From empathy to action: Can enhancing host‐society children's empathy promote positive attitudes and prosocial behaviour toward refugees?

Over half of refugees are school‐aged children. In host communities, children's attitudes and behaviours are important for the integration of refugee children. This study examines the empathy–attitudes–action model in middle childhood (N = 94, 8 to 11 years old). In both the experimental and control conditions, children were introduced to a (fictional) refugee and told that he or she would be moving to their school. The experimental condition also listened to a storybook about the child's refugee experience. Empathy, outgroup attitudes, and prosocial behaviour toward the incoming child, and refugees as a group, were measured. Although mediation was not supported, the storybook condition reported more empathy and helping intentions, and attitudes predicted helping intentions but not giving to refugees. Results highlight how host‐society children can welcome refugees.     

Political and media discourses about integrating refugees in the UK

This article addresses political and media discourses about integrating refugees in the UK in the context of the “refugee crisis”. A discursive psychological approach is presented as the best way to understand what talk about the concept is used to accomplish in these debates. A large corpus of political discussions (13 hours of debate featuring 146 politicians) and 960 newspaper articles from the UK were discourse analysed. The analysis identified five dilemmas about integration: Integration is positive and necessary, but challenging; Host communities are presented as welcoming, but there are limits to their capacity; Refugees are responsible for integration, but host communities need to provide support; Good refugees integrate, bad ones don't; Refugees are vulnerable and are skilled. All are used to warrant the inclusion or exclusion of refugees. The responsibility of western nations to support refugees is therefore contingent on the refugees behaving in specific ways.     

Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People

Caring is a positive social act, but can it result in negative attitudes towards those cared for, and towards others from their wider social group? Based on intergroup contact theory, we tested whether care workers' (CWs) positive and negative contact with old‐age care home residents (CHRs) predicts prejudiced attitudes towards that group, and whether this generalises to other older people. Fifty‐six CWs were surveyed about their positive and negative contact with CHRs and their blatant and subtle attitudes (humanness attributions) towards CHRs and older adults. We tested indirect paths from contact with CHRs to attitudes towards older adults via attitudes towards CHRs. Results showed that neither positive nor negative contact generalised blatant ageism. However, the effect of negative, but not positive, contact on the denial of humanness to CHRs generalised to subtle ageism towards older adults. This evidence has practical implications for management of CWs' work experiences and theoretical implications, suggesting that negative contact with a subgroup generalises the attribution of humanness to superordinate groups. Because it is difficult to identify and challenge subtle prejudices such as dehumanisation, it may be especially important to reduce negative contact. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Competent Enough,But Would You Vote for Her? Gender Stereotypes and Media Influences on Perceptions of Women Politicians

Though research has demonstrated that media coverage of men and women politicians differ, fewer studies have examined the dual influence of gender stereotypes and types of media coverage in influencing public perceptions of women politicians. Study 1 (N = 329) examined how pre‐existing attitudes toward women leaders and valence of media message impacted perceptions of a woman senator and evaluations of the media source. Study 2 (N = 246) explored how media focus on a woman politician's personality or ability impacted perceptions of her warmth/likability and competence. Results suggest the media has particular influence on judgments of women politicians' likability (the “competent but cold” effect), providing evidence that women politicians need to be vigilant in monitoring their media depictions.     

Zero‐sum thinking as mediator of the relationship of national attitudes with (un)willingness to host refugees in own country

This study examines factors related to willingness to host refugees. We examined the role of national attitudes (patriotism, nationalism), out‐group attitudes (classic and modern prejudice), and zero‐sum thinking: Belief in a Zero‐Sum Game and psychological entitlement in attitudes towards hosting refugees. We proposed including zero‐sum thinking as possible mediator between national attitudes and attitudes towards refugees based on assumption that nationalism is a competitive attitude towards out‐groups, while patriotism does not. Structural equation modelling based on a Polish national sample (N = 1092) revealed that patriotism is positively associated with willingness to host refugees, through its negative association with prejudice via decreasing zero‐sum thinking. Nationalism was negatively associated with willingness to host refugees, through prejudice via increasing zero‐sum thinking. Findings are discussed in the context of current refugee policies.     

The unique effects of blatant dehumanization on attitudes and behavior towards Muslim refugees during the European ‘refugee crisis’ across four countries

Blatant dehumanization has recently been demonstrated to predict negative outgroup attitudes and behaviors. Here, we examined blatant dehumanization of Muslim refugees during the ‘Refugee Crisis’ among large samples in four European countries: the Czech Republic (N = 1307), Hungary (N = 502), Spain (N = 1049), and Greece (N = 934). Our results suggest that blatant dehumanization of Muslim refugees is (a) prevalent among Europeans, and (b) uniquely associated with anti‐refugee attitudes and behavior, beyond political ideology, prejudice, and—of particular relevance to the refugee crisis—empathy. We also find that blatant dehumanization of Muslim refugees is significantly higher and more strongly associated with intergroup behavior in the Eastern European countries (especially the Czech Republic) than in Spain and Greece. Examining a range of outgroup targets beyond refugees, our results further illustrate that blatant dehumanization is not purely an ethnocentric bias: while individuals across contexts feel warmer towards their group than all others, they rate several high‐status outgroups as equally or more fully ‘evolved and civilized’ than the ingroup. Our research extends theoretical understanding of blatant dehumanization, and suggests that blatant dehumanization plays an important and independent role in the rejection of Muslim refugees throughout Europe.     

