Social psychology (psychology)/Tutorials/Cross-cultural training/Cultural identity

Cultural identity
Purpose: This exercise is designed to help individuals identify cultural influences on their personal identity.


 * What is cultural identity?
 * Ask individuals to draw a concept map of their cultural identity e.g.,
 * indicate group memberships,
 * use size/colour to highlight the overlay between one's cultural groupings/shadings.
 * Cultural groupings may fall along ethnic/racial lines, but also encourage students to consider other cultures/sub-cultures which they may identify with, e.g.,
 * youth culture vs. older people's culture
 * online vs. offline culture
 * rural vs. city
 * skateboarding culture
 * church culture, etc.
 * Allow 5 to 10 minutes for individual concept mapping
 * In small groups (3 to 4), allow 10 to 15 minutes for participants to share, explain, and possibly modify their maps by sharing them with one another.
 * Optional: Ask students to consider what "saliency" is and how it influences cultural identity.
 * This should hopefully lead to discussion about fluidity/dynamic nature of cultural identity, i.e., that it changes with situational and cognitive circumstance.
 * Note: Relates to Blog 1 Social Self