Relationship Between Ethnic Essentialism and Psychological Compatibility: Roles of Ethnic Identity and Self-Construal.

We examined the impact of ethnic essentialism on psychological compatibility among minority and Han Chinese college students and investigated the roles of ethnic identity and self-construal. A moderated mediator analysis was used and a multigroup comparison of the moderated mediator model across ethnic groups was conducted. The results indicate that ethnic essentialism significantly and negatively predicts psychological compatibility. Ethnic identity acts as a competitive mediator between ethnic essentialism and psychological compatibility, partially weakening the negative predictive effect of ethnic essentialism on psychological compatibility. Higher levels of ethnic identity lessen the negative impact of ethnic essentialism on psychological compatibility. Individuals with high independent and interdependent self-construal show higher levels of ethnic identity when their ethnic essentialism is strong. Under conditions of high ethnic identity, both high independent and high interdependent self-construal individuals exhibit significantly higher levels of psychological compatibility. In addition, ethnic differences were found in the moderated mediation model regardless of whether the moderating variable was independent or interdependent self-construal. These findings suggest that stronger beliefs in ethnic essentialism are associated with lower levels of psychological compatibility.