What is threatening about refugees? Identifying different types of threat and their association with emotional responses and attitudes towards refugee migration

Threat is one of the most important predictors for attitudes towards refugees and migration. The current research addresses the role of different threat types and emotional reactions in the context of refugee migration with a multi-method approach. Using qualitative (Study 1, N = 202) and quantitative (Studies 2–4, N = 873) methods, we identified six types of threat that majority group members in Germany experience in the face of refugee migration: Concerns about cultural differences (symbolic threat), financial strain (realistic threat), criminal acts (safety threat), conflicts within society (cohesion threat), increasing xenophobia (prejudice threat), and refugee care (altruistic threat). All these threat types elicited negative emotions and were associated with negative attitudes towards refugees and support for restrictive migration policies. Paradoxically, concerns about refugee care predicted support for restrictive migration policies particularly well (altruistic threat paradox), which can be explained by a lack of emotional responses to this type of threat. Based on these findings, we propose a bidirectional model of intergroup threat.     

“To serve and protect” when expecting to be seen negatively: The relation between police officers' contact with citizens,meta‐stereotyping,and work‐related well‐being

We examined the relationship between contact of police officers with citizens, their (meta‐)stereotypes about citizens, and their work‐related well‐being. Ninety‐three police officers from 4 police stations in low‐ and high‐crime regions in France completed the questionnaire. As expected, negative well‐being of police officers is predicted by negative contact with citizens and their belief that police officers are stereotyped negatively by citizens. Moreover, the relationship between negative contact and negative well‐being was mediated by police officers' beliefs that police officers are perceived negatively by citizens, whereas their perceptions of citizens did not mediate this relationship. Interestingly, level of crime did not influence these relationships. Together, this research shows the important role of beliefs about how one's group is stereotyped when in contact with another group as it may have consequences for people's well‐being.     

We Welcome Refugees? Understanding the Relationship between Religious Orientation,Religious Commitment,Personality, and Prejudicial Attitudes toward Syrian Refugees

ABSTRACT

Approximately 5 million refugees have been displaced since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. In 2016, the refugee crisis reached deadly proportions, causing many Syrians to flee their homes in search of asylum. Individual responses to refugees differed as Syrians attempted to resettle throughout the world. Research has shown that religious orientation (intrinsic, extrinsic, quest), religious commitment, and personality traits can help explain prejudicial attitudes toward outgroups. The purpose of this study is to examine the role that personality and religion play in predicting prejudicial attitudes toward Syrian refugees in the United States. The study’s sample consists of 844 participants recruited during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. Participants completed online surveys through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Results of hierarchical regression indicated that personality explained about 14% of the variance in prejudicial attitudes; specifically, Extroversion and Conscientiousness were positively related to prejudice, whereas Agreeableness was negatively related. Religious commitment and religious orientation explained an additional 0.8% to 2.5% variance, respectively, in prejudicial attitudes above and beyond personality. We discuss implications of findings for future research and practice.     

Gender Attitudes and Public Opinion Towards Electoral Gender Quotas in Brazil

Research on public opinion towards affirmative action shows that citizens often support the principle of equality while simultaneously rejecting policies that promote it in a pattern described as the “principle-policy puzzle.” The scholarship also shows that ideology and prejudice towards the targeted group explain the puzzle with respect to racial affirmative action. In this article, we use unique survey questions included in the 2014 round of the AmericasBarometer in Brazil to show that citizens tend to support electoral gender quotas while rejecting gender-based egalitarianism in a reversed version of the “principle-policy puzzle.” We argue that a different type of gender attitudes, namely benevolent sexism, shapes support for gender quotas as well as for the principle of equality. While benevolent sexists tend to reject gender equality based on views about gender complementarity and stereotypes about women's purity, they also support quotas as policies to foster such values. Our findings suggest that even though the political and scholarly debates can provide sound normative reasons for the adoption of quotas across different contexts, public support for them often relies on paternalistic views and expectations about the role of women in politics.     

