of themselves develops
1. attitudes and beliefs toward the self (self-appreciating attitudes and beliefs)
2. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the same group (group-appreciating attitudes and beliefs)
3. attitudes and beliefs toward members of a different marginalized group (conflict between feelings of empathy for other marganilizaed group experiences and feelings of culturocentrism)
4. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the dominant group (group depreciating attitudes and beliefs
introspection phase
what leads to it:
1. the individual begins to discover that this level of intensity of feelings (anger directed toward white society) is psychologically draining and does not permit one to really devote crucial energies to understanding oneself or ones own racial-cultural group
2. the individual experiences feelings of discontent and discomfort with group views that may be quote rigid in the resistance and immersion phase
1. attitudes and beliefs toward the self (concern with basis of self-appreciating attitudes and beliefs)
2. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the same group (concern with the unequivocal nature of group appreciation)
3. attitudes and beliefs toward members of a different marganilzed group (concern with the ethnocentric basis for judging others)
4. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the dominant group (concern with the basis of group depreciation)
integrative awareness
people have developed an inner sense of security and can now own and appreciate unique aspects of their culture as well as those of U.S culture
1. attitudes and beliefs toward the self (self-appreciating attitudes and beliefs)
2. attitudes and beliefs toward members of same group ( group-appreciating attitudes and beliefs)
3. attitudes and beliefs toward members of a different marginalized group (group-appreciating attitudes)
4. attitudes and beliefs toward members of the dominant group (attitudes and beliefs of selective appreciation)
clinical implications of the R/CID
- an understanding of REC identity formation should sensitize therapists and counselors to the role that racial and ethnic oppression plays in an individuals understanding of the world and lived experiences
- the model will aid counselors in recognizing differences between members of the same REC group with respect to their identity
- the model allows helping professionals to realize the potentially changing nature of identity among clients
how to work with a client in different stages
conformity: client will prefer white therapist and would be reactive when talking of race/feel threatened
model positive attitudes
dissonance status: preoccupation and questions concerning self, identity, and self-esteem are most likely to be brought up
resistance and immersion status: view psychological problems as products of oppression and racism; believe society is to blame for present dilemma and challenge the establishment, will view counselors as one of those threats; prefer therapist of own race and test the therapist; receptive to approaches that are more action-oriented and aimed at external change
introspection status: receptive to help from therapists of other cultures; self-exploring
integrative awareness status:no race preferences and open to different strategies
R/CID framework reminds therapists of several important clinical imperatives
- within group differences are very important to acknowledge in clients of color because not all members of a REC group are the same
- a culturally responsive counselor needs to be cognizant of and to understand how sociopolitical factors influence and shape identity
- the model alerts clinicians working with clients of color to certain likely challenges associated with each status or level of REC consciousness
- other socially marginalized or devalued groups undergo similar identity processes
