National (dis)identification and ethnic and religious identity: a study among Turkish-Dutch muslims

National (dis)identification is examined in three studies among Turkish-Dutch Muslim participants. In explaining national (dis)identification, the first study focuses on ethnic identity, the second on ethnic and religious identity, and the third on three dimensions of religious identity. Many participants show low commitment to the nation, and many indicate national disidentification. In addition, there is very strong ethnic and religious identification. Ethnic and Muslim identifications relate negatively to Dutch identification and, in Study 3, to stronger Dutch disidentification. Furthermore, perceived group rejection is associated with increased ethnic minority and religious identification but also with decreased national Dutch identification. In addition, in Studies 1 and 2 the effect of perceived rejection on Dutch identification is (partly) mediated by minority group identification. The findings are discussed in relation to social psychological thinking about group identification, dual identities, and the importance of religion for intergroup relations.     

Perceptions of ethnic discrimination by minority and majority early adolescents in the Netherlands

This research investigates perceptions of discrimination among ethnic majority and minority group early adolescents (aged between 10 and 12 years) living in the multi‐ethnic context of the Netherlands. In two studies (N = 679 and N = 2630), personal and group discrimination was examined in terms of name‐calling and social exclusion, and in relation to ethnic identity and family allocentrism. All early adolescents reported more group than personal discrimination. The personal‐group discrimination discrepancy (PGDD) was found independently of ethnic group, gender, allocentrism, and ethnic identity. Hence, the PGDD seems a more general phenomenon that already exists among early adolescents and across different domains. However, minority group participants perceived far more discrimination overall than majority group early adolescents, and the Turkish participants reported more discrimination than the Moroccan and Surinamese early adolescents. Furthermore, family allocentrism was positively related to perceived discrimination among all ethnic groups in Study 2 and among the Dutch in Study 1. In agreement with ethnic identity development models, strength of ethnic identity was not related to perceived discrimination. Ethnic identity was, however, positively related to allocentrism. In both studies, ethnic minority group participants had higher scores for allocentrism and for ethnic identity than majority group participants. In addition, boys had stronger ethnic identity than girls and ethnic identity was negatively associated with perceived discrimination for the boys but not for the girls. It is concluded that in order to understand early adolescents' perception of discrimination it is necessary to pay attention to basic (cognitive) tendencies that cross ethnic lines, to cultural and status differences between the majority group and ethnic minorities as a category and between ethnic minority groups, and to within‐group differences or individual level variables.     

Ethnic In-Group Favoritism Among Minority and Majority Groups: Testing the Self-Esteem Hypothesis Among Preadolescents

The self-esteem hypothesis in intergroup relations, as proposed by social identity theory (SIT), states that successful intergroup discrimination enhances momentary collective self-esteem. This hypothesis is a source of continuing controversy. Furthermore, although SIT is increasingly used to account for children's group attitudes, few studies have examined the hypothesis among children. In addition, the hypothesis's generality makes it important to study among children from different ethnic groups. The present study, conducted among Dutch and Turkish preadolescents, examined momentary collective self-feelings as a consequence of ethnic group evaluations. The results tended to support the self-esteem hypothesis. In-group favoritism was found to have a self-enhancing effect among participants high in ethnic identification. This result was found for ethnic majority (Dutch) and minority (Turkish) participants.     

Ethnic in‐group bias among minority and majority early adolescents: The perception of negative peer behaviour