The relation between polyculturalism and intergroup attitudes among racially and ethnically diverse adults

Research on intergroup ideologies (colorblindness, multiculturalism) has increased our understanding of intergroup attitudes. This article reports empirical tests of the relation between a newly studied ideology, polyculturalism (ideology focusing on interactions and connections among racial/ethnic groups), and intergroup attitudes. Across four studies (with racially/ethnically diverse U.S. undergraduates, and Black and White American adults), greater endorsement of polyculturalism was related to greater equality beliefs; appreciation for and comfort with diversity; willingness for intergroup contact; and endorsement of liberal immigration and affirmative action policies. Polyculturalism explained unique variance after controlling for colorblindness, multiculturalism, assimilation ideology, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism. Implications and future directions of studying polyculturalism are discussed.     

Territorial Conflicts and Japanese Attitudes Towards East Asian Countries: Natural Experiments with Foreigners' Landings on Disputed Islands

Japan disputes the sovereignty of two islands: Senkaku/Diaoyu with China and Takeshima/Dokdo with South Korea. These disputes have triggered political performances. In August 2012, Chinese activists landed on Senkaku/Diaoyu, and South Korean politicians landed on Takeshima/Dokdo. The group threat theory suggests that these events constitute threats to Japanese citizens, which lead to negative attitudes towards these countries. The theory also expects personal variations in the reactions to the threats, and the empirical findings of the theory predict an improvement in the worsened attitudes immediately after the event. Drawing on a Japanese social survey that was conducted every month for the two years during which these landing events occurred, I tested the effect of the events on Japanese attitudes towards China and South Korea in a natural experimental framework. The results show that the events negatively impacted Japanese attitudes towards both countries. However, contrary to the expectations of the group threat theory, individual variations (i.e., socioeconomic status, media exposure, and political orientation) in the responses to the events are not supported. Additionally, the attitudes do not return to preevent levels for one year. The contradictions between previous studies and this study potentially originate from the importance of the territories.     

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Obesity-Related Behaviors and Attitudes In a College Sample

This study looked at gender and Black/White differences for a number of variables related to attitudes toward obesity in a sample of 650 college students. The overall stereotypes of overweight persons were both negative and unrelated to subjects' own degree of obesity, although individuals reported that their personal views were less negative than those of others.
Women indicated greater concern with obesity than men in several ways, and the societal stereotype of an overweight woman was seen as more negative than that of an overweight man. Men were more concerned about a date's weight than women, and White women's weight (unlike that of other subgroups) was negatively related to their likelihood and frequency of dating. Although Blacks, particularly Black females, were heavier than Whites, they were more satisfied with their body shape. Black males were less likely than White males to have refused to date someone because of her weight, and Blacks personally considered overweight women to be more attractive, sexier, less ugly, and less sloppy than did Whites. The findings suggest that both gender and ethnicity should be considered when discussing people's attitudes towards obesity and the consequences of such attitudes.     

The Influence of Religious Fundamentalism,Right-Wing Authoritarianism,and Christian Orthodoxy on Explicit and Implicit Measures of Attitudes Toward Homosexuals

The goal of this study was to examine relations among dimensions of religiosity and explicit and implicit attitudes about homosexuals. Implicit attitudes were measured using the Implicit Association Test, an instrument that assesses attitudes about objects, persons, or groups, indirectly via participants' response times to words that are paired with symbols (e.g., “gay” and “straight” couples). Participants also completed explicit measures of religious fundamentalism, Christian orthodoxy, right-wing authoritarianism, and attitudes toward homosexuals. With respect to explicit attitudes, the results were consistent with previous research. Religious fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism predicted negative attitudes toward homosexuals, whereas Christian orthodoxy predicted more positive attitudes. In contrast, right-wing authoritarianism was the only significant predictor of implicit attitudes. People who scored high on a measure of right-wing authoritarianism had more negative explicit and implicit attitudes toward homosexuals than did people who scored low. Right-wing authoritarianism appears to play an important role in predicting both explicit and implicit attitudes toward homosexuals.     

Positive intergroup contact decreases the likelihood that prejudicial attitudes become avoidant behavioral tendencies

We investigated whether existing intergroup contact experiences moderated the associations between prejudicial attitudes and behavioral tendencies towards outgroups across five studies in Turkey (total N = 1,281). Findings showed that among Turks who reported higher levels of cross-group friendship quantity (Study 1) and greater positive (but not negative) contact (Study 2) with Kurds, prejudicial attitudes did not predict negative outgroup behavioral tendencies. Confirming these studies, Study 3 indicated that the association between homophobic attitudes and outgroup avoidance/approach tendencies was weaker among individuals who reported more LGBTI friends. Study 4 replicated the latter finding among children using Syrians as the target outgroup. Study 5 further showed that the buffering role of intergroup contact occurred only among participants who held less certain attitudes towards Syrian refugees. Findings provide insights into how existing contact experiences shape the relationship between negative attitudes towards outgroups and relevant behavioral intentions.     

