I. Social and Cultural Identities: People identify with many groups.
Belonging To these groups helps shape identities and affects communication
to some degree.
a. Gender identity
i.
ii.
iii.
b. Age identity
i.
ii.
iii. Cultures differ in their views on aging, and these
views have repercussion in intercultural communication
1.
c. Racial and ethnic identity
i. Racial identity
1.
2.
3. How people think about race influences the ways in which they
communicate with others
ii. Ethnic identity
1. Def:
2. Dimensions include self-identification, knowledge about the
ethnic culture, and feeling about belonging to a particular ethnic
group
3.
4.
5.
iii. Racial/Ethnic development
1.
2.
3.
d. Physical ability identity
i.
ii.
iii. People with disabilities see themselves as a cultural group
1. Share similar perceptions and communication patterns
2. Nondisabled people are not as aware of the aspect of physical
ability identity
3. Able-bodied and those with disabilities often have difficulty
communicating
a. Able-bodied people often restrict their communication with
people with disabilities and do not make eye contact
b. People with disabilities struggle to communicate a positive
identity; their physical abilities are only a part of their self-identity
e. Religious identity
i.
ii.
1. Religious differences have caused a number of conflicts
iii. Some religious groups communicate through clothing
iv. Others do not mark their members through their clothes, and so
their everyday interactions may not communicate their religious identity
v. In the U.S. religious beliefs are considered private, yet they
still have implications for IC
f. Class identity
i.
ii.
iii.
g. National identity
i. Def:
ii. Our national identity influences the way we look at the world
and the way we communicate with people of other nationalities
h. Regional identity
i.
ii.
i. Personal identity
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
II. Identity development
a. Minority Identity Development
i. Unexamined Identity—
ii. Conformity—
iii. Resistance and separatism—
iv. Integration—
b. Majority Identity Development
i. Stage 1: Unexamined identity—
ii. Stage 2: Acceptance—
iii. Stage 3: Resistance—
iv. Stage 4: Redefintion and reintegration—
c. Characteristics of Whiteness
d. Multiracial Identity
i. Stage 1: Awareness of differentness—
ii. Stage 2: Struggle for acceptance—
iii. Stage 3: Self-acceptance and assertion--
