Attitudes toward immigrants: The interactive role of the authoritarian predisposition,social norms,and humanitarian values

This investigation tested whether social norms and endorsement of humanitarian values interact to influence authoritarians' attitudes toward immigrants. Oyamot, Borgida, and Fisher (2006) found correlational evidence for a model in which: (1) clear social norms for attitudes toward an outgroup (favorable or unfavorable) influence the authoritarianism–attitude relationship in the direction of the norm, and (2) in the absence of clear social norms, endorsement of humanitarian–egalitarian values attenuate the intolerant tendencies of authoritarians. The current investigation tested the model in a survey experiment conducted in a diverse adult sample (N = 388). We measured participants' levels of authoritarian predisposition and endorsement of humanitarian values. Participants were then randomly told that Americans in general had either negative, positive, or mixed opinions about immigrants and immigration (social norm condition), and then asked about their attitude toward immigrants. Consistent with the model, authoritarianism was negatively related to attitudes toward immigrants in the negative norm condition. However, authoritarians' tendency toward intolerance was attenuated when they thought that Americans in general had positive opinions about immigrants. Also as predicted, when societal norms were depicted as mixed, authoritarians' attitudes depended upon endorsement of humanitarian values: humanitarian authoritarians held positive attitudes and non-humanitarian authoritarians held the most negative attitudes toward immigrants. Implications for understanding the effects of authoritarian predispositions in varying social contexts are discussed.     

The Backyard Politics of Attitudes Toward Immigration

Using two survey experiments, I reconsider the role that the racialized physical traits and level of assimilation of salient immigrants play in shaping attitudes toward immigration. In the first experiment, a nationwide sample of 767 White, non‐Latino adults was exposed to a story about a family of undocumented immigrants living in the Unites States who were at risk of deportation. Subjects were randomly assigned to view a version of the story in which the immigrants were depicted with light skin and stereotypically Eurocentric features, or dark skin and stereotypically Afrocentric features, and their level of assimilation to mainstream American culture was suggested to be high or low. Similar to previous research, the study's results show that assimilation has a direct effect on attitudes toward immigration. Yet in contrast to previous studies, the racialized physical traits proved to be a much more important factor in shaping attitudes toward immigration than previously demonstrated. The role of an immigrant's racialized physical traits was replicated in a second survey experiment of 902 White, non‐Latino adults. Overall, the findings shed new light on how media depictions of immigrants are affecting immigration attitudes, as well as the nuanced ways that race continues to shape public opinion in the United States today.     

Proposition 187 reexamined: Attitudes toward immigration among California voters

The purposes of this study were to examine socio-demographic predictors of attitudes toward immigration in a community-based sample (N = 494) from the Los Angeles area; and to explore the relationship between attitudes toward immigration and the providing of educational and health services to the children of undocumented immigrants. Not providing services to the children of undocumented immigrants was a key element of California's Proposition 187. Attitudes toward immigration were measured with the Attitudes Toward Immigration Scale (ATIS). The providing of services was measured through the participants' evaluations of a school scenario and a health care scenario. Results indicated that participants who were middle-aged or older, less educated, identified as Republican, and were third generation or greater were more likely to hold negative attitudes toward immigration. Furthermore, participants holding negative attitudes toward immigration were less likely to provide education and health care services to the children of undocumented immigrants.     

Proposition 187 reexamined: Attitudes toward immigration among California voters

The purposes of this study were to examine socio-demographic predictors of attitudes toward immigration in a community-based sample (N = 494) from the Los Angeles area; and to explore the relationship between attitudes toward immigration and the providing of educational and health services to the children of undocumented immigrants. Not providing services to the children of undocumented immigrants was a key element of California's Proposition 187. Attitudes toward immigration were measured with the Attitudes Toward Immigration Scale (ATIS). The providing of services was measured through the participants' evaluations of a school scenario and a health care scenario. Results indicated that participants who were middle-aged or older, less educated, identified as Republican, and were third generation or greater were more likely to hold negative attitudes toward immigration. Furthermore, participants holding negative attitudes toward immigration were less likely to provide education and health care services to the children of undocumented immigrants.     

