Cultural appropriation is a topic well-discussed in public discourse and theorized in the philosophical literature, however, it remains vastly understudied in psychology. Existing conversations center on whether cultural appropriation even exists, how it is defined, and if there are psychological and social impacts of being appropriated. No research to date has integrated lay perspectives and examined personal responses to cultural appropriation. The current dissertation aims to address this gap by applying an empirical and psychological perspective to cultural appropriation. Chapter 1 theorizes that cultural appropriation is a form of oppression which can shape the psychology of the individuals whose cultures are appropriated. Chapter 2 is a qualitative study designed to advance the theory of cultural appropriation by revealing how lay people define cultural appropriation. Within that chapter, I identified the defining elements of cultural appropriation, the recurring impacts of cultural appropriation, and the common real-life manifestations of cultural appropriation in people’s lay theories. Chapter 3 is a quantitative study designed to examine the causal impacts of cultural appropriation on Black Americans. Across the two studies in Chapter 3, emotional wellbeing (positive and negative affect) was negatively impacted by cultural appropriation whereas self-esteem and depression yielded no effects. The impacts of cultural appropriation on life satisfaction and anxiety were inconsistent across the two studies. Together, these methods and approaches offer a better conceptual and psychological understanding of cultural appropriation.

Creator

• Sanchez, Sirenia

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-rpnm-6n11

Subject

• Social psychology

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• etdadmin_upload_985398
• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:16556

Keyword

• cultural appropriation
• lay theories
• wellbeing

Date created

• 2023-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright