Racial Identity Models

Cross's Nigrescence Model

This is a five-stage racial identity model for African Americans that describes a process of transformation from a negative attitude toward one's own race to a positive one, through racial identity exploration. This model is a basis for many racial identity models.

• 1.
  Preencounter stage. Individuals lack conscious awareness of what race means to them and idealize the dominant European American culture. They attempt to assimilate into European American culture and distance themselves from African American culture.
• 2.
  Encounter. Emotional events, such as experience of discrimination, force them to acknowledge the impact of race on their lives and to question their previous beliefs. Active exploration of racial identity begins.
• 3.
  Immersion/Emersion. They engage in intense immersion in African American culture and idealize it, while withdrawing from and holding anger and hostility toward European American culture. As their anger and hostility subside and a more balanced view toward African American culture develops, they emerge from the intense immersion.
• 4.
  Internalization. Secure and positive internalization of African American identity develops. They become capable of establishing relationships with European Americans while maintaining connections with African American culture.
• 5.
  Internalization-Commitment. Individuals put their attitudes and beliefs about race into action (e.g., political activities to confront racism).

Atkinson, Morten, and Sue's Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model

This is a five-stage model for people of color, including Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Native [Page 394]Americans. It was developed based on Cross's model, and the stages portray changes in attitudes and beliefs regarding self, others of the same ethnic group, others of different ethnic minority groups, and the dominant group.

• 1.
  Conformity. Individuals prefer the dominant culture and have a negative attitude toward their own ethnic group and other ethnic minority groups.
• 2.
  Dissonance. They experience conflict between appreciating and depreciating attitudes for their own group, other ethnic minority groups, and the dominant group.
• 3.
  Resistance and Immersion. They attempt to learn more about their own group's culture and history and develop appreciation toward their group, while rejecting the dominant culture. Their attitudes toward other ethnic minority groups are conflicting.
• 4.
  Introspection. Individuals feel discomfort with their rigid views about groups from the previous stage. They start to feel more comfortable with their racial/cultural identity, and their attention focuses more on individual autonomy.
• 5.
  Synergistic. As a result of resolved conflicts from the previous stage, they experience a sense of accomplishment regarding their racial/cultural identity. Now they have appreciation toward self, their own group, and other ethnic minority groups, and a selective appreciation toward the dominant group.

Helms's People of Color Racial Identity Model

This model was developed based on the above two models, and its structure and conceptualization are similar to them, with slightly different names for some of the statuses. It was developed for people of color and has been applied to many racial/ethnic groups.

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