Abstract
Identity salience hierarchy is the idea that individuals hold their important identities on a metaphorical scale—activating them when the right situation calls for it. Moreover, the hierarchy is related to the notion of commitment, otherwise defined as the number of people and meaningful relationships associated with an identity. For most college students, their salience hierarchy shifts over time as their commitment to the student identity typically increases. When a shift in hierarchy occurs, there is a transformation in identity. However, for racial, ethnic, and religious minority students, their capacity to develop an identity independent of their minority background raises questions about how their salience may or may not have shifted during their college experience. This thesis investigates the intersection of identity salience hierarchy, minority college students, and the college environment through in-depth interviews of former minority college students. The findings of the study identify the major junctures that minority students experienced that shaped their identity salience, in addition to analyzing distinctions across minority groups.
Advisor
Dennis Waskul
Committee Member
Saiful Islam
Committee Member
Kyle Ward
Date of Degree
2022
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Program of Study
Sociology: College Teaching Emphasis
College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Mohamed, N. A. (2022). Identity dynamics of minority college students [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1241/
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