Abstract:
In the face of rapid globalization, many individuals are being exposed to multiple cultural traditions and practices. Although multiple cultural exposures have been shown to have beneficial effects (such as enhancing cultural frame switching and creativity), it could also threaten individuals’ own cultural identity. To understand the interplay between these two opposing consequences, I will delineate the concepts of Multicultural Mind and Multicultural Self. Multicultural mind entails acquiring and applying knowledge of new cultures. This process could benefit creativity and even reduce prejudice and discrimination. By contrast, multicultural self entails using cultural traditions to define the self, a process that could lead to negative reactions toward new cultures if individuals endorse racial essentialism (believing that race has biological essence rather than it is a social construction). In my talk, I will first present empirical findings of multicultural mind and multicultural self, and then discuss the latest extension to cultural mixing and cultural attachment.