ETHNIC VARIATIONS IN PERCEPTIONS OF MEN'S PROVIDER ROLE

Relatively little research has examined current perceptions of men's provider role in light of widespread support for women's employment. This study examined attitudes toward provider role enactment and provider role responsibility and how such views varied by ethnicity, gender, demographic characteristics, immigration status, acculturation, and community economic conditions. Telephone interviews were conducted with 3,213 residents across 21 cities. The sample was 40% African American, 7% Mexican American, and 53% White. Though there was strong support for dual provider role enactment by female and male respondents, beliefs about men's responsibility for family provision displayed greater variability. Ethnic minorities, particularly less acculturated Mexican immigrants, were more likely than Whites to believe that men were responsible for making economic provisions. Favorable economic conditions for men were associated with a greater emphasis on male provider responsibilities among Mexican Americans and Whites, whereas the opposite was true for Blacks. Overall, the findings suggest that one's position in the socioeconomic structure and the economic potential for men in one's environment help shape these attitudes.     

Gender Differences in Psychological Distress Among Latin American Immigrants to the Canary Islands

We compared gender differences in rates and correlates of psychological distress among Latin American immigrants to the Canary Islands, Spain. Immigrant men (n?=?150) and women (n?=?150) completed questionnaires about demographic and migration characteristics, immigration demands, and psychological distress. Women reported more distress and immigration demands related to loss and occupation than men. For women, not being employed full time and immigration demands related to loss, novelty, occupation, and language were significantly related to distress. For men, living with children/grandchildren and immigration demands related to novelty and not feeling at home were significantly related to distress. Study findings suggest that women are at higher risk for psychological distress and that sources of psychological distress are gender specific.     

Asian Indian Immigrant and White American Maternal Emotion Socialization and Child Socio-Emotional Functioning

Previous research provides an inadequate account of parental emotion socialization and its relation to child functioning among ethnic minority groups in the United States. This study compared reports of Asian Indian immigrant and White American mothers’ emotion socialization and examined relations between mothers’ emotion socialization and child outcomes in these two groups. Indian immigrant (n = 34) and White American (n = 38) mothers completed measures of child behavior problems and social competence, as well as self-report measures of two types of emotion socialization, responses to children’s negative emotions and emotion expressivity. Children completed a self-report measure of social competence. Results revealed that Indian immigrant mothers were more likely than White American mothers to report responding nonsupportively to their children’s negative emotions. However, reports of mothers’ nonsupportive responses were not related to child outcomes in the Indian immigrant group. In the White American group, reports of mothers’ nonsupportive responses were positively related to child behavior problems. Mothers’ self-reported negative emotion expressivity was positively related to child behavior problems and negatively related to mother-rated child social competence for Indian immigrants, while no significant relation was found between mothers’ negative emotion expressivity and child outcomes for White Americans. Moderation analyses were performed with these variables but were nonsignificant. Results are discussed in the context of cultural influences on emotion socialization and subsequent impact on child functioning.     

Family planning of Portuguese immigrants and integration in Belgium

A substantial immigration of Portuguese and other foreign nationals to Belgium due to a favorable immigration policy guides this investigation to focus on this group in order to study the influence of the acculturation experience on birth-control practices. Choosing a sample of 100 married women within a group of 998 Portuguese immigrants in an urban municipality in Brussels, the study sets out specifically to investigate whether these immigrants adopt attitude patterns of the receiving social group or if they preserve the customs of their original community. The hypothesis held by the study was that the better the woman's integration into Belgian society, the larger her knowledge and acceptance of contraceptives would be. The study found that the majority of interviewed immigrants remained poorly integrated into the Belgian society, and that the transition from a traditional to an industrial society had not included great changes in attitudinal behavior which would facilitate social and cultural integration into the new society. In terms of attitudes toward contraception, negative behavior was observed to be linked not to levels of acculturation, but rather to lack of information. Though the majority of respondents expressed desires for controlled fecundity even when still in Portugal, those who came to Belgium with no previous knowledge or desires admitted to having felt the need for contraceptive practice. The crucial factor in acceptance of modern contraceptive practices is singled out as one of communication. Access to information about contraception is readily available in the Belgian society. The information actually obtained by the women, however, depended on their access to informational channels, the circumstances through which they got in touch with such sources, and their problems with a language barrier when relying on the media through which contraceptive knowledge was made available.     

