Mixed-identity members may exit a rejecting group rather than fight for inclusion

Evidence

However, given that Mixed individuals have access to multiple racial–ethnic group memberships, one may alternatively propose that they instead shift their social identification away from the excluding group and towards another racial–ethnic ingroup that is more promising in fulfilling their needs. The reaction to identity denial can thus be a decrease in identification with the denied identity and a complementary increased identification with another racial– ethnic group. It thus seems likely that Mixed individuals may adjust their level(s) of identification in response to identity denial, but the direction may depend on factors such as the perceived likelihood of subsequent acceptance. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 109

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reading purpose: whether homogenizing pressure from an essentialized ingroup falls differently on members who don’t fit the category cleanly — this offers the exiting/defecting response as an alternative to identity reassertion. Connects to exit-voice-loyalty dynamics. — connects to: Conformity pressure cannot explain group-wide perpetration when most members oppose the act — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 325; Mixed-identity individuals cannot pursue collective status mobility without being accepted as group members — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 70; Identity denial may make mixed-race people shift identification to a different ingroup — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 119 (+2 more)
• QUESTION: The ‘perceived likelihood of subsequent acceptance’ as the moderator deserves chase — testable prediction for when mixed members fight (reassert) vs. defect (shift identification away).

Broader Connections

• Identity denial decreases belonging, then increases effort to regain inclusion in the excluding group. #complicates (0.82) — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 108
• 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
• Targets can offset discrimination’s harm by either embracing or rejecting their group #exemplifies (0.75) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1069