Objective diversity only shapes identity if individuals subjectively experience 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 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Contextual diversity alone cannot shape identity without individuals subjectively experiencing it. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 553; Identity is internally mediated by the non-identical — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1223

Broader Connections

• Contextual diversity alone cannot shape identity without individuals subjectively experiencing it. #corroborates (0.95) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 553