Multiracial individuals report that the social pressure of having to “choose” one of their racial groups is a primary source of psychological conflict. Yet because of their ability to maneuver among their multiple identities, multiracials also adopt flexible cognitive strategies in dealing with their social environments—demonstrating a benefit to having multiple racial identities. The current article reviews recent research involving multiracial participants to examine the behavioral and cognitive outcomes linked to being multiracial and pinpoints possible moderators that may affect these outcomes. Limitations in applying monoracial identity frameworks to multiracial populations are also discussed.
ChengC. Y.LeeF. (2009). (See References). This article discusses identity conflict within the multiracial demographic while also proposing a new construct, the Multiracial Identity Integration Scale, to measure individual differences regarding racial identification.
2.
GaitherS. E.SommersS. R.AmbadyN. (2013). (See References). This article is the first experimental work to demonstrate how priming one racial identity over the other with biracial populations affects how they socially interact and behave in different interracial settings.
3.
RockquemoreK. A.BrunsmaD. L.DelgadoD. J. (2009). (See References). This article is a comprehensive, highly accessible overview of what is known about the difficulty of constructing one theory for all multiracial identity options.
4.
ShihM.SanchezD. T. (2005). (See References). This article reviews previous literature regarding psychological and well-being outcomes for multiracial populations by highlighting the positive and negative outcomes of having multiple racial identities.
5.
AxtJ. R.EbersoleC. R.NosekB. A. (2014). The rules of implicit evaluation by race, religion, and age. Psychological Science, 25, 1804–1815. doi:10.1177/0956797614543801
6.
BinningK. R.UnzuetaM. M.HuoY. J.MolinaL. E. (2009). The interpretation of multiracial status and its relation to social engagement and psychological well-being. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 35–49. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01586.x
7.
BonamC. M.ShihM. (2009). Exploring multiracial individuals’ comfort with intimate interracial relationships. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 87–103. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01589.x
8.
BrunsmaD. L.RockquemoreK. A. (2001). The new color complex: Appearances and biracial identity. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 1, 225–246. doi:10.1207/S1532706XID0103_03
ChengC. Y.LeeF. (2009). Multiracial identity integration: Perceptions of conflict and distance among multiracial individuals. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 51–68. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01587.x
11.
ChiaoJ. Y.HeckH. E.NakayamaK.AmbadyN. (2006). Priming race in biracial observers affects visual search for Black and White faces. Psychological Science, 17, 387–392. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01717.x
12.
ChiongJ. (1998). Racial categorization of multiracial children in schools. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
GaitherS. E.ChenE.CorriveauK.HarrisP.AmbadyN.SommersS. R. (2014). Monoracial and biracial children: Effects of racial identity saliency on social learning and social preferences. Child Development. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/cdev.12266
15.
GaitherS. E.PaukerK.JohnsonS. P. (2012). Biracial and monoracial infant own-race face perception: An eye tracking study. Developmental Science, 15, 775–782. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01170.x
16.
GaitherS. E.RemediosJ. D.SchultzJ. R.SommersS. R. (in press). Priming White identity elicits stereotype boost for biracial Black/White individuals. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.
17.
GaitherS. E.SommersS. R.AmbadyN. (2013). When the half affects the whole: Priming identity for biracial individuals in social interactions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 368–371. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.12.012
18.
GaskinsP. (1999). What are you? Voices of mixed-race young people. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
19.
HitlinS.BrownJ. S.ElderG. H. (2006). Racial self-categorization in adolescence: Multiracial development and social pathways. Child Development, 77, 1298–1308. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00935.x
20.
HoA. K.SidaniusJ.LevinD. T.BanajiM. R. (2011). Evidence for hypodescent and racial hierarchy in the categorization and perception of biracial individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 492–506. doi:10.1037/a0021562
21.
JohnsonK. L.FreemanJ. B.PaukerK. (2012). Race is gendered: How covarying phenotypes and stereotypes bias sex categorization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 1–16. doi:10.1037/a0025335
22.
