WHITE RACIAL IDENTITY MODELS - A CRITIQUE AND ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL

Existing models of White racial identity development (WRID) are challe nged as being deficient in terms of: (a) being based on the oppression -adaptive models of minority identity development, (b) focusing primar ily on attitudes toward racial/ethnic outgroups, not on White identity attitudes; and (c) depicting the process as developmental in nature. An alternative conceptualization, based on the construct of White raci al consciousness, is presented as a more parsimonious explanation for the role of racially oriented attitudes. Three types of unachieved Whi te racial consciousness (avoidant, dependent, and dissonant) are propo sed along with four types of achieved White racial consciousness (domi native, conflictive, reactive, and integrative). Changes in attitudes characteristic of one type to those more representative of another are explained in terms of dissonance reduction. Information is provided r egarding the availability of an assessment device designed to identify the types of White racial consciousness.