Week 6: Diversity and Culture Flashcards
Diversity refers to?
Diversity refers to the wide range of variations between people (e.g., race, ethnicity, religion, language, history, immigration status, gender, income, ability, age, geographic location)
What is culture?
The distinctive customs, values, beliefs, knowledge, art, and language of a society or a community. These values and concepts are passed on from generation to generation, and they are the basis for everyday behaviours and practices.
Diversity Ideologies
Two ways to think about diversity ideologies:
1. People’s beliefs about how to approach group differences (e.g., personal endorsement)
- Practices that are institutionalised (e.g., laws and policies in a country, mission statements of organisations)
Diversity Ideologies - ideology, aims, principles of categorisation (assimilation, colour-blindness, multiculturalism)
Assimilation - to reduce or eliminate diversity - recategorisation (one group); common ingroup identity model
Colour-blindness - to ignore diversity - decategorisation (no group)
Multiculturalism - to maintain and promote diversity - salient categorisation (multiple groups); dual identity model
Ideologies - Assimilation, Colour-blindess, multi-culturalism - example items
Assimilation - People who come to Australia should change their behaviour to be more like Australians; the Unity of this country is weakened by people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds sticking to their old ways
Colour-blindness - I do not want Australians to be identified by their race, national origin, or religion; it’s best to judge one another as individuals rather than members of an ethnic group
Multi-culturalism - We should help ethnic and racial minorities preserve their cultural heritage in Australia; Immigrant parents must encourage their children to retain the culture and traditions of their homeland
Assimilation - underlying philosophies
By getting people to focus entirely on their shared superordinate membership, subgroup identities will ‘melt away’ (common ingroup identity)
Racial/ethnic identification is an immature stage of a nation’s development which needs to be overcome
Cultural differences create potential for intergroup hostility - homogenization = harmony
Melting Pot Assimilation
Assumption that assimilation will happen naturally through extensive intergroup contact
Eventually old identities will fuse together into a new homogenous identity
Minority Group Assimilation
Assumption that minority groups (e.g., immigrants, indigenous people) should assimilate to the dominant culture
Assimilation should be encouraged by training or schooling minority ethnic groups to let go of their old identities
Problems with Assimilation
Inhumane and unrealistic to expect people to let go of their group memberships
Assumes one culture is superior to another
Groups with low status and power risk being appropriated and extinguished
Forced assimilation is psychologically painful for groups
Colour-Blindness
Managing diversity by ignoring group differences
Typically motivated by equality - to end oppression and discrimination we need to treat individuals without considering their group identities
Generally endorsed more by majority, high-power groups compared to minority, low-power groups
Problems with Colour-blindness
Ignoring diversity often used to ignore disparities between groups with different levels of power and privilege
When exposed to a colour-blind ideology, children are less likely to detect the occurrence of discrimination
Colour-blindness is used by people who do not support egalitarianism (high on social dominance orientation) to inequality
Multiculturalism
Managing diversity by focusing on the positive dimensions of group memberships
Acknowledging group differences and appreciating diversity
Multicultural ideologies is associated with improved intergroup relations
Dual Identity Model- Multiculturalism
Recategorising in a superordinate identity while maintaining subgroup identities
Psychological assumptions of multiculturalism
- cultural identity is fundamental to self- concept: ‘man is a thinking and sensitive being: serving hum from his roots could destroy an aspect of his personality and deprive society of some of the values he can bring to it’
security of identity is a precondition for tolerance - attempts to eclipse valued identities will result in more aggressive intergroup behaviour
Difference is not inconsistent with unity - unity in diversity, celebration of difference
Caveats - Multiculturalism
Multi-cultuarism is viewed as exclusionary by members of the dominant group
People may support multi-culturalism in the abstract, but not concrete policies that would support it
Diversity Frames - Many institutions and organisations promote diversity
The rationale for diversity inititatives can be framed in two major ways:
- Instrumental - refers to the benefit of diversity for an organisation’s performance (i.e., the business case)
Moral - presents diversity as having intrinsic value; diversity initiatives is about promoting equity and justice
Instrumental diversity rationales are more prevalent in business compared to a moral diversity rationale, but…
Minority groups report lower sense of belonging to such organisations (e.g., LGBTQ+, Women, African Americans)
Instrumental vs. Moral statement
Instrumental statement - diversity is about enriching students’ intellectual experience and preparing them to excel
Moral statement - diversity is about justice and ensuring that people from different backgrounds have access to an excellent education
Diversity Frames - Starck, Sinclair, Shelton 2021
Instrumental diversity rationales were more common in higher education compared to moral rationales
Parents of Black students and admission staff at univerities expect Black students to fare worse in institutions with instrumental rationales for diversity
White Americans prefer instrumental diversity rationales
Culture - Cross-cultural values
He found that different cultures tend to place an emphasis on different values
- Power distance: the degree to which unequal power in institutions is accepted or, alternatively, egalitarianism is endorsed
- Uncertainty avoidance: planning for stability in dealing with life’s uncertainties (e.g., sticking closely to rules)
- Masculinity-Femininity- valuing traditionally ‘masculine’ traits (e.g., achievement, ambition) or ‘feminie’ traits (harmony, caring)
- Individualism-collectivism - the extent to which your identity is determined by personal choices or by the collective
Contrasting Values - Individualism/Collectivism
Individualism -
> independence, freedom, and self-sufficiency
> Strive for own goals and achievements
> Competition with others
> Uniqueness is valued
> Private
> Self-knowledge
> Direct Communication
Collectivism:
> Relatedness, consider others as integral to self
> Sense of belonging with groups
> Duty to the groups
> Harmony with others
> Advice and help sought from others
> Self-changes according to context
> Hierarchy is emphasised
Culture Shapes Behaviour
Earley (1993) examined effort among Chinese (collectivist) and US (individualist) managers, depending on whether they were working in groups or whether they were working along
Findings:
- US managers tend to display social loafing
- Chinese managers tend to display social compensation
Culture Shapes Behaviour - Israeli participants performed a problem-solving task
Allowed to seek help from the experimenter if they were ‘stuck’
Half of the participants were raised in a Kibbutz (more collectivist culture); half were raised in the city (more individualist culture)
Half the participants were told that task was testing individual achievement; half were told that the task was an intergroup competition
% of people seeking help
collectivist - higher percentage in group task
Individualist - higher in individual task
Culture Shapes Behaviour - individualist and collectivist values are evidence in advertising
Examined advertising in various magazines in South Korea and US - coded advertisements depending on whether they emphasised - conformity / uniqueness
high percentage of conformity in S.K. and highp percentage of uniqueness
