The purpose of this conceptual article is to advance theory and research on one critical aspect of the context of ethnic–racial identity (ERI) development: ethnic–racial settings, or the objective and subjective nature of group representationwithin an individual's context. We present a new conceptual framework that consists of four dimensions: (1) perspective(that settings can be understood in both objective and subjective terms); (2) differentiation (how groups are defined in asetting); (3) heterogeneity (the range of groups in a setting); and (4) proximity (the distance between the individual andthe setting). Clarifying this complexity is crucial for advancing a more coherent understanding of how ethnic–racial set-tings are related to ERI development.