Most of the research related to psychotherapy is about modality, treatments and therapeutic outcomes. There is little research on the psychotherapists themselves; their subjective experiences, their preparation or personal development. Personal growth, which leads to a developmental level permitting self-reflection and relational ability, is considered by the psychotherapy profession to be an important aspect of the psychotherapist's education. This hermeneutic study focuses on students' experience of personal growth during a formal psychotherapy educational programme. The core of the thesis is the presentation of the students' lived experience during training. Recent graduates of psychotherapy programmes were interviewed and their accounts include the process of personal growth, in what ways the developmental journey was felt to be supportive and containing, ways graduates feel changed, the impact on their lives during and after the training, and the meanings they ascribe to the experience. The particular growth experiences of Maori graduates are to some degree explored, as are the experiences of psychotherapy teachers who facilitate personal development. Themes emerged from data analysis; personal growth did happen, was felt to be positive, and took place as a journey. The growth process was turbulent, painful, yet resulted in positive outcomes for the graduates. Love and relationship were experienced as the most significant catalyst in promoting growth towards key outcomes. It was felt that bicultural learning activities enhanced and supported growth for Maori and non-Maori. The nature and complexity of love is discussed; including the place of love in personal change, psychotherapy and psychotherapy training. The discomfort commonly experienced in the profession around describing the therapeutic relationship as one involving love is highlighted. Possible reasons are given for this, for not using the word love in psychotherapy. Implications for psychotherapy education arising from the research are presented; with questions about, and recommendations for, facilitating personal growth, and the utilisation of love in a more open and conscious manner as a part of psychotherapy training. Currently most preparation of psychotherapists occurs in mainstream academic institutions, with a movement in the profession towards more formal qualifications. It is a challenge for educators and students alike to continue to include in traditional academic structures and processes what is felt to be the essence of psychotherapy; love and relationship, the practice of which requires high levels of personal development.

This research posits art as an encounter, an encounter between the conceptual worlds of artists and of viewers. It acclaims the respective art skills within the marae (communal meeting place) named Tangatarua at Waiariki Institute of Technology, Rotorua. Tangatarua Marae is a place of bicultural encounter. This writing includes readers in the social relations of this encounter. This is a qualitative study that uses an interpretive epistemology to examine some of the art forms of Tangatarua. My focus is on micronarratives - that is, on intimate, improvised meanings generated by some of the small artworks. These reference and affirm the symbolism of the carvings but are less visible due to their lesser scale and interstitial placement within the interior architecture. They are rendered more visible through the phenomenological detail of participant accounts as well as the positivism of a formalist critique. I posit art as a dialogical activity, inseparable from the phenomenological conditions that precede and inform it, and inseparable from the emergent meaning that is forged at its encounter. I contend that the collaborative mode of art production within Tangatarua embodies this dialogical model. I amplify some of the tangible art forms of Tangatarua by dismantling the intangible discursive forms that have impinged on them. These include aspects of the political context of the establishment of the marae, Waiariki Institute of Technology’s bicultural framework, and the pedagogy of its Art School. My writing is underpinned by a participatory paradigm acknowledging my situatedness as an artist participant within Tangatarua, a woman of Ngai Tahu descent, and art tutor at Waiariki Institute of Technology. This study similarly acknowledges the multifaceted, experiential transactions between those artists whose small collective gestures have informed and transformed the interior of Tangatarua.

Cette thèse explore le rôle de multiculturels dans les multinationales. Les multiculturels sont connus pour leur compétence et leur potentiel culturels susceptibles de contribuer à l’efficacité d’une organisation. Peu d’études à ce jour ont examiné les multiculturels dans les multinationales et pratiquement aucune recherche n’a essayé de comprendre le rôle des multiculturels dans la facilitation d’un processus de travail d’équipe efficace. En vue d’étudier un phénomène qui n’a pas été suffisamment scruté, cette dissertation a mobilisé un travail de terrain ethnographique dans deux multinationales importantes sur une période de 10 mois. Elle étudie les rôles de multiculturels dans des équipes mondiales en se référant à trois contextes : (1) la compétence multiculturelle et son impact sur l’efficacité de l’équipe ; (2) comment les multiculturels influencent les processus de travail d’équipe ; (3) en quoi et comment des facteurs liés au contexte affectent l’aptitude des multiculturels à jouer des rôles. / This dissertation explores multiculturals in global corporations. To date, limited research helps us understand the role of multicultural individuals in facilitating the effective functioning of global teams. To investigate this under-examined phenomenon, this dissertation presents the first empirical study of the roles of multiculturals in organizations by facilitating 10-month ethnographic field work in two MNCs: a leading cosmetic MNC and an auditing and consulting MNC. This dissertation comprises three papers. The first paper develops the theoretical model of bicultural competence and its impact on multicultural team effectiveness. I define bicultural competence, determine its antecedents, and identify two roles that bi/multiculturals might play in promoting multicultural team effectiveness: boundary spanner and conflict mediator. The second paper examines multiculturals’ cultural brokerage role for team work processes in global new product development teams: how multiculturals influence teams’ knowledge processes and handle cross-cultural conflicts (not only collocated but also virtual between corporate headquarters and local subsidiaries). Multiculturals play a critical role that influence knowledge processes and cross-cultural conflict management within global teams where cultural and national heterogeneity seems more complicated than organizational researchers have recognized to date. The third paper investigates boundary conditions and how they impact multiculturals to enact their roles. I compare and contrast multiculturals in two MNCs in different industries. In particular, I identify boundary conditions that have impact on multiculturals in three levels of analysis: organizational; team; individual. Furthermore, I propose what factors challenge or enable multiculturals and accordingly, how multiculturals overcome challenges and use given opportunities in order to perform effectively or yield such challenges in organizations