Using social identity theory (SIT) as a framework, this study investigates in‐group bias in the context of negative social behaviour among Dutch and Turkish children (10–13 years of age) living in the Netherlands. Using stories about peer behaviour in which ethnicity was an available dimension, the children were asked to evaluate the perpetrator and to explain the negative behaviour. Explanations were analysed in terms of the locus of explanation and the level of linguistic abstraction at which the perpetrator's behaviour was explained. Hence, there were three measures of in‐group bias. In addition, ethnic identification, perceived multicultural education and participants' experiences with ethnic victimization were considered as predictor variables. The results revealed a small degree of in‐group bias for the evaluation and the locus of explanation, but not for linguistic abstraction. Furthermore, for both ethnic groups, it was found that stronger ethnic identification was related to a less negative evaluation of an in‐group perpetrator. A higher degree of ethnic victimization was related to a less negative perception of the perpetrator. In addition, a higher degree of perceived exposure to multicultural education was associated with a more negative perception of the perpetrator, particularly among the Dutch participants. It was concluded that the study of ethnic attitudes among children should focus more on the perceptions of actual ethnic conflicts and on specific settings such as schools. Furthermore, it is important to use explicit and implicit measures and to include both majority and minority group children.     

Dual identity,in‐group projection,and out‐group feelings among ethnic minority groups

This study extends research on dual identity and in‐group projection by considering category prototypicality and indispensability, and by focusing on ethnic minority members and their attitudes towards the native majority and minority out‐groups. Among a sample of 491 participants of the three largest immigrant‐origin groups in the Netherlands, it was found that the minority in‐group was seen as relatively more prototypical and relatively more indispensable for the national category in comparison with minority out‐groups, but not in comparison with the native majority. In support of the in‐group projection model, stronger dual identity was associated with higher relative in‐group prototypicality and relative in‐group indispensability in comparison with the majority and, via both these relative perceptions, to a less positive attitude towards the native Dutch. In addition and in support of the common in‐group identity model, dual identity was associated with more positive minority out‐group feelings via higher minority out‐group prototypicality and indispensability. It is concluded that dual identity can have both positive and negative consequences for intergroup relations depending on perceived (relative) prototypicality and indispensability, and depending on whether the out‐group is the majority or other minorities.     

Are your cross‐ethnic friends ethnic and/or national group identifiers? The role of own and perceived cross‐ethnic friend's identities on outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism

We investigated how own ethnic and national identities and perceived ethnic and national identities of close cross‐ethnic friends may predict outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism among Turkish (majority status, N = 197) and Kurdish (minority status, N = 80) ethnic group members in Turkey (M_age = 21.12, SD = 2.59, 69.7% females, 30.3% males). Compared with Turkish participants, Kurdish participants were more asymmetrical in rating their cross‐ethnic friend's identities relative to their own, reporting higher ethnic identity, but lower national identity for themselves. Own ethnic identity was negatively associated with attitudes and multiculturalism, whereas own national identity was positively associated with only attitudes. Perceived cross‐ethnic friend's national identity was positively related to both outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism. Shared national identification (high levels of own and friend's national identity) led to most positive outgroup attitudes and highest support for multiculturalism. Findings were discussed in the light of social identity and common ingroup identity models.     

Identity Conflict or Compatibility: A Comparison of Muslim Minorities in Five European Cities

Drawing on large‐scale comparative surveys across nine sociopolitical contexts, we address the question when and why ethno‐religious and city or national identities of European‐born Muslims are in conflict. We argue that the sociopolitical context makes the difference between identity compatibility or conflict and that conflict arises from perceived discrimination and related negative feelings towards the national majority. Using multigroup structural equation modelling, we examine how Turkish and Moroccan Muslims in five European cities combine their civic membership of the city and country of residence—as common identities shared with the national majority—with distinct ethnic and religious identities. In all sociopolitical contexts, participants combined significant city and national identities with strong ethnic and religious identifications. Yet, identification patterns varied between contexts from conflict (negatively correlated minority and civic identities) over compartmentalization (zero correlations) to compatibility (positive correlations). Muslims who perceived more personal discrimination were more committed to their ethnic and religious identities while simultaneously dis‐identifying from their country and city. Across cities, discrimination experiences and negative majority‐group evaluations explained away identity conflict.     

