Multiculturalism in Psychology

The presence of cultural diversity has been there for over a long time. In the 21^st century, societies are still diverse as some countries have mixtures of individuals belonging to different races, religious affiliations, and linguistic backgrounds as well. According to political contemporary theorists, the phenomenon of the coexistence of different cultures in the same zone is referred to as multiculturalism. It is hence right to conclude that multiculturalism exists where different cultures live together. Some kind of policy aiming to protect cultural diversity may also be referred to as multiculturalism. The paper discusses the effects that multiculturalism has on culture.

Prejudice and Stereotypes

Research on stereotyping and prejudice in social psychology has brought about understanding in the links between personal recognition, discriminatory behaviors, and prejudice focused on some groups. This provides some essential cornerstone to the psychology of multiculturalism. In relation to contact, hypothesis prejudice comes from minimal contacts with other groups other than an individual's (Mena & Rogers 2017). More contact helps minimize such prejudice. The conditions of the interaction contacts also determine the levels of prejudice that may occur. Stigmatization of some groups leads to the development of anxiety that may negatively affect the performance. Stigmatized groups such as the low-income earners and one’s color of skin determine the likelihood of one feeling neglected. Some people feel the pressure of trying to balance between fitting in a particular group or even belonging to the group whereby one tries to stand out from the rest. The attraction towards a certain group is not an automatic desire to repel a given other group.

Multiculturalism has a huge impact on the psychology of a given race. As a result, these people try to do whatever possible to fit another group that is perceived to be more accomplished. In the development of the white racial identity, status includes racism as a key factor of growth, originating from being unaware regarding a given race and thus racism arises from white superiority (Malone et al., 2016). Comprehending racial identity is essential to aid mental professionals to put their focus on the issue that play important roles while addressing issues. There have been relationships between people who got psychological variations but are mutually capable. In other situations multiculturalism causes sophistications in terms of identities causing some people to have low self-esteem, psychological distresses and depression as well.

This may be as a result of variations in terms of the manner in which a race expresses itself. Focusing on multiracials helps to understand people's traditions. However, it is in itself not sufficient to help distinguish the tastes that exist between mixed races.

Acculturation

Due to the increasing diversity in the US and other modern societies, acculturation is key to help comprehend the psychology of multiculturalism. This is the process that causes a people's culture to change on interacting with another one (Jones et al., 2016). In some other situations, racial groups go through acculturation when the dominant culture fails to include numerous racial groups existing in the US. For instance, the majority of African Americans undergo acculturation as they grow up in black communities and when they attend schools that operate under the settings of the White people.

Even though a lot of research regarding multicultural psychology emphasizes on ethnicity and race, some other people bring in the aspect of gender into the issue. Bold public measures ought to be taken so as to accommodate cultural diversities. This is the only way out to bridge the gap between different races and ethnic groups.