We, Them, and Us: An Application of the Dual Identity Model and Active Categorisation Facilitating Intercultural Interactions

In times of globalisation, cultural diversity in society increases. It is important to manage diversity effectively in order to reduce the negative effects associated with it and to facilitate the corresponding benefits. The major aim of this thesis was to investigate how social interactions between individuals can be facilitated in multicultural contexts. The potential of the Dual Identity Model (DIM) as the basis of an intervention tool to increase social inclusion and target implicit cultural attitudes without inducing backlash was explored. The DIM suggests that identifying on a superordinate, inclusive level and a subordinate level simultaneously can reduce bias between the subordinate groups without inducing identity threat. This thesis proposes that this mechanism of the DIM 1) highlights the importance of identifying with a group whilst feeling safe in one's own individuality, thus facilitating social inclusion, and 2) affects implicit processes. Adopting the DIM and combining insights from psychology and gamification, an innovative and entertaining behavioural intervention was developed to facilitate intercultural interactions: the Cultural Commonalities Memory Game (CCMG). The CCMG encourages participants to actively categorise dual identities through (re)categorising on a superordinate level, whilst being exposed to their own culture. Experimental studies test the efficacy of this intervention against two control games and find that the CCMG can increase implicit cultural closeness and intercultural cooperation without inducing backlash. These results indicate that this approach can affect implicit processes and social inclusion without inducing identity threat. Hence, the CCMG can help to bring people in a globalised world closer together and to harmonise intercultural interactions-and this without losing one's own identificatory elements and values.<p></p>