Predicting dispositions toward inclusion of students with disabilities: the role of conservative ideology and discomfort with disability

Within the published empirical record, a limited number of investigations exist that study the association between socio-political ideologies of preservice teachers and their attitudes toward disability-related matters within schools. To the extent that individual socio-political ideology and discomfort with disability remain mostly unexplored, this state of affairs may unwittingly compromise the capacity of future educators to assist students with special needs. The purpose of our study was to test relationships between preservice teachers’ conservative ideologies and discomfort with disability on the one hand and perceived negative attitudes toward students with disabilities and opposition to inclusion on the other. Our correlational findings indicate that preservice educators who report being higher in social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, economic and cultural conservatism, and discomfort with disabilities are more likely to oppose inclusion and to hold negative attitudes toward students with disabilities. Regression analyses revealed that social dominance orientation and discomfort with disability were stronger predictors of negative attitudes toward students with disabilities and opposition to inclusion than cultural conservatism/right-wing authoritarianism. These findings lend support to teacher preparation programs assisting preservice teachers in understanding (a) their attitudes toward inclusion and students with disabilities and (b) the impact their dispositions may have on their future effectiveness in supporting these students in their efforts to become productive and independent members of society.

群际接触减少偏见的机制：一项整合的研究

以321名少数民族大学生为被试,考察了民族接触（与汉族）、交往态度、民族认同、民族本质论、民族刻板印象和群际焦虑等变量,以整合的视角探讨了民族接触促进民族交往的机制问题。研究结果表明：民族接触通过降低群际焦虑和民族认同、减弱消极刻板印象和民族本质论而间接促进了民族交往,民族认同在民族接触和民族本质论之间、消极刻板印象在民族接触和群际焦虑之间存在中介作用。这项整合的研究理论上丰富了群际接触减少偏见的机制研究,发现了新的中介变量,对促进民族交往的实践具有指导意义。     

Psychological similarities and dissimilarities between left-wing and right-wing populists: Evidence from a nationally representative survey in France

Research in political science has focused on definitions of populism, platforms of populist parties, and demographic characteristics of those who support populist parties. Yet little is known about the psychological characteristics of populist supporters and how they might differ as a function of left-right ideology. Using a measure of populist attitudes in general, we investigated the role of Big Five personality traits as well as authoritarianism, social dominance, and system justification in a nationally representative sample of French respondents. We observed meaningful variability in relations between psychological characteristics and the endorsement of populist attitudes as a function of left-right ideological orientation, as well as variability in the psychological predictors of support for Jean Luc Mélenchon (a left-wing populist) and Marine LePen (a right-wing populist). We conclude that left-wing and right-wing populists are not the same, psychologically speaking, and that the differences are consistent with the distinction between inclusionary and exclusionary forms of populism.     

Feeling at home: A multisensory analysis of former refugee and host society residents’ integration in Wellington,Aotearoa New Zealand

In this article we explore the multisensory experiences through which former refugee and host society residents develop, maintain, negotiate, and co-construct feelings of homeliness in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing upon data generated through semi-structured interviews and collaborative painting workshops with eight participants, we found that everyday multisensory stimuli were significant in shaping individual feelings towards different places, and evoking memories which further shaped unique place-based experiences. Whilst negative sensory memories at times caused anxiety and stress, individuals could also draw upon their past experiences to make connections that helped them to navigate complex sociospatial environments. These multilayered connections enabled individuals to (re)construct cultural identities in their new city, which was significant in enhancing a sense of homeliness and belonging. However, the consequences that resettlement had on changing social demographics and place dynamics also diminished a sense of homeliness for host society residents, leading to pressure being placed upon former refugees to adopt dominant cultural norms. The significant impact of everyday multisensory experiences and associated memories of place on individual resettlement and social integration suggest that these affective processes require greater attention in conceptualisations of home and belonging during refugee resettlement.     

Northern = smart and Southern = nice: The development of accent attitudes in the United States

Adults evaluate others based on their speech, yet little is known of the developmental trajectory by which accent attitudes are acquired. Here we investigate the development of American children's attitudes about Northern- and Southern-accented American English. Children in Illinois (the “North”) and Tennessee (the “South”) evaluated the social desirability, personality characteristics, and geographic origins of Northern- and Southern-accented individuals. Five- to 6-year-old children in Illinois preferred the Northern-accented speakers as potential friends, yet did not demonstrate knowledge of any stereotypes about the different groups; 5–6-year-old children in Tennessee did not show a preference towards either type of speaker. Nine- to 10-year-old children in both Illinois and Tennessee evaluated the Northern-accented individuals as sounding “smarter” and “in charge”, and the Southern-accented individuals as sounding “nicer.” Thus, older children endorse similar stereotypes to those observed in adulthood. These accent attitudes develop in parallel across children in different regions and reflect both positive and negative assessments of a child's own group.