How do Chinese American biculturals—individuals who identify with both Chinese and American cultures—negotiate between their cultural identities in response to contextual cues? The present study examines how the valence of cultural cues in the environment moderates the way Chinese Americans shift between multiple cultural identities and induces them to exhibit different in-group favoritism toward Chinese and American groups. We found that when exposed to positive cultural cues, Chinese American biculturals who perceive their cultural identities as compatible (high bicultural identity integration or high BII) exhibited a cultural assimilation effect and showed more in-group favoritism toward the primed cultural group, while biculturals who perceive their cultural identities as conflicting (low BII) exhibited a cultural contrast effect and showed less in-group favoritism toward the primed cultural group. The opposite was true for negative cultural cues. We argue that both high and low BIIs can exhibit ingroup favoritism toward Chinese and American groups, depending on how cultural cues correspond with their past bicultural experiences. These findings have implications on management of people who encounter both Chinese and American cultures as well as people with multiple social identities.
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