National Identification Counteracts the Sedative Effect of Positive Intergroup Contact on Ethnic Activism

Abstract

Positive intergroup contact with socially and economically advantaged national majorities has been shown to reduce ethnic identification among minorities, thereby undermining ethnic minority activism. This finding implies that ethnic identity is the relevant social identity driving ethnic minorities’ struggle for equality. We argue that the study of the “sedating” effect of positive intergroup contact for minorities should be more nuanced. The existence of multiple and sometimes interplaying social identities can foster a reinterpretation of the meaning of “ethnic” activism. This study therefore examines how the interplay of ethnic and national identities shapes the sedating effect of contact on minority activism. We expect national identification to buffer the sedated activism resulting from reduced ethnic identification. That is, the mediation from intergroup contact to reduced ethnic activism through weakened ethnic identification is expected to be moderated by national identification. With survey data from Bulgaria, we investigated support for ethnic activism among Bulgarian Roma (N = 320) as a function of their contact with the national majority as well as their degree of ethnic and national identification. The predicted moderated mediation was revealed: a negative indirect relationship between contact and activism through decreased ethnic identification occurred among Roma with low national identification, whereas no sedating effect occurred among Roma identifying strongly as members of the Bulgarian nation. We discuss the meaning of national identification for the Roma minority, who experience harsh discrimination in countries where they have been historically settled, as well as convergence of these findings with work on dual identification. We highlight the role of interacting social identities in mobilizing resources for activism and the importance of adopting a critical view on ethnic discourse when studying activism in both traditional and immigrant minorities.

When psychological contract is violated: Revisiting the Rejection-Disidentification Model of immigrant integration

“…From the perspective of an individual immigrant, identifying with and trusting the national superordinate group promotes integration and positive intergroup relations, which potentially help in combatting negative intergroup experiences, and motivates ethnic activism. Pereira et al (2017) have recently examined national identification as a buffering factor of the demobilization process resulting from positive intergroup contact. They showed the existence of a non-conforming style of national identification among Roma minority in Bulgaria: the demobilization effect of positive contact was evident only among individuals with low levels of national identification.…”

“…Ethnic identification had rather an independent mobilizing effect on collective action in their study. Another study that deserves to be mentioned here is the one by Pereira et al (2017), in which they found national identification to serve as a buffering factor of the demobilization process resulting from positive intergroup contact among Roma minority in Bulgaria. Our study mirrors their study in its attempt to show how national identification potentially compromises the mobilizing effect of discriminatory contact experiences.…”

“…Social psychological research on contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) has recently disentangled the effects of positive and negative intergroup contact on minority groups' attitudes toward the majority and their collective efforts to combat inequality. It has shown a "sedating" effect of positive intergroup contact (Pereira et al, 2017). Positive intergroup contact improves disadvantaged group members' attitudes toward an advantaged group and decreases their efforts to mobilize for social change (e.g., Dixon, Tropp, Durrheim, & Tredoux, 2010;Tausch, Saguy, & Bryson, 2015;Tropp, Hawi, Van Laar, & Levin, 2012).…”

“…Moreover, research informed by the social identity approach (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) to intergroup processes has shown that perceptions of in-group disadvantage, group based injustice, discrimination and reactions to these are intertwined with and motivated by one's identification with an oppressed minority group (Dovidio, Gaertner, Ufkes, Saguy, & Pearson, 2016). According to Pereira et al (2017), ethnic identification drives ethnic activism implying recognition of one's group's social disadvantage and motivation to improve the status of the in-group. This line of research follows up Tajfel's (1981, p. 244) notion that social movements should be understood as "efforts by large numbers of people, who define themselves and are also often defined by others as a group, to solve collectively a problem they feel they have in common, and which is perceived to arise from their relations with other groups".…”

“…If they face unjust treatment such as ethnic discrimination, in contrast, the contract is broken, preventing integration and leading to intergroup confrontation and ethnic minority activism. Ethnic minority activism aims at modifying norms or practices established by a majority group, thus challenging unequal treatment and discrimination based on the ethnic categorisation of individuals (Pereira, Green, & Visintin, 2017). In our theoretical model, we combine social and organizational psychological research on the consequences of perceived social disadvantage and psychological contract violation.…”