Phinney's Ethnic Identity Development

Phinney's Model of Ethnic Identity Development

Jean S. Phinney, PhD

Tenets of the Theory

Lives In

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Los Angeles, California

• Based on Erickson's theory (1968)
• Consistent with Marcia's model (1980)
• Three stage model
• Unexamined Ethnic Identity (Diffusion/Foreclosure)
• Ethnic Identity Search/Moratorium
• Ethnic Identity Achievement

Education

• BA,Foreign Language, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
• PhD,Psychology,University of California, Los Angeles, California

Model

Experience

• Professor Emerita at California State University, Los Angeles
• Developmental Psychologist
• Author
• Fellow of the American Psychological Association
• 20+ years researching identity formation, emphasis on ethnic & cultural identity among minority & immigrant youth

Research Interests

• Ethnic minority adolescents & young adults, focus on ethnic identity & its role in psychological well-being

• Identity formation across ethnic & cultural groups

• Cultural factors in the adjustment of first generation ethnic minority youth in higher education

(Phinney, 1990)

Unexamined Ethnic Identity

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Diffusion/Foreclosure

Definitions

• Feelings not yet explored

• Not seen as being a significant issue in the student's life Diffusion

• Influenced attitudes during childhood Foreclosure

• Marked by disinterest in ethnicity

• Ethnic Identity: May be thought of as an aspect of acculturation, in which the concern is with individuals and how they relate to their own group as a subgroup of the larger society (Phinney, 1990).

• Acculturation: changes in cultural attitudes, values, and behaviors that result from contact between two distinct cultures (Phinney, 1990)

Ethnic Identity Search

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References

Moratorium

American Counseling Association :: PROLibraries.com -

Online Professional Education - Online Conferences - Professional Lectures - Conference Education. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://www.prolibraries.com/counseling/?select=speaker&speakerID=41982

CSLA:Jean S. Phinney - Last updated 1/15/03. (n.d.).

Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://web.calstatela.edu/academic/psych/html/phinney.htm

Phinney, J. (1990). Ethnic Identity in Adolescents and Adults:

Review of Research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499-514.

Phinney, J., & Ong, A. (2007). Conceptualization And Measurement Of Ethnic Identity:

Current Status And Future Directions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(4), 271-281. Retrieved October 30, 2014.

• Become aware exploration

• May have resulted from overt discrimination

• Gradual recognition of "less than" culture

• Marked by disinterest in ethnicity

• Emotional Intensity: anger, mistrust, guilt, embarrassment, etc.

Ethnic Identity Achievement

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Resolve

• Healthy, bicultural identity

• Accept ethnic & racial issues

• Intense emotions confident, more calm

• Accept membership in minority group

• Claim identification, while remaining open to other cultures

Strengths

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• Basis is founded in other widely accepted theories (Erickson & Marcia)

• Applicable to both genders

• Applicable to multiple ethnic groups

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Criticisms

• Linear model: Either the individual is strongly tied to mainstream culture or their minority culture.
• One has to be weakened in order to strengthen the other.

• Phinney believes hers to be two-dimensional
• The traditional/ethnic & the dominant/mainstream cultures can exist independently

• Self-Identification: Beneficial for students, but difficult to articulate in data