Multiculturalism and group status: The role of ethnic identification,group essentialism and protestant ethic

The present research, which was conducted among ethnic minority (N = 109) and majority (N = 649) adolescents in the Netherlands, examined the endorsement of multiculturalism in relation to ethnic ingroup identification, perceived group essentialism and protestant ethic ideology. The results revealed that ethnic minorities were more in favour of multiculturalism than Dutch participants. Furthermore, ethnic identification, group essentialism and protestant ethic were independently related to multiculturalism. However, these relations were all moderated by ethnic group status. High ethnic identification, essentialist beliefs about minority groups, and protestant ethic were related to lower endorsement of multiculturalism among the majority group. In contrast, high ethnic identification and essentialist beliefs about one's own ethnic minority group were related to stronger endorsement of multiculturalism among the minority groups, but not protestant ethic. Perceived essentialism of the majority group showed no effects. It is concluded that social psychology is able to make a valuable contribution to issues related to the management of cultural diversity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychological disidentification with the academic domain among ethnic minority adolescents in The Netherlands

Background: Among ethnic minority group adolescents, experiences with discrimination and prejudice in school settings are thought to lead to a defensive detachment of the self from the school domain. That is, these adolescents may disengage their self‐feelings from their academic performances causing the academic self to become a less important part of global self‐worth. However, there is limited empirical evidence for this assumption and the existing research is on African American students. Aims: To examine among ethnic minority adolescents in the Netherlands the hypothesis that under conditions of perceived discrimination minority group members tend to psychologically disengage their self‐feelings from educational performance. Samples. Study 1 was conducted among 161 Turkish students between 13 and 16 years of age. The sample in Study 2 consisted of 112 Turkish participants of 11 and 12 years of age. Methods: Two questionnaire studies were conducted and participants responded to questions on perceived academic performance, academic self‐esteem, global self‐worth and perceived discrimination in school. Results: In both studies, academic self‐esteem mediated the relationship between perceived educational performance and feelings of global self‐worth. More importantly, perceived discrimination in school moderated the relationship between academic self‐esteem and global self‐worth. Discrimination did not moderate the relationship between academic performance and academic self‐esteem. Conclusion: The results indicate that for ethnic minorities perceived discrimination in school can lead to psychological disidentification from the academic domain whereby global self‐worth is less based on performances and competencies in the academic domain.     

Group identity and peer relations: A longitudinal study of group identity,perceived peer acceptance,and friendships amongst ethnic minority English children

This research examined whether peer relationships amongst ethnic minority status children reflect the social groups to which children belong and the degree to which they identify with these groups. A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the influence of group identities (i.e., ethnic and national) on children's perceived peer acceptance and preference for same‐ethnic friendships. Measures of ethnic and English identification, perceived peer acceptance, and friendship choice were administered to 207 south‐Asian English children, aged between 5 and 11, at two time points 6 months apart. In line with predictions, longitudinal analysis showed that bicultural identification (i.e., higher ethnic and English identity) was related to higher perceived peer acceptance and less preference for same‐ethnic friendships. Importantly, as hypothesized, this finding was limited to the older children with more advanced social‐cognitive abilities. The results suggest that older children who adopted a bicultural identity were able to strategically ‘flag’ their multiple group identities, within their multicultural peer groups, to obtain acceptance amongst the maximum number of peers and show less preference for same‐ethnic friendships. This study extends previous peer relations research, which has typically focused on individual social deficits or classroom norms, by showing that group identities influence peer relationships amongst ethnic minority status children.     

Measures of Ethnicity‐Related Stress: Psychometric Properties,Ethnic Group Differences,and Associations With Well‐Being1

This study introduces new measures of ethnicity‐related stress and a newly adapted measure of ethnic identity. Ethnicity‐related stressors assessed in this study were perceived discrimination, stereotype confirmation concern, and own‐group conformity pressure. Ethnic identity refers to the subjective sense of ethnic group membership and, following Luhtanen and Crocker (1992), was assessed as public regard, identity centrality, and private feelings. Data for 333 undergraduates from diverse ethnic groups indicated that the measures are psychometrically sound. Ethnic group differences for mean scores demonstrated the measures’ known‐groups validity. Cross‐sectional analyses indicated that ethnicity‐related stress and identity constructs captured by the instruments are related to measures of psychological and physical well‐being. The new measures may be useful in the investigation of psychological aspects of ethnicity and their adaptive consequences.     

