1. “Who Am I?” Race, Ethnicity and
Identity
Author: Hazel Rose Markus (Professor of
Social Psychology at Stanford University and
Director of Stanford’s Research Center for
Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity)

2. I. Developing an Identity:
• A person’s identity depends on her own view
of herself, but it also depends on others’ view
of her.
• Descartes’ “I think; therefore, I am” modified
by “You think; therefore, I am.”

3. a. Identities Are Where the Self Meets Society
• Identities are only partly a matter of individual choice
(362).
• Developing an identity requires selectivity and allows
for considerable creativity, and to a large extent this
depends on you (362).
• Our identities are, in part, given to us by others. (I am a
sister, wife, and mother).
• Age, gender, race and ethnicity also affect my
experience in the world and thus my identity.
• Identity is simultaneously an individual and collective
project; a mix of personal characteristics and social
roles.

4. b. Identities Are Dynamic
• Who you are at any given moment depends
on where you happen to be and who else is in
that place with you (364).
• People move around from place to place, and
even when they stay in one place, the context
around them changes. Consequently,
identities are always in flux (365).

5. c. Identities Are Unique
• Our social roles do not determine our
identities, nor do our individual characteristics
and choices define us completely. Identity is
complex, dynamic and unique.
• “If a social category matters in a given
community, and if a person claims an
association with this category, or if other
associate her with this category, that category
will have some impact on her behavior” (366).

6. II. The Behavioral Significance of
Identity
•We see reality subjectively. Our identity
influences how we see the world.
•Our identity also affects how we behave. Race
and ethnicity do not determine our
perspective or our behavior, but they are
relevant, interacting with other factors to
affect our perspective and behavior.

7. a. Race and Ethnicity As a Source of Identity
“Whenever someone participates in a group or
community or society, the factors that are
important in how the nation, states, cities,
neighborhoods, families, and schools are
organized will have some influence on who she is,
whether she notices them, and whether she
thinks a particular factor is important to her. If a
category—whether it is race, gender, ethnicity, or
religion—is associated with the distribution of
power, resources, status, respect, knowledge, or
other cultural capital in a particular context, the
category will matter for identity.” (368-369)

8. b. Defining Race and Ethnicity
• The idea that race and ethnicity determine
“inherent qualities that are present and
unchangeable inside a person from birth” is a
“significant misconception” (370).
• The concept of race has not always been with
us: it has developed over time.

9. b. Defining Race and Ethnicity
(continued)
• Race has meant something different than
ethnicity historically.
• The concept of race was used hierarchically.
Characteristics of racial groups have historically
been defined by others. Historically, race has
been presented as a biological reality.
• Ethnicity has been understood to be about
cultural practices that do not imply hierarchy and
people in ethnic groups have often been willing
to claim the characteristics associated with the
group.

10. c. When and How Race and Ethnicity
Matter
Currently, in American society, one finds a great
deal of anxiety around racial and ethnic
identities. Many imagine that these social
distinctions can only be the basis of division and
conflict, and that our individual and societal goal
should be to get beyond these boundaries. Yet,
while racial and ethnic identities can certainly be
the basis of prejudice, discrimination, and
inequality…they can also—and sometimes
simultaneously—be the source of pride,
meaning, motivation, and belongingness. (372)

11. c. When and How Race and Ethnicity
Matter (continued)
• Race and ethnicity influence identity whether
an individual is aware of it and whether or not
the individual claims a racial or ethnic
association.
• When and how these categories influence
identity and behavior depends upon a wide
array of contextual factors. To say that race
and ethnicity influence identity is not the
same as saying they determine behavior.

12. III. Psychological Research on Race and
Ethnicity
A person typically can’t parse experience into
racial and ethnic components. Thus, social
psychologists have employed a variety of
measures that demonstrate how race and
ethnicity can (1) provide frameworks of
meaning, (2) provide motivation for behavior,
and (3) be a source of belongingness.

13. 1)Race and Ethnicity as Frameworks of
Meaning
• Social norms shape whether we see ourselves as
independent or interdependent or some
combination of both.
• Our racial and ethnic contexts are typically
invisible to us but they do provide models of how
to feel, act, and judge what is fair or just, etc.
• Everyone is ethnic. No one way is “natural.”
Everyone’s way is a particular way, and no one
person is “normal” outside of a context.

14. 2) Race and Ethnicity as Motivators for
Behavior
• Some psychological research has shown that in
contexts where racial or ethnic identity is made salient,
motivation and performance are affected.
• Individuals may have a racial or ethnic self-schema or
may be aschematic, but having a dual schema appears
to have the most beneficial correlation to performance,
perhaps because positive representations help the
individual “confront and contest the prevalent negative
stereotypes” (383).
• Being aware of negative stereotypes can also have a
negative affect on one’s performance.

15. 3) Race and Ethnicity as a Source of
Belongingness
We all have a need to feel that we belong. When
our sense of belonging is threatened,
performance can be affected in a variety of ways:
•If you feel unwelcome, you may work harder to
show that you belong,ORyou might be
discouraged and have more difficulty identifying
as a student or a learner.
•If your sense of belonging is fragile but you
believe someone is taking an interest in you, your
performance can be influenced in a positive way.

16. Conclusion
What is clear is that race and ethnicity matter
for identity, regardless of what race or
ethnicity is an element of your identity
because you are always located in a social
context in which those elements have
meaning. To be color-blind or post racial at
this moment in history “is probably an
impossibility” (386).

17. Conclusion
“While it is not possible to live outside the
social-identity-behavior-society cycle, the
cycle itself is the result of human activity over
time. Ultimately, the consequences of the
cycle will depend on how people individually
and collectively make sense of race and
ethnicity and on whether or how they build it
into their worlds” (386).