This thesis examines the antecedents of felt ethnicity (i.e. how one feels towards one’s ethnic identity) within a sample of bicultural individuals living in Hawaii, and secondly investigates the relationship between felt ethnicity and purchasing intentions for products in two different categories, which are hedonic (e.g. emphasizing being able to enjoy the usage of a product such as a LouisVuitton handbag) and utilitarian (e.g. emphasizing the functionality of a product such as a pen or a notepad). The investigations consider conceptual and measurement issues surrounding the concept of felt ethnicity, the effects of ethnic-related brand names in priming different aspects of identity, and effects on biculturals’ product evaluation and purchasing intentions. The investigation draws upon theories of social identity and distinctiveness, and examines situational attributes such as whether the intended purchase is for friends or family members. This study consisted of a three-way experimental design experiment from a laboratory setting to examine the relationship among biculturals’ felt ethnicity, language cues and product types on purchasing intentions. A 2 felt ethnicity (Japanese and Japanese-American) x 2 language ethnic primes (Japanese vs. English) x 2 product types (Hedonic vs. Utilitarian) factorial design is featured to explore the role of social situations in the relationship of felt ethnicity and consumption (product preference and purchasing intentions). The sample consisted of 197 Japanese and Japanese-American biculturals; and the findings showed that consumer and product types and language cues are strong influences on product preferences and purchasing intentions. The more specific a bicultural is with his/her felt ethnicity, the clearer is the role of language cues in product preference, product evaluation and purchasing intentions. Social surroundings showed moderating effects between bicultural consumers’ felt ethnicity and purchasing intentions. These findings suggest that the use of language cues from various product types to reinforce their felt ethnicity (self-identity varies in different situations). This study makes a number of important theoretical and managerial contributions. First, this study clarifies the concept of bicultural felt ethnicity in respect of purchasing intentions, and reaffirms the concept of cultural frame switching using language cues as primes. In this way, the thesis presents a new conceptual model and resolves some measurement issues of felt ethnicity and three antecedents: self-acculturated identity, perceived parental identity (how one perceived his/her parents define their ethnic identity), social orientation (degree one socializes with people who of the same or different ethnicity with one’s own ethnic identity). Second, the findings suggest that felt ethnicity can be used as a tool to investigate biculturals in a global market and to facilitate market segmenting and communication. Finally, limitations of the thesis are recognised and direction for future research is proposed.

Existing research has supported mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as an efficacious intervention for depressive relapse prevention, finding it comparable – if not even more effective at times – to antidepressant medication maintenance and other psychoeducational active control conditions. In light of bicultural populations being under-addressed in previous MBCT research, this study will attempt to examine whether bicultural-specific psychological mechanisms, specifically bicultural self-efficacy, will moderate mindfulness for depressive relapse. It will also examine mindfulness as a determining factor in preventing depressive relapse compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a treatment of comparable design without mindfulness implementation. Seven hundred and forty-seven Asian American participants previously diagnosed with clinical depression will be randomly assigned to undergo MBCT or CBT treatment. Results will indicate that participants undergoing mindfulness training through MBCT will have significantly lowered rates of depressive relapse, compared to participants undergoing CBT training as a control intervention. Bicultural self-efficacy will also act as a moderator for mindfulness, further promoting the effectiveness of mindfulness in MBCT.

abstract: A preliminary critical ethnographic study was conducted to garner Punjabi Sikh U.S. young adults’ understandings and experiences with their cultural, religious, gender, and sexual identity development. Nine participants from King County, Washington were interviewed and engaged in a weeklong self-reflective journal writing activity. This data was then analyzed alongside existing scholarship. This study indicates that participants experience challenges in navigating their bicultural identity, grappling with the historical and present trauma their communities endure. Additionally, to navigate such challenges, Punjabi Sikh U.S. young adults invoke various methods to negotiate their various cultures, identities, and desires, and remain resilient. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Justice Studies 2019

