Nigrescence Model of Racial Identity Development Essay -- Psychology

In 1971, William E. screw up, Jr., Ph.D., a B need psychologist and prominent researcher (specializing in Black psychology) developed a framework for assessing how black Americans come to understand what it delegacy to be Black. Dr. peril introduced his ideologies as the Nigrescence Model of Racial Identity Development. He asserts that every black American must undergo a series of individuation stages to develop a healthy and balanced understanding of the Black fellowship and become well-rounded in our global society. This model encompasses five stages of identity element development, which Dr. Cross emphasizes, must be performed in order to successfully follow out this goal. The first stage of Black racial identity development refers to the pre-encounter stage. This depicts the crossroads in life when a black American displays a lack awareness of his/her own race and is uninterested in racial differences (to allow those that affect Blacks). This stage delineates two types of identities, namely the anti-Black and assimilation roll ups. The anti-Black pre-encounter stage represents a cluster of black Americans that take pride in White standards, values, and beliefs they be take hold the White race and culture as emblems of beauty and perfection. These people hold a high level of hatred for the Black race and openly expresses their opinion on the matter. In contrast, the assimilation pre-encounter stage represents a cluster of black Americans that exhibits low salience for being Black. This cluster does not blatantly express hate for the Black race, however, they prefer to identify themselves with being something separate than black Americans. They embrace color blindness and maintain a race-neutral demeanor towards humanity. Whether classified within ... ...of many concepts forwarded by academicians that inaccurately assesses identity development. Dr. Cross conceptualized theories are oversimplified, as they implicate all black Americans as interre lated in their upbringing family structure values systems, beliefs, economic status, level of education, and exposures to racial indifference which is clearly inaccurate. Simplistic models of this sort exclude an individuals experiential background, which provides important variables to consider when assessing ones comprehension of what it means to be black. Further, Dr. Cross model failed to explicate a connection betwixt identity and psychological functions. It is vitally important that we suspend these types conceptual theories that estimate and classify our experiences, and develop accurate psychological theories that encompasses all variables that makes us who we are.