Feminism and Attachment Parenting: Attitudes, Stereotypes, and Misperceptions

This paper investigated attitudes and stereotypes about what feminist women, primarily from the United States, believed about a number of practices associated with attachment parenting which is theorized to be both feminist and non-feminist. The goals of this study were to determine whether feminists endorsed attachment parenting and whether stereotypes of feminists’ beliefs corresponded to actual feminists’ attitudes. Women were recruited online, primarily through blogs, to complete an online survey about feminism and mothering. Four hundred and thirty one women comprised the sample for the current investigation and included heterosexual-identified feminist mothers (n?=?147), feminist non-mothers (n?=?75), non-feminist mothers (n?=?143), and non-feminist non-mothers (n?=?66). Participants were asked to rate their own attitudes towards specific practices associated with attachment parenting and to indicate their perceptions of the beliefs of the typical feminist. Results indicated that feminists were more supportive of attachment parenting practices than were non-feminists. Non-feminists, particularly mothers, held misperceptions about the typical feminist, seeing them as largely uninterested in the time-intensive and hands-on practices associated with attachment parenting. Feminist mothers also held stereotypes about feminists and saw themselves as somewhat atypical feminists who were more interested in attachment parenting than they thought was typical of feminists. Our data indicated that feminists did endorse attachment parenting and that stereotypes of feminists related to attachment parenting are untrue. Furthermore, the role of feminism in the identity of feminist mothers and whether attachment parenting is truly a feminist way to parent are discussed.     

National identification and attitudes towards Russian immigrants in Finland: Investigating the role of perceived threats and gains

In this cross‐sectional study, we examined the relationship between national identification of majority Finns (nation‐wide probability sample, N = 335) and their attitudes towards Russian immigrants living in Finland. As previous research indicates both possibilities, we tested whether this relationship was moderated or mediated by threats and gains perceived to result from immigration. The results supported the mediation hypothesis; those individuals who identified stronger with their national ingroup perceived more threats than gains related to increased immigration and these perceptions, in turn, were associated with more negative attitudes towards immigrants. The role of realistic as opposed to symbolic threats and gains was particularly pronounced. The implications of the results are discussed in terms of their theoretical relevance and practical means to improve intergroup relations, with a particular focus on the relations between Finns and Russian immigrants in Finland.     

Crossing the Border: Latino Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy

In the midst of the ongoing and highly polarized immigration debate, it seems that little attention has been paid to how Latinos view efforts to address the issues of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States and enhanced enforcement efforts along the U.S.–Mexico border. Consequently, questions arise as to the degree of support for or rejection of such measures within the Latino community and among the various segments of that community. Do U.S.-born Latinos, foreign-born naturalized citizens, and undocumented immigrants from various parts of Latin America have similar or divergent views on these issues? It is generally assumed that ethnicity is an important factor in influencing attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policies. Some studies have found that foreign-born Latinos have more positive attitudes toward immigration than native-born Latinos due in part to their shared immigration experience. There are, however, other studies demonstrating that Latino immigrants have often expressed support for more restrictive immigration policies. It may hold true, in fact, that many Latinos have ambiguous and conflicting attitudes about these issues. This article will try to shed some light on Latinos’ attitudes regarding specific policy measures by analyzing data from the Pew Hispanic Center National Survey of Latinos, which allows for considerable differentiation among various sectors of the Latino population.     