Feelings toward refugees and non‐Muslims in Turkey: The roles of national and religious identifications,and multiculturalism

The current study, conducted in Turkey, examined feelings toward Muslim refugees among Turkish participants (n = 605) in comparison to feelings toward established non‐Muslim national minority groups. Using the social identity perspective, these feelings were examined in relation to national and religious group identifications, and the endorsement of multicultural beliefs. The feelings toward both refugees and minority communities were similarly negative, yet the processes behind these feelings were somewhat different. While stronger national identification was associated with more negative feelings toward Muslim refugees, stronger religious group identification was associated with more negative feelings toward non‐Muslim minority communities. Further, higher endorsement of multiculturalism was associated with less negative feelings toward both refugees and minority communities, but only for relatively low national identifiers.     

The Endorsement of Minority Rights: The Role of Group Position, National Context, and Ideological Beliefs

The present research was conducted in the Netherlands and used an experimental design to examine the endorsement of minority rights among Turkish and Kurdish participants in two framed, national contexts: the Netherlands and Turkey. In the Dutch context, each group is a minority, whereas in the Turkish context the Kurds are an oppressed national minority and the Turks are the national majority. The results showed that the Turks were less in favor of minority rights in the Turkish context than in the Dutch context, whereas the Kurds were more in favor of minority rights in the Turkish than in the Dutch context. In addition, the endorsement of minority rights was related to beliefs about majority rule, state unity, and ingroup identification, as well as to cultural diversity and perceived pervasive discrimination. The associations with the former three measures differed between the two groups and the two national contexts, whereas the latter two measures had main effects on the endorsement of minority rights.     

Perceived intergroup threat and attitudes of host community members toward immigrant acculturation

The authors expected the extent to which host community members (a) perceive immigrants as threatening, (b) believe that the immigrants are able to assimilate to the host community (permeability), and (c) consider their presence in the host community as legitimate to predict attitudes towards immigrant acculturation. The authors designed Study 1 to examine attitudes of Germans toward Turkish immigrants. Participants were 227 German white-collar and blue-collar workers. As expected, ethnocentric acculturation attitudes positively correlated with perceived threat and negatively correlated with perceived legitimacy and perceived permeability. However, only perceived threat contributed uniquely to the prediction of the attitudes. In Study 2, the authors applied an experimental manipulation of perceived threat. Before answering attitude questions, participants read magazine articles with a threatening, enriching, or irrelevant content. The manipulation had the predicted impact on the self-reported attitudes toward immigrants. However, the salience of threatening or enriching aspects of the Turkish culture did not affect implicitly measured attitudes.     

Ethnic group preferences and the evaluation of ethnic identity among adolescents in The Netherlands.

The relationship between the evaluation of ethnic identity and ethnic group preferences among Dutch and that among ethnic minority adolescents was examined. It was predicted that a more positive attitude toward one's own ethnic identity would be associated with a higher level of ingroup preference. This prediction was confirmed, and this led to the question of how inter-ethnic relations and a positive ethnic identity could be stimulated simultaneously. Not only the ingroup aspect of ethnic group relations was studied but also the outgroup aspect. As members of the high-status group, the Dutch subjects showed a higher level of ingroup preference, compared with ethnic minorities. Also, own-group identification and own-group-oriented patterns of preferences among the Dutch subjects were found to be accompanied by the rejection of minority groups. No such tendency was found among adolescents from ethnic minorities.     

