Identity and Cultural Diversity: What Social Psychology Can Teach Us

289 Pages·2013·2.514 MB·English

by  Maykel Verkuyten

Identity and Cultural Diversity
Identity and Cultural Diversity examines immigration and its effect on diversity
from a social psychological perspective. Immigration increases cultural diversity
and raises difficult questions of belonging, adaptation, and the unity of societies:
questions of identity may be felt by people struggling with the basic problem of
who they are and where they fit in, and although cultural diversity can enrich
communities and societies it also sometimes leads to a new tribalism, which
threatens democracy and social cohesion.
The author Maykel Verkuyten considers how people give meaning to the fact
that they belong to ethnic, racial, religious and national groups, and the implications
this can have for social cohesion. The opening chapters consider the nature of
social identity and group identification, and include discussions of identity
development in adolescence, acculturation, and multiple and dual identities.
Verkuyten then considers one of the most pernicious social problems: how conflict
emerges from perceiving others as different. He examines when and why group
distinctions grow into conflicts and considers the role of cultural diversity beliefs,
such as multiculturalism and assimilation. The book concludes by exploring
productive ways of managing cultural diversity.
Written in an engaging style, Identity and Cultural Diversity will be essential
reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of social and cultural
psychology and other social sciences, and it also makes key themes in social
psychology accessible to a wider audience outside academia.
Maykel Verkuyten is Professor at the Department of Migration and Ethnic
Relations in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Utrecht University,
The Netherlands. He is Academic Director of the European Research Centre on
Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER).
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Identity and
Cultural Diversity
What social psychology can teach us
Maykel Verkuyten
This edition published 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Routledge
The right of Maykel Verkuyten to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Verkuyten, M.
Identity and cultural diversity : what social psychology can teach us /
Maykel Verkuyten.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cultural pluralism. 2. Multiculturalism. 3. Immigrants--Cultural
assimilation. 4. Nationalism. 5. Group identity. 6. Ethnicity.
7. Emigration and immigration--Social aspects. I. Title.
HM1271.V478 2014
305.8--dc23
2013004667
ISBN: 978-1-84872-120-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-84872-121-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-71014-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Contents
List of figures vii
Acknowledgements viii
1 The quest for identity and solidarity 1
2 A jellyfish on the beach: about identity 28
3 Ethnic discrimination and social validation 67
4 Identity development and duality 87
5 Blue and brown eyes 114
6 Multicultural recognition 157
7 A shared sense of ‘we’ 188
8 Conclusion: a way forward 222
Notes 232
References 237
Index 270
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List of figures
2.1 Three models for the role of group identification in the
relationship between out-group threat and the support for
minority rights 52
3.1 A model of the dynamics of ethnic identity 86
4.1 Four identity statuses resulting from the processes of exploration
and commitment 92
4.2 Four acculturation or identity positions 103
5.1 Endorsement of cultural rights by reason for immigration 140
5.2 Positive emotions towards Muslims as a function of their political
acculturation orientation 149
6.1 The endorsement of minority rights by national context and
ethnic group 164
6.2 Self-feelings and ethnic identification for two experimental
conditions (group and individual context) 172
7.1 Ethnic out-group feelings and the – low vs. high – perception of
being one school community 200
7.2 Three models of re-categorization 201
7.3 The degree to which Sunni and Alevi Muslims consider three
Muslim subgroups as typical Muslims 204
7.4 General out-group feelings by out-group labelling 208
Acknowledgements
Over the years at our European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations
(ERCOMER) at Utrecht University, I have had the pleasure of thinking and
working with various people on questions of identity and cultural diversity. I am
grateful for their support, suggestions, contributions, and many stimulating
discussions. Several of them have been involved in particular studies as PhD
students or colleagues, and others have provided invaluable comments and
directions. So thank you, Jochem Thijs, Borja Martinovic, Ali Aslan Yildiz,
Maike Gieling, Anouk Smeekes, Edwin Poppe, Marcel Coenders, Katerina
Pouliasi, Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong, Willem Huijnk, Jellie Sierksma, Thomas de
Vroome, Paul Hindriks, Fenella Fleischmann, Mieke Maliepaard, Anke
Munniksma, and Jeroen Weesie. A special word of thanks goes to Louk
Hagendoorn for his more than 20 years of support and interest in my work and for
carefully reading a draft version of this book. Another word of thanks is for Anne-
Linde Joki, who was involved in the first stages of preparing the manuscript.
Finally, I would like to thank Christel, Wietse, and Ella for their continuous and
indispensable warmth and trust in me.
1 The quest for identity and
solidarity
The theme of identity is on the minds of a lot of people in our country. Not
only among scholars and in political circles, but everywhere. It affects us all.
Therefore it is important that the WRR has investigated this subject. A
difficult job because there are so many dimensions to it. It has been seven
years since I started my personal search for the Dutch identity. I received help
from numerous experts. I had the privilege to meet many people, to see, hear
and taste a lot from the Netherlands. It was a beautiful, rich experience for
which I am enormously grateful. But the Dutch identity, no I did not find that.
The Netherlands are: large windows without curtains so that everyone can
look inside, but also valuing privacy and cosiness. The Netherlands are: only
one cookie with coffee, but also enormous hospitality and warmth. The
Netherlands are: sobriety and moderation, pragmatism, but also experiencing
intense emotions together. So the Netherlands is much too many-sided to be
captured in a single cliché. The Dutchman does not exist.
(Princess Maxima, 24 September 2007)
This quote is from a short speech given by the then Princess Maxima on occasion of
the presentation of the report ‘Identification with the Netherlands’ of the Scientific
Council of Government Policy (Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid:
WRR, 2007). The report discusses the meanings, causes, and correlates of Dutch
national identification at a time of growing individualization, globalization, and
migration. Being of Argentinian origin and having married the Dutch crown prince,
the then future queen Maxima seemed the ideal person to give this speech. She is the
most popular member of the royal family and a living example of successful
immigrant integration. She learned the language quickly, visited all regions of the
country, and is regularly seen participating enthusiastically in Dutch traditions and
festivities. But reactions to her speech were not very favourable. In fact there was an
outburst of public outrage and protest. The far right labelled her speech as ‘well-
intended politically correct claptrap’, and some left-wing intellectuals considered
her speech dangerous for social cohesion in society. They also accused her of being
haughty because ‘she was born in Buenos Aires, has lived in New York, and is
landed now in Wassenaar (The Hague)’1 and therefore would not understand that
most people feel connected to one particular place. Others did not so much attack