Guarding the gates of Europe: A typological analysis of immigration attitudes across 21 countries

With data from the European Social Survey (N = 36,602), individual patterns of three immigration attitudes, referred to as gatekeeping attitudes, were investigated within and across 21 European national contexts. Gatekeeping attitudes, akin to blatant and subtle forms of xenophobia, designate the level of endorsement of different admission standards set for immigrants entering European countries, as well as of expulsion criteria for immigrants transgressing norms and laws. A K‐means cluster analysis, performed on national majority members' scores of endorsement of individual (e.g., language and working skills) and categorical (e.g., skin colour, religion) entry criteria and individual expulsion criteria (e.g., criminal act, long‐term unemployment), yielded a typology of three constrained combinations of these dimensions. Strict gatekeepers favoured all criteria, lenient gatekeepers opposed all criteria, whereas individualist gatekeepers favoured individual and opposed categorical criteria. Membership in typology groups was predicted with a generalized prejudiced attitude construct, social status, and personal contact with immigrants. Lenient gatekeepers were less homophobic, had a higher education level, felt financially less vulnerable, and had more immigrant friends than strict gatekeepers. Individualist gatekeepers held an intermediate position. Variability was observed in all countries, despite the prevalence of a typology group within a given country. Strict gatekeepers were common among participants from Southern and Eastern European nations, lenient gatekeepers in Scandinavian countries, and individualist gatekeepers in Western European countries. Cross‐national differences are discussed in light of European immigration history and policies.     

Boundaries of American Identity: Relations Between Ethnic Group Prototypicality and Policy Attitudes

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority‐group members (European Americans) than among minority‐group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attributes of the American identity as they pertain to different ethnic groups and reported their endorsement of policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. We found a relative consensus across ethnic groups regarding defining components of the American identity. However, European Americans were perceived as more prototypical of this American identity than ethnic minorities, especially by European American raters. Moreover, for European Americans but not for ethnic minorities, relative ingroup prototypicality was related to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. These findings suggest that for European Americans, perceptions of ethnic group prototypicality fulfill an instrumental function linked to preserving their group interests and limiting the rights afforded to ethnic minorities.     

A Within-Group Analysis of African American Mothers’ Authoritarian Attitudes,Limit-Setting and Children’s Self-Regulation

Research suggests that higher levels of authoritarian parenting exist in African American (AA) families than in European American (EA) families, and that authoritarian attitudes may be associated with more positive outcomes in AA families than EA families. However, less is known about authoritarian attitudes and children’s development within AA families. This within-group study of 50 African American mothers and their 3-year-old children examined associations between maternal authoritarian attitudes, observed maternal limit-setting strategies, and children’s self-regulation during a limit-setting interaction. The findings indicate that while AA families may hold more authoritarian attitudes than EA families, the direction of effect of authoritarian attitudes on children’s outcomes appears to be the same in both ethnic groups. In this sample, when examining AA authoritarian attitudes relative to those of other AA mothers, less or lower authoritarian attitudes were associated with authoritative limit-setting behavior (firm limits within the context of overall warmth and responsiveness) and better children’s self-regulation.     

Predictors of African American and European American adolescents' endorsement of race-conscious social policies

To examine the predictors of adolescents' evaluations of affirmative action and school desegregation policies, African American and European American students (ns = 94 and 116, respectively; aged 14 to 17 years) attending a racially diverse high school in the Midwestern United States completed measures of (a) implicit racial attitudes, (b) knowledge about historical racism, and (c) perceptions of and attributions for racial disparities. The following day, adolescents learned about either a proposed affirmative action policy (n = 101) or a school desegregation policy (n = 109) and completed measures of their attitudes toward the policy. Results indicated racial differences in policy support and in the factors predicting policy support. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Evaluations of White American versus Black American discrimination claimants' political views and prejudicial attitudes

Although White Americans experience less frequent and less severe forms of discrimination than ethnic minorities (Schmitt & Branscombe, 2002), White Americans may actually be more likely to claim discrimination compared to ethnic minorities (Goldman, 2001). The present research investigated evaluations of White and Black American discrimination claimants' political views and prejudicial attitudes. Across two studies, a White American target was evaluated as more politically conservative when claiming discrimination compared to a control condition. In contrast, a Black American target was evaluated as more politically liberal when claiming discrimination compared to a control condition. Both the White and Black American target were evaluated as more prejudiced against the outgroup when claiming discrimination; however the increase in prejudice evaluations was more pronounced for the White American target. The present research suggests that lay people make distinct inferences about the political views and prejudicial attitudes of White versus Black American discrimination claimants.     