Achievement motivation and academic performance among Turkish early and young adolescents in The Netherlands

The authors conducted 3 studies in which Turkish and other adolescents in the Netherlands completed questionnaires that addressed the importance of collectivist cultural values for achievement motivation and educational outcomes. Compared with other minority group students and Dutch students, the Turkish students had stronger family-oriented achievement motivation. In addition, only among the Turks was ethnic identification positively related to family motivation. Furthermore, there were no differences in individual achievement motivation between the Turks and Dutch, and only among the former group was a combination of family motivation and individual motivation found. Also, for the Turks, family motivation was positively related to task-goal orientation, which mediated the relationship between family motivation and academic performance. Individual motivation was an independent predictor of performance. For the other ethnic minority groups and the Dutch, family motivation was not related to task-goal orientation and performance. In addition, for these groups, task-goal orientation mediated the relationship between individual achievement motivation and performance.     

Comparisons and perceived deprivation in ethnic minority settings

Two studies investigated comparison choices among ethnic minorities and majorities. The perceived status of the self vis-á-vis different comparison targets also was assessed. Antecedents and consequences of comparisons and relative deprivation were examined. Predictions were derived from social comparison, stigma, social identity, and relative deprivation research. Two surveys were conducted, one in London with mainly Asian participants (N = 235) and one in Germany with Turkish and Aussiedler participants (N = 166) and German majority members (N = 351). Participants preferred intragroup and temporal comparisons (with other ingroup members and with the self in the past) to various types of cross-group comparisons (with outgroup members). Perceived similarity and contact with a target positively predicted interest in comparing with this target, and perceived higher status of the target was a negative predictor. Some evidence was found that feelings of deprivation depend on comparison choices. Deprivation negatively predicted self-esteem and life satisfaction. Deprivation and group identification were negatively correlated.     

Perceived Intergroup Threat and Attitudes of Host Community Members Toward Immigrant Acculturation

Abstract

The authors expected the extent to which host community members (a) perceive immigrants as threatening, (b) believe that the immigrants are able to assimilate to the host community (permeability), and (c) consider their presence in the host community as legitimate to predict attitudes towards immigrant acculturation. The authors designed Study 1 to examine attitudes of Germans toward Turkish immigrants. Participants were 227 German white-collar and blue-collar workers. As expected, ethnocentric acculturation attitudes positively correlated with perceived threat and negatively correlated with perceived legitimacy and perceived permeability. However, only perceived threat contributed uniquely to the prediction of the attitudes. In Study 2, the authors applied an experimental manipulation of perceived threat. Before answering attitude questions, participants read magazine articles with a threatening, enriching, or irrelevant content. The manipulation had the predicted impact on the self-reported attitudes toward immigrants. However, the salience of threatening or enriching aspects of the Turkish culture did not affect implicitly measured attitudes.     

Prejudice, Ethnic Identity, Contact and Ethnic Group Preferences Among Dutch Young Adolescents

Social identity theory, the contact hypothesis, and prejudice research are three important perspectives for studying ingroup information and preferences in the context of ethnic groups. This paper studies the utility of the three perspectives in a particular interethnic group context among 160 Dutch subjects between 12 and 15 years of age. The results show that the evaluation of ethnic identity and rate of cross-ethnic contact are strongly correlated with ingroup formation and preference. Prejudicial attitudes seem to be dependent on contact and especially on the evaluation of ethnic identity. Prejudice seems to be a function of positive identification with the Dutch as a group. Applied implications for ethnic-group relations are discussed.     

Status differences and in-group bias: a meta-analytic examination of the effects of status stability, status legitimacy, and group permeability.

This work examines the moderating effects of status stability, legitimacy, and group permeability on in-group bias among high- and low-status groups. These effects were examined separately for evaluative measures that were relevant as well as irrelevant to the salient status distinctions. The results support social identity theory and show that high-status groups are more biased. The meta-analysis reveals that perceived status stability, legitimacy, and permeability moderate the effects of group status. Also, these variables interacted in their influences on the effect of group status on in-group bias, but this was only true for irrelevant evaluative dimensions. When status was unstable and perceived as illegitimate, low-status groups and high-status groups were equally biased when group boundaries were impermeable, compared with when they were permeable. Implications for social identity theory as well as for intergroup attitudes are discussed.