How shall we all live together?: Meta‐analytical review of the mutual intercultural relations in plural societies project

Abstract

Living together in culturally plural societies poses numerous challenges for members of ethnocultural groups and for the larger society. An important goal of these societies is to achieve positive intercultural relations among all their peoples. Successful management of these relations depends on many factors including a research‐based understanding of the historical, political, economic, religious and psychological features of the groups that are in contact. The core question is ‘how we shall we all live together?’ In the project reported in this paper (Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies; MIRIPS), we seek to provide such research by reviewing three core psychological hypotheses of intercultural relations (multiculturalism, contact and integration) in 21 culturally plural societies. The main goal of the project is to evaluate these hypotheses across societies within the MIRIPS project in order to identify if there are some basic psychological principles that underlie intercultural relations panculturally. If there are, the eventual goal is to employ the findings to propose some policies and programmes that may improve the quality of intercultural relationship globally. An internal meta‐analysis using the MIRIPS project data showed that the empirical findings from these societies generally support the validity of the three hypotheses. Implications for the development of policies and programmes to enhance the quality of intercultural relations are discussed.

Editorial: Stereotypes and Intercultural Relations: Interdisciplinary Integration, New Approaches, and New Contexts

“…For example, stereotypes would play an important role in majority members' acculturation preferences when they perceived that minority youth were not adopting the host culture because it is a more threatening situation than when minority group members are adopting the host culture. Moreover, this work illustrates the importance of the concept of mutuality in the study of acculturation (e.g., Horenczyk et al, 2013;Berry et al, 2021).…”

“…This special issue was inspired by Grigoryev et al (2019) on ethnic stereotypes and Berry's approach to the psychology of intercultural relations (e.g., Berry, 1998Berry, , 2005Berry et al, 2021; Figure 1). Since individual behaviors are shaped in particular cultural contexts, we are interested in what happens when individuals who have developed in different cultural contexts meet and interact in culturally diverse settings.…”

Integrating Canadian Youth: The State of Intergroup Contact, Belonging, and Support for Immigration

“…Integration-defined as the bi-directional sharing of culture, in which individuals maintain aspects of their own culture while engaging in social relationships with other ethnocultural individuals or groups-is associated with increased success, wellbeing, and higher levels of happiness for both newcomers and existing community members and is believed to be the best strategy to increase social harmony (Berry & Hou, 2017;Berry et al, 2006;Berry et al, 2021;Cohen, 2016). Canada promotes integration as the official acculturation style and explicitly describes the right to integration in the Multiculturalism Act and the Immigrant and Refugee Protection Act, recognizing that, "integration involves mutual obligations for new immigrants and Canadian society" (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2001, Art.…”

“…This paper uses intergroup contact theory and the multiculturalism hypothesis as a framework through which to explore the intergroup relations of Canadian youth. These theories are the cornerstone of cross-cultural research and have been used to understand and address the challenges of social harmony in culturally diverse societies around the world (Berry et al, 2021). Allport (1954) posited that positive social contact between distinct social groups has positive effects on intergroup positivity.…”

“…

This paper reports the results of a survey examining 168 immigrant and non-immigrant youth's perspectives of intergroup relations, support for immigration, and feelings of belonging in Canada. Using Allport's (1954) contact theory and the multiculturalism hypothesis (Berry et al, 2021) as a framework, the data is analyzed in the context of relative levels of intergroup contact, friendship, immigration-related knowledgeability, and perceived diversity. This study finds that, overall, the Canadian youth surveyed were more supportive of immigration than older generations and reported high levels of intergroup positivity and frequent intergroup contact.

…”