More Royalist Than the King? Immigration Policy Attitudes Among Naturalized Citizens

Social psychological research has analyzed immigration attitudes mostly from the perspective of natives without an immigrant background. Nevertheless, an increasing number of migrants obtain national citizenship and take a stance towards immigration policies. By studying immigration policy attitudes reported by naturalized citizens, this article develops a dual-pathway model of immigrant political incorporation featuring pathways of either absorption or transformation. Based on a unique sample of immigrants who just accomplished the naturalization procedure (N = 566), we investigate participants' preferences for permissive or restrictive immigration policies as a function of their naturalization motives and expectations about how immigrants should acculturate in the receiving society (i.e., acculturation orientations). Our findings provide evidence for both processes of political absorption and transformation. On the one hand, belongingness motives underlying naturalization were connected to orientations towards host culture adoption, which in turn predicted support for restrictive immigration policies. On the other hand, instrumental motives were connected to orientations towards heritage culture maintenance, which in turn predicted support for permissive immigration policies. To conclude, we discuss the social psychological dynamics involved in the transition from national outsiders to national insiders and highlight the effects of naturalization on power relations between national majority and immigrant minority groups.     

White children's alignment to the perceived racial attitudes of the parents: Closer to the mother than the father

In this study, in which 4–7‐year‐olds participated (N =58), we analysed the relationship between White children's racial attitudes and their perceptions of parental expectations and racial attitudes. Overall, the children showed a strong in‐group preference in their choice of playmates and in the attribution of positive and negative traits to White and Black peers. In addition, children reported the belief that parents would be happier if they played with a White rather than a Black child. Finally, children anticipated that parents would also display racial biases. Most importantly, we found that children's attitudes were strongly correlated with the perceived expectations and attitudes of the mothers but not the fathers. This result further supports the idea that mothers' attitudes might be more relevant than fathers' attitudes in the formation of racial attitudes among children.     

A Dual Process Model of Attitudes towards Immigration: Person × Residential Area Effects in a National Sample

This research took a person × situation approach to predicting prejudice by looking at how social worldviews interact with real‐world environmental factors to predict how people respond to immigrants within their local area. Taking a Dual Process Motivational approach, we hypothesized that a higher proportion of immigrants in the local community would be associated with negative attitudes toward immigration for respondents high in dangerous world beliefs. Conversely, we hypothesized that living in a highly affluent (as opposed to socioeconomically deprived) community would be associated with negative attitudes toward immigration for respondents high in competitive world beliefs. Both hypotheses were supported using regional information derived from national census data combined with representative survey data from a large telephone sample conducted in New Zealand (N = 6,489). These findings support the proposition that individual differences interact with specific features of the environment to predict people's levels of prejudice in distinct ways.     

Religion and Anti-Immigration Sentiments in Context: Field Studies in Jerusalem

ABSTRACT

Political and social changes in the past decade have rendered questions about religion and immigration more salient than ever. However, we know very little about the potential impact of religion as it operates in the real world on attitudes toward immigrants. In this investigation, we tested whether and how contextual religious cues in the public sphere might affect tolerance toward immigrants. In two studies, we compared the effects of a religious and a secular context (Study 1: religious location; Study 2: religious attire) on attitudes toward Jewish immigrants (i.e., a religious ingroup) and non-Jewish immigrants (i.e., a religious outgroup). Across studies, contextual religious cues predicted ingroup favoritism, as expressed by less social rejection toward religious ingroups and less support for anti-immigration policies affecting religious ingroups. However, contextual religious cues were unrelated to anti-immigration attitudes toward religious outgroups. In Study 2, these patterns were moderated by participants’ religiosity, such that they were found among more (but not fewer) religious participants. These findings extend prior laboratory findings and shed light on how religion influences attitudes toward immigration in rich and complex real environments.