Contextual diversity alone cannot shape identity without individuals subjectively experiencing it.

Evidence

If we return to our aforementioned example, we may thus imagine the occurrence of a relatively strong fault line defined by two subgroups of lawyers, male white British lawyers and female African American lawyers, respectively. Since three attributes (gender, race, and nationality) align to form a single dividing fault line, this fault line is thought to be relatively stronger than if each of the three attributes had formed three separate fault lines along gender, race, and nationality, respectively. In view of our discussion of social identity complexity, then, one may assume that such fault lines may result in less complex multiple identity structures. It thus becomes questionable whether social diversity, as a purely contextual, macrolevel phenomenon (based, e.g., on the number of different groups or the percentage of diverse others living in a contextual unit), is sufficient to explain variations in social identity complexity without taking into consideration individuals’ subjective experiences of their contextual diversity. Naturally, individuals need to be aware of, and subjectively experience, the diversity of their social environment in some form or other for the environmental context to influence their multiple self-perceptions. Diverse social settings should, then, be seen as opportunities for diverse social experiences and, importantly, for intergroup contact, but it is up to individuals to grasp these opportunities for them to impact on attitudes and other outcomes. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 553

Categorization

• XREF: Complicates the reader’s prior thread: Allport’s contact hypothesis presumed mere exposure may suffice; this says perceived/experienced diversity is a necessary mediating condition. — connects to: Identity cannot be freely chosen because strata, constraints, and history structure it — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 943; Guaranteeing autonomous expression of diverse identities can unify rather than fragment a movement. — Michelle I. Gawerc, Coalition-building and the forging of…, 234
• DEFINE: Introduces the concept of fault lines where aligned attributes strengthen a single dividing line rather than forming separate ones.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 553