Identity Inclusiveness and Centrality: Investigating Identity Correlates of Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policies

The number of asylum seekers and refugees across the world is rapidly increasing. Negative attitudes toward these groups are globally prevalent and typically hostile because most receiving country citizens perceive them to be a security threat and an economic burden. This paper aims to understand the antecedents of negative attitudes toward a large refugee group currently garnering a great deal of attention-Syrian refugees, and experimentally test ways to ameliorate negative attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 122), we investigated predictors of social distance-as a proxy for prejudice-and found right-wing authoritarianism and intergroup anxiety to be significant predictors. In Study 2 (N = 162), we tested whether perceived acculturation orientation would predict social distance and found that Americans were less prejudiced toward Syrians who preferred to assimilate rather than integrate. Finally, in Study 3 (N = 153), we tested if a form of vicarious contact could reduce social distance via reduced intergroup anxiety; we found initial evidence for this mediation link. We discussed the potential for the vicarious contact intervention to foster positive intergroup relations and contribute to refugee wellbeing.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Distance toward Syrian Refugees: The Role of Intergroup Anxiety in Facilitating Positive Relations

Koç

Anderson

2018

“…Feelings of belonging and an inclusive identity reflect multicultural ideals and are crucial for social cohesion and well‐being. According to the Common In‐group Identity Model (Gaertner, Dovidio, Anastasio, Bachman, & Rust, ; Espinosa et al., ), an inclusive in‐group identity is likely to arise when national majorities and ethnic minorities perceive commonalities between themselves. This can be encouraged in a variety of ways, including increasing intercultural contact.…”

Section: Maximizing the Benefits And Minimizing The Risks Of Multiculmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immigration and Multiculturalism in Context: A Framework for Psychological Research

Ward

Gale

Staerklé

et al. 2018

Multiculturalism is a hotly debated issue in today's global arena. Much of the controversy arises due to different understandings of the term in public and political discourse. We argue that multiculturalism has three core components-diversity, ideology, and policy-and that heterogeneous cultural groups in multicultural societies are ultimately seeking social justice, but in different ways. Moving beyond the broad social science research to the influences and impacts of multiculturalism within psychological studies, we introduce the concept of normative multiculturalism and propose an integrative framework, presenting multiculturalism as a contextual variable and examining its impact in terms of intergroup relations and subjective well-being. We also consider how multiculturalism at the societal level can be differentially experienced by immigrants and members of the receiving community. Finally, we discuss strategies for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks of multiculturalism, reconciling differing justice conceptions, and enhancing positive outcomes for the wider society.

“…Consistent with concerns of opponents, previous research suggests that support for tough anti‐immigration measures such as SB 1070 often reflects racialized identity rather than rule of law (see Short & Magaña, ). Although anti‐immigrant sentiments can often arise from perceptions of realistic threat to citizens’ welfare (e.g., Esses, Dovidio, Jackson, & Armstrong, ; Shin & Dovidio, ; Valentino, Brader, & Jardina, ), researchers have also documented the role of symbolic concerns, with a focus on national identity (e.g., a construction of the United States as White; see Devos, Gavin, & Quintana, ; Espinosa et al., ; Esses, Jackson, Dovidio, & Hodson, ; Yogeeswaran and Dasgupta, ; see also Marshall & Shapiro, for an investigation of vermin metaphors as expressions of threat) in opposition to immigration. For example, consider a study that we conducted on ethnocentric enforcement bias: the tendency to support harsh punishment for undocumented migrants but not for the U.S. employers who illegally employ them (Mukherjee, Molina, & Adams, ).…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Support for Tough Immigration Policy: Identity Defense or Concern for Law and Order?

Mukherjee

Adams

Molina

2018

Across two studies, U.S. participants read a fictional transcript of a law enforcement officer who observed a speeding infraction and made a discretionary traffic stop. The car carried occupants who displayed either high or low fit with Anglocentric constructions of U.S. identity and were of presumptive Mexican (Studies 1 and 2), Canadian (Study 1), or Irish (Study 2) origin. The officer decided over the course of the traffic stop that the occupants' behavior aroused "reasonable suspicion" about documentation status, so he asked them to produce identification documents and detained them when they failed to do so. Participants indicated their suspicion about occupants' documentation status and rated the appropriateness of law enforcement actions. Results indicate effects of origin across both studies for all outcomes: participants considered occupants of Mexican origin (vs. Canadian or Irish) as more suspicious, and rated law enforcement actions related to traffic and immigration violations as more appropriate when the interaction