CHAPTER 3

• Cultural identity


  One's sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group
• Social identity


  The consequence of memberships in particular groups within one's culture. The characteristics and concerns common to most members of such social groups shape the way individuals view their characteristics
• Personal identity


  People's unique characteristics, which may differ from those of others in their cultural and social groups
• Characteristics of cultural identity

  • Nationality
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion
  • Social class
  • Generation
  • Locality
  • Any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture
• Cultural identity is the central, dynamic, multifaceted component of one's self-concept

  
• At any given moment, people have many "components" that make up their identity
• Many people's identities are not locked into a single, uncompromising category, but incorporate other identities as well
• Most components of identity become important only when they are activated by specific circumstances
• Aspects of one's cultural identity can be activated not only by direct experiences with others but also by media reports, artistic portrayals, musical performances, and a range of other personal and mass-mediated experiences

  
• Over time, as people adapt to various intercultural challenges, their cultural identity may be transformed into one that is substantially different from what it used to be
• Conflicting identities


  Arise as a result of membership of different groups
• Second-generation immigrant youth


  Bicultural by holding both heritage and mainstream cultural identities
• Third Culture Kids (TCKs)


  Children who spend their formative years in places that are not their parents' homeland (expatriate children). TCKs often develop an identity that's rooted in people rather than places. TCKs = citizens of everywhere and nowhere
• Our culture affects our view about where we belong and whom we consider to be "US" and "THEM"
• In-group bias


  The tendency to favour one's own group
• Ethnocentrism


  The bias towards ingroup results in the notion/emotional attitude that one's own race, nation, or culture is superior to all others. Ethnocentric people interpret the world from their own viewpoint.
• Culture shapes people's thought and behavior, leading them to perceive their own experiences as natural, human, and universal, and to believe that their behavior is right and correct
• Ethnocentrism is found in every culture (including co-cultures) in varying degrees
• There is nothing wrong with ethnocentrism when our culture is simply preferred over others. However, the natural tendency to use our own culture as a starting point when evaluating others' behaviours can escalate and result in stereotype, prejudice and racism, which are genuine obstacles to intercultural competence
• Ethnocentrism


  The tendency to overvalue one's own native cultural beliefs and values and therefore devalues the worth of the elements of other cultures
• Xenocentrism


  The tendency to value other cultures more highly than one's own (i.e. preference for the products, styles, people, food or ideas of a different culture, rather than of one's own)
• Cultural generalization


  Descriptions of commonly observed patterns, broad tendencies or norms in the behavior of a group of people. Not everyone will fit the generalization as culture does not contain fixed rules that apply to all of its members.
• The most accurate generalizations about culture are expressed in terms of "In general...", "Many/Some...", "... prefer that...", "... may react in this way when..."
• Words such as "all", "no", "always", "never" usually indicate an overgeneralization or a stereotype
• Stereotype


  A general description of a group of people which does not point out differences among individuals in that group. Stereotypes are exaggerated beliefs and images about groups of people and are often based on a lack of information or contact.

  
• Stereotypes can be positive and negative. Negative stereotypes can give a false picture of a culture, while positive stereotypes set the bar unrealistically high and create unnecessary burdens on those who are viewed through such stereotypes.
• In a multicultural society, maintaining positive stereotypes about one specific group accentuates negative stereotypes about others, promoting legal injustice, social hostility, racial hatred, and deepening group conflicts.
• Prejudice


  An evaluation or emotion toward people merely based on their group membership. Prejudiced attitudes include irrational feelings of dislike and even hatred for certain groups, biased perceptions and beliefs about the group members that are not based on direct experiences and firsthand knowledge, and a readiness to behave in negative and unjust ways toward members of the group.
• Xenophobia


  Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries. Fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.
• Discrimination


  The behavioral manifestations of prejudice (or prejudice "in action"). Unequal treatment of certain individuals solely because of their membership in a particular group.

  
• Individual acts of discrimination are not as common today as they were in the past. What is more common is discrimination in the fabric of social institutions—in the rules, processes, procedures, operating systems, and practices of these organizations.
• The formation of one's cultural identity can sometimes lead to hostility, hate, and discrimination directed against nonmembers of that culture. The love for our ingroup and culture automatically causes us to have negative attitudes towards outsiders.
• Positive discrimination


  The provision of special opportunities, often in education and employment, for members of disadvantaged groups to redress historic injustices and promote equality.
• Racism


  A tendency to categorize people who are culturally different in terms of their physical traits, such as skin color, hair color and texture, facial structure, and eye shape. Racism oppresses entire groups of people, making it very difficult, and sometimes virtually impossible, for their members to have access to political, economic, and social power.
• Xenophobia and Racism often overlap, but differ in that Racism is based on physical characteristics while Xenophobia is based on the perception that the other is foreign to or originates from outside the community or nation.
• Overcoming ethnocentrism, stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, and racism requires a commitment to learning about other cultures and understanding one's own culture.