College students are at an increased risk for suicide. The federal government has gone to great lengths to try to implement suicide prevention programs, but few studies have been done to design, implement and assess the effectiveness of the programs. Latinas are at an especially high risk for suicide, and research suggests that interpersonal conflict is a potential risk factor for Latinas' suicidal behavior. Thwarted belongingness, as stated in Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, may be a possible explanation for the higher rates due to the importance placed on interpersonal relationships based on Latino cultural values. Bicultural identity has been linked to better psychological adjustment and possibly well-being, so it will be assessed as well. The proposed study will have Latina college students (N=783) participate in group sessions that allow for the processing of interpersonal problems and learning communication skills to resolve conflicts. They will be asked to fill out measures of belonging, bicultural identity and general well-being. Measures of general well-being will be used as a proxy for suicidal behavior. It is predicted that participant scores of belonging and their well-being will increase following participation. Scores of belonging and well-being are expected to have an inverse linear relationship. Participants’ scores of bicultural identity and belonging will be strong significant predictors of participants’ score of bicultural identity and belonging will predict increases in participants' well-being. Limitations and future research are also discussed.

How one understands their bicultural identity has implications for how one psychologically reacts to discrimination. The three major goals of this thesis were to explore 1) how young adult, bicultural, ethnic minorities understand their cultural identities; 2) how the individual’s understanding of his or her bicultural identity was associated with reactions to real or imagined experiences of discrimination; and 3) the value of the blended/alternating bicultural distinction in understanding bicultural identity and how that might relate to the association between discrimination and well-being. Young adult undergraduates attending a diverse university campus, mainly of East and South Asian background, were interviewed, asked to complete written questionnaires, or asked to participate in an experimental study concerning cultural identity. Results from the three studies of the thesis suggest common themes in participant descriptions of bicultural identity. Results also demonstrate the direct negative effect of discrimination on mood, and suggest that the distinction between understanding one’s bicultural identity as a stable, cohesive blend of two cultures (Blended Biculturalism) vs. as one that switches between two cultural selves (Alternating Biculturalism), may have implications for differential effects of discrimination on psychological well-being. Alternating biculturals in the discrimination condition reported experiencing more negative mood than alternating biculturals in the non-discrimination condition. Blended biculturals did not show this difference. Alternating biculturals in the discrimination condition also reported experiencing more approach thoughts toward their group than alternating biculturals in the non discrimination condition; blended biculturals did not show this difference either, but rather had high levels of approach thoughts in both conditions. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.

As immigrants arrive in a new culture, they must modify their behaviors to adapt to their host society. Through a review of current literature, I will examine the psychological and sociological aspects of immigration and the effects on migrant identity. I will argue that migrants most desire a bicultural identity, in which they retain some elements of their ethno-cultural identity while adopting some values of French society. The construction of a bicultural identity presents a challenge due to the particular philosophical foundations of the French nation-state and French culture. In the next chapter, I will analyze the challenges Senegalese migrants confront as they seek to build a bicultural identity. France’s assimilationist tradition presents an ideological barrier to successful integration and a model which must be examined to understand France’s identity politics. Resulting secondary barriers are evident in France’s social and economic policies, which have an exclusionary impact on immigrants and ethnic minorities. Senegalese migrants comprise a particularly vulnerable minority group in France, and socioeconomic pressures are especially influential on the integration of Senegalese migrants due to religious differences, the practice of polygamy, a high concentration in the service sector, and one the largest average household sizes. I will examine how France’s policies and societal behavior affect Senegalese-migrant identity and integration. In the last chapter, I will examine Senegalese perceptions of France and immigration, which are radically different from the true experiences of Senegalese migrants in France.

How one understands their bicultural identity has implications for how one psychologically reacts to discrimination. The three major goals of this thesis were to explore 1) how young adult, bicultural, ethnic minorities understand their cultural identities; 2) how the individual’s understanding of his or her bicultural identity was associated with reactions to real or imagined experiences of discrimination; and 3) the value of the blended/alternating bicultural distinction in understanding bicultural identity and how that might relate to the association between discrimination and well-being. Young adult undergraduates attending a diverse university campus, mainly of East and South Asian background, were interviewed, asked to complete written questionnaires, or asked to participate in an experimental study concerning cultural identity. Results from the three studies of the thesis suggest common themes in participant descriptions of bicultural identity. Results also demonstrate the direct negative effect of discrimination on mood, and suggest that the distinction between understanding one’s bicultural identity as a stable, cohesive blend of two cultures (Blended Biculturalism) vs. as one that switches between two cultural selves (Alternating Biculturalism), may have implications for differential effects of discrimination on psychological well-being. Alternating biculturals in the discrimination condition reported experiencing more negative mood than alternating biculturals in the non-discrimination condition. Blended biculturals did not show this difference. Alternating biculturals in the discrimination condition also reported experiencing more approach thoughts toward their group than alternating biculturals in the non discrimination condition; blended biculturals did not show this difference either, but rather had high levels of approach thoughts in both conditions. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.