Pa’ que tú lo sepas: Does ethnic identity affect colonial mentality and machismo in Puerto Ricans?

Building off prior limited research examining colonized people, the present study explored correlational and causal relationships between ethnic identity, colonial mentality, and machismo in Puerto Ricans. Participants (n = 69; 64.0% female) were randomly assigned to two groups: the experimental group (n = 39) discussed Puerto Rican ethnic identity, while the control group (n = 30) participated in an unrelated trivia game. Afterward, participants completed an online survey that measured ethnic identity, colonial mentality, and machismo. We predicted ethnic identity to reduce colonial mentality and to have a negative relationship with machismo. Our findings supported a negative correlation between colonial mentality and ethnic identity (r = -.35, p = .002). Although colonial mentality remained unchanged between conditions (p > .05), machismo was marginally higher in the control condition (p = .082). Additionally, colonial mentality was positively correlated with caballerismo (r = .62, p = .002), but not with machismo (p > .05). In-person priming and a larger sample are needed to fully comprehend the association between colonial mentality, ethnic identity, and machismo. Future research should examine the role of ethnic identity in buffering beliefs and attitudes linked to adverse psychological consequences like colonial mentality and machismo.