Rethinking Diversity Ideologies: Critical Multiculturalism and its Implications for Social Justice Issues

Abstract

Social psychologists have long explored how colorblind and multicultural ideologies may improve intergroup relations. Criticisms from an epistemic standpoint of mainstream social psychological research discuss the inconsistencies of the effects/implications of these two ideologies on outcomes related to intergroup relations and prejudice reduction. Criticisms from a variety of critical epistemic perspectives suggest that, despite their antiracist origins, both ideologies have become incorporated into dominant cultural formations that reproduce white normativity, reflect white sensibilities, and serve white power. In light of these problems, education scholars discussed a different ideological approach to diversity, critical multiculturalism, which recognizes the importance of the contribution and participation of marginalized people in social and political domains and challenges oppressions that are perpetuated through dominate norms. In three studies, I examine how critical multiculturalism is a separable construct from multiculturalism, how it differentially predicts issues related to social justice and its effect on social justice policies. White participants (Studies 1 – 3 ) responded to a diversity ideology scale that measured the extent to which they supported each of the diversity ideologies (Studies 1 – 2) including a general social justice policy measure (Study 1) and policies measures relevant to each type of ideology (Study 2). Results showed that although multiculturalism and critical multiculturalism were strongly positively related, critical multiculturalism was consistently a stronger predictor of social justice policies. Finally, participants read one of three diversity ideology passages (Study 3) to examine the effects of the ideologies on policy endorsement. Results showed little effect of the experimental manipulation on policy endorsement. These findings suggest that multiculturalism and critical multiculturalism may be variations of a single multicultural construct, but critical multiculturalism differentially and more strongly predicts social justice policies.