KerwinC.PonterottoJ. G.JacksonB. L.HarrisA. (1993). Racial identity in biracial children: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 40, 221–231. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.40.2.221
23.
LickelB.HamiltonD. L.WieczorkowskaG.LewisA.ShermanS. J.UhlesA. N. (2000). Varieties of groups and the perception of group entitativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 223–246. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.223
24.
MaddoxK. B.GrayS. A. (2002). Cognitive representations of Black Americans: Reexploring the role of skin tone. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 250–259. doi:10.1177/0146167202282010
25.
MorrisonJ. (1995). Developing identity formation and self-concept in preschool-aged biracial children. Early Child Development and Care, 111, 141–152. doi:10.1080/0300443951110110
26.
PaukerK.AmbadyN. (2009). Multiracial faces: How categorization affects memory at the boundaries of race. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 69–86. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01588.x
27.
PaukerK.AmbadyN.FreemanJ. B. (2013). The power of identity to motivate face memory in biracial individuals. Social Cognition, 31, 780–791. doi:10.1521/soco.2013.31.6.780
28.
RemediosJ. D.ChasteenA. L. (2013). Finally, someone who “gets” me! Multiracial people value others’ accuracy about their race. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19, 453–460. doi:10.1037/a0032249
29.
RennK. A. (2000). Patterns of situational identity among biracial and multiracial college students. The Review of Higher Education, 23(4), 399–420.
30.
RoccasS.BrewerM. B. (2002). Social identity complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 88–106. doi:0.1207/S15327957PSPR0602_01
31.
RockquemoreK. A. (2002). Negotiating the color line: The gendered process of racial identity construction among Black/White biracial women. Gender & Society, 16, 485–503. doi:10.1177/0891243202016004005
32.
RockquemoreK. A.BrunsmaD. L. (2002). Socially embedded identities: Theories, typologies, and processes of racial identity among Black/White biracials. The Sociological Quarterly, 43, 335–356. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.2002.tb00052.x
33.
RockquemoreK. A.BrunsmaD. L.DelgadoD. J. (2009). Racing to theory or retheorizing race? Understanding the struggle to build a multiracial identity theory. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 13–34. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01585.x
34.
SanchezD. T.BonamC. (2009). To disclose or not to disclose biracial identity: The effect of biracial disclosure on perceiver evaluations and target responses. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 129–149. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01591.x
35.
SanchezD. T.ShihM.GarciaJ. A. (2009). Juggling multiple racial identities: Malleable racial identification and psychological well-being. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15, 243–254. doi:10.1037/a0014373
36.
SebringD. L. (1984). Considerations in counseling interracial children. Journal of Non-White Concerns, 13, 3–9. doi:10.1002/j.2164-4950.1984.tb00308.x
37.
ShihM.BonamC.SanchezD.PeckC. (2007). The social construction of race: Biracial identity and vulnerability to stereotypes. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13, 125–133. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.13.2.125
38.
ShihM.SanchezD. T. (2005). Perspectives and research on the positive and negative implications of having multiple racial identities. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 569–591. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.4.569
39.
ShihM.SanchezD. T. (2009). When race becomes even more complex: Toward understanding the landscape of multiracial identity and experiences. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 1–11. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01584.x
40.
SteeleC. M.AronsonJ. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797–811. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797
41.
TajfelH.TurnerJ. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In AustinW. G.WorchelS. (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
42.
TownsendS. S. M.FrybergS. A.WilkinsC. L.MarkusH. R. (2012). Being mixed: Who claims a biracial identity?Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18, 91–96. doi:10.1037/a0026845
43.
TownsendS. S. M.MarkusH. R.BergsiekerH. B. (2009). My choice, your categories: The denial of multiracial identities. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 185–204. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01594.x
44.
TwineF. W. (1996). Brown skinned White girls: Class, culture and the construction of White identity in suburban communities. Gender, Place and Culture, 3, 205–224. doi:10.1080/09663699650021891
WilkinsC. L.KaiserC. R.RieckH. M. (2010). Detecting racial identity: The role of phenotypic prototypicality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 1029–1034. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2010.05.017
