The Cost of Being “True to Yourself” for Mixed Selves: Frame Switching Leads to Perceived Inauthenticity and Downstream Social Consequences for Biculturals

TLDR

Biculturals frequently engage in frame switching to adapt to shifting cultural contexts, a practice that can incur social costs and hinder intercultural relations. In three studies (N = 763), frame‑switching biculturals were judged as inauthentic and consequently less likable, trustworthy, warm, and competent, and were less attractive to majority‑American women in dating contexts, though framing the behavior as authentic partially mitigated these effects.

Abstract

A growing population of biculturals—who identify with at least two cultures—often frame switch, adapting their behavior to their shifting cultural contexts. We demonstrate that frame switching biculturals are perceived as inauthentic by majority Americans and consequently seen as less likable, trustworthy, warm, and competent compared to biculturals who do not frame switch or a neutral control (Studies 1–3, N = 763). In Study 2, describing the bicultural’s behavior as authentic despite its inconsistency partly alleviated the negative effects of frame switching. In our preregistered Study 3, majority American women were less romantically interested in and less willing to date a bicultural who frame switched in his dating profiles (mediated by inauthenticity). The way biculturals negotiate their cultures can have social costs and create a barrier to intercultural relations.