Shifting Selves-The (In)flexibility of Part-White Mixed-Race Identities in Response to Identity Rejection and Acceptance.

Abstract

This study explores identity shifts among part-White mixed-race individuals in response to identity acceptance and rejection. Two experiments (N = 256 and N = 337) examined how such experiences influence the strength of White, Minoritized, and Mixed identification. Participants recalled and described an experience of acceptance or rejection from a racial-ethnic ingroup. We assessed White, Minoritized, and Mixed identification both weeks before and immediately after this manipulation. Results consistently showed that participants increased identification with an accepting ingroup but did not decrease identification with a rejecting ingroup. Furthermore, changes in one identification did not correspond to complementary changes in another. These findings challenge the assumption that identity shifts follow a hydraulic zero-sum pattern, implying a more complex and fluid process. Our research advances understanding of identity dynamics of mixed-race individuals with one White and one Minoritized parent and suggests that models should be refined to account for non-compensatory identity changes.