Mixed-identity individuals shift ingroup identification according to which dimension holds higher status

Evidence

Within a given situation, Mixed individuals may, for example, increase identification with the higher status ingroup and decrease or avoid identification with the lower status ingroup. This may include internal identification processes as well as public self-stereotyping and -distancing behaviours (such as adapting behaviours or appearances). Because the outcome of the intergroup comparison depends on the situationally salient comparison dimension, this may result in context-dependent identity shifting. For example, when athleticism is the situationally relevant comparison dimension, a Black/Asian Mixed individual might identify more strongly with being Black and distance themselves from being Asian because the Black group is stereotypically assigned higher relative status on this dimension. If, however, intellectual ability is situationally relevant, the same individual may identify more strongly with being Asian and distance themselves from the Black group, because here the Asian group is stereotypically assigned higher relative status. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 73

Within a given situation, Mixed individuals may, for example, increase identification with the higher status ingroup and decrease or avoid identification with the lower status ingroup. This may include internal identification processes as well as public self-stereotyping and -distancing behaviours (such as adapting behaviours or appearances). Because the outcome of the intergroup comparison depends on the situationally salient comparison dimension, this may result in context-dependent identity shifting. For example, when athleticism is the situationally relevant comparison dimension, a Black/Asian Mixed individual might identify more strongly with being Black and distance themselves from being Asian because the Black group is stereotypically assigned higher relative status on this dimension. If, however, intellectual ability is situationally relevant, the same individual may identify more strongly with being Asian and distance themselves from the Black group, because here the Asian group is stereotypically assigned higher relative status. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 79

Categorization

• XREF: Directly feeds the reader’s question: homogenizing/positioning pressures on mixed-identity members. The status-driven identity shifting mechanics undergird why such members may strategically ally with one category per context. — connects to: Identity analyses should combine multiple dimensions rather than foreground one — Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall, Identity and Interaction: A…, 113; Mixed identities involve ambiguously crossing mutually exclusive categories within a single social domain — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 15; Intergroup and intragroup context boundaries blur for mixed-identity individuals — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 56 (+12 more)
• SEED: Angle: protective-solidarity pressure and mixed individuals’ strategic position-arbitrage — how they navigate being recruited by two categories at once by shifting along salient dimensions.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 73; Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 79

Broader Connections

• Constructivist mixed individuals shift identification toward higher-status groups for personal gain. #expands (0.85) — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 88
• Mixed individuals shift identification within a single social domain. #complicates (0.80) — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 79
• Ingroup identity salience is historically contingent, not psychologically fixed #expands (0.80) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2191
• Identity denial may make mixed-race people shift identification to a different ingroup #expands (0.78) — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 119
• Ingroup-outgroup pairing, not either alone, drives identity shifts #expands (0.75) — Brandon Randolph-Seng, Darcy A. Reich, and Kenneth G. DeMarree, On the Nonconscious Antecedents of…, 50
• Identity salience shifts with the scale of the surrounding group #qualifies (0.72)