Polyculturalism and Attitudes Toward the Continuing Presence of Former Colonizers in Four Postcolonial Asian Societies

Abstract

Polyculturalism is the lay belief that cultures are dynamically interconnected and mutually influencing each other historically and in contemporary times. Belief in polyculturalism is associated with various positive intergroup outcomes in intercultural social contexts, but it has never been studied in relation to intergroup attitudes in postcolonial societies. Two studies with participants from four postcolonial Asian societies (total N = 1,126) explore whether polyculturalism will also be associated with positive attitudes toward the continuing presence of former colonizers. The historical colonial experience may be socially represented positively or negatively in different societies, and in this context, the studies inquire into whether current attitudes toward former colonizers are positively associated with the belief in polyculturalism. In two studies (after controlling for belief in multiculturalism, genetic and social constructivist lay theories of race, and national identity) polyculturalism was positively associated with favorable attitudes toward continuing presence of former colonizers in Hong Kong, Macau, and Jakarta, but not in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Wonosobo, Indonesia. The positive association with polyculturalism was found only in the three societies with a high degree of intercultural contact, where the core beliefs of polyculturalism may be more meaningful. The results are discussed in terms of how intergroup relations between former colonizers and colonized peoples are forms of between-society intercultural contact that are also influenced by intergroup lay theories.

The potential of fostering connections: Insights into polycultural organizations

“…Therefore, such potential difficulties associated with polyculturalism may be resolved by adopting a “neutral” form of polyculturalism or one that highlights both the positive interactions, commonalities, and influences among groups while also acknowledging any negative interactions in past discourses (Rosenthal & Levy, 2010). Ample research shows that such approach is associated with reduced hostility, resentment, or resistance, leading to higher quality intercultural contact and greater comfort with and appreciation for diversity (e.g., Bernardo et al, 2013, 2019; Rosenthal & Levy, 2012, 2016; Virgona & Kashima, 2021). Not “sugar coating” past intercultural relations might also be perceived more genuine than superficial and may also be the most practical and realistic given mixed discourses among groups in many countries.…”

Effects of intergroup ideologies on willingness to engage in intergroup contact with essentialism as a mediator

“…It was also the only condition that produced a significantly different effect on the dependent variable when compared to the polyculturalism condition during the mediation analysis. This instant is worth exploring because it contradicts with the previous research that compared these two ideologies together where polyculturalism manipulation had mostly associated with intergroup attitude scores more than other ideologies (Bernardo et al, 2019;Bernardo et al, 2016;Bernardo & Presbitero, 2017;Cho et al, 2017;Cho et al, 2018;Rosenthal & Levy, 2012;.…”

“…Empirically, many studies that compared these three ideologies together provided consistent results (Bernardo et al, 2019;Bernardo et al, 2016;Bernardo & Presbitero, 2017;Cho et al, 2017;Cho et al, 2018;Rosenthal & Levy, 2012;. Starting with colorblindness, the studies reported either statistically insignificant correlations with both multiculturalism and polyculturalism (Cho et al, 2017) or significantly low negative correlations with them (Cho et al, 2018).…”

“…Starting with colorblindness, the studies reported either statistically insignificant correlations with both multiculturalism and polyculturalism (Cho et al, 2017) or significantly low negative correlations with them (Cho et al, 2018). In contrast, multiculturalism was found to significantly and repeatedly produce positive correlations with polyculturalism, usually with moderate to high correlations (Bernardo et al, 2019;Bernardo et al, 2016;Bernardo & Presbitero, 2017;Cho et al, 2017;Cho et al, 2018;Rosenthal & Levy, 2012). It seemed that colorblindness was not strongly related to the other two ideologies.…”

“…The fundamental question for this work is whether there are any practical benefits from understanding cultures accurately. Confirming evidence in a neighboring field that it could be beneficial already existed (Bernardo et al, 2019;Bernardo et al, 2016). Therefore, examining the idea in the Thai context could provide both conceptual and contextual evidence for the concern.…”