Centre for the Study of Group Processes, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NP.
Psychol Bull. 2011 Mar;137(2):242-66. doi: 10.1037/a0021840.
Diversity is a defining characteristic of modern society, yet there remains considerable debate over the benefits that it brings. The authors argue that positive psychological and behavioral outcomes will be observed only when social and cultural diversity is experienced in a way that challenges stereotypical expectations and that when this precondition is met, the experience has cognitive consequences that resonate across multiple domains. A model, rooted in social categorization theory and research, outlines the preconditions and processes through which people cognitively adapt to the experience of social and cultural diversity and the resulting cross-domain benefits that this brings. Evidence is drawn from a range of literatures to support this model, including work on biculturalism, minority influence, cognitive development, stereotype threat, work group productivity, creativity, and political ideology. The authors bring together a range of differing diversity experiences and explicitly draw parallels between programs of research that have focused on both perceiving others who are multicultural and being multicultural oneself. The findings from this integrative review suggest that experiencing diversity that challenges expectations may not only encourage greater tolerance but also have benefits beyond intergroup relations to varied aspects of psychological functioning.
多样性是现代社会的一个显著特征，但关于它所带来的好处仍存在很大争议。作者认为，只有当社会和文化多样性以挑战刻板印象的方式被体验时，才会观察到积极的心理和行为结果；而当满足这一前提条件时，这种体验会产生认知后果，在多个领域产生共鸣。一个扎根于社会分类理论和研究的模型概述了人们通过何种认知过程来适应社会和文化多样性的体验，以及由此带来的跨领域的好处。该模型得到了一系列文献的支持，包括关于文化双性恋、少数群体影响、认知发展、刻板印象威胁、工作群体生产力、创造力和政治意识形态的研究。作者汇集了一系列不同的多样性体验，并明确地将关注多元文化他人知觉和自身多元文化体验的研究计划进行了类比。这一综合回顾的结果表明，体验具有挑战性的多样性不仅可能鼓励更大的宽容，而且对心理功能的各个方面也有超越群体关系的好处。
