White identity development : a process oriented model for describing the racial consciousness of white Americans.

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes by which White Americans develop a sense of racial identity as members of a racially privileged group in a society that has at its foundation, White racism. As an exploratory study it was designed to address five research objectives, rather than to test a specific hypothesis. These five research objectives were: (1) to review and critique literature on White racial identity; (2) to identify generic principles and processes in selected theories of social identity development; (3) to apply these generic principles as a framework to analyze the self-described experiences of White Americans; (4) to present a description of White identity development stages illustrated by autobiographical data from selected White authors; and (5) to suggest possible uses of the model and to discuss implications of the study for future research. The author presented a conceptual basis for the existence of White identity stages by constructing a model of generic stages that occur in social identity theory. This generic model was developed from sex-role identity and racial identity development theory, and was used as the basis for describing a theory of White racial identity development. Supporting data from these stages was provided by passages excerpted from six autobiographies by White anti-racist activists. The White Identity Development Model described in this study consists of five distinct stages of consciousness and four transition periods that occur between the stages. These stages are named: (1) Lack of Social Consciousness which is characterized by a lack of awareness of racial differences and racism; (2) Acceptance, marked by the acceptance of White racist beliefs and behaviors and the unconscious identification with Whiteness; (3) Resistance, characterized by the rejection of internalized racist beliefs and messages and rejection of Whiteness; (4) Redefinition, marked by the development of a new White identity that transcends racism; (5) Internalization, marked by the integration of the new White identity into all other aspects of the identity and into consciousness and behavior.