The collectivistic nature of ethnic identity development among Asian-American college students.
Current theories of ethnic identity oversimplify the development process by failing to recognize the malleability of identity within its social context, a conceptualization of self that is particularly relevant for Asian-Americans. Further, these theories tend to view identity in static, deterministic terms, despite social psychology data suggesting that identity is a dynamic ongoing process. Data were analyzed from a sample of 87 Asian-American undergraduates, using the Ethnic Identity Development Exercise (EIDE). While many theories suggest that ethnic identity development is predominantly an internal, intro-psychic process, our data indicate that Asian-Americans are largely influenced by relationships and external forces. In addition, the avoidance of shame was found to be a strong motivating factor in determining their ethnic identification. Thus, ethnic identification theories must acknowledge the malleable and collectivistic nature of ethnic identity development among Asian-Americans. Three theoretical frameworks of research on ethnic identity are reviewed and summarized: identity formation, social identity, and acculturation.
Yeh
C J
CJ
Stanford School of Education, Stanford University, California 94305-3096, USA.
Huang
K
K
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012752:Shame; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students