Janus‐faced nature of colorblindness: Social dominance orientation moderates the relationship between colorblindness and outgroup attitudes

Colorblindness is a popular diversity ideology promoted as a means to intergroup harmony in ethnically diverse nations. While some research suggests that colorblindness reduces intergroup bias, other work suggests that colorblindness may increase it. The present research utilizes a national sample of European New Zealanders to examine whether the relationship between colorblind endorsement and outgroup attitudes is moderated by perceivers' individual differences in social dominance orientation (SDO). Data revealed that for participants low in SDO, colorblind beliefs predicted more negative attitudes toward ethnic minorities. However, for those high in SDO, colorblind beliefs predicted more positive attitudes toward ethnic minorities. Taken together, these findings suggest that colorblindness is not all good or bad for intergroup relations—instead, its effects may depend on perceivers' own egalitarian sentiments.     

Threat and Right‐Wing Attitudes: A Cross‐National Approach

Threat relates to right‐wing ideological attitudes at the individual level. The present study aims to extend this relationship to the national level. More specifically, in a sample of 91 nations, we collected country‐level indicators of threat (including inflation, unemployment, gross national product, homicide rate, and life expectancy). Moreover, we analyzed data from the European and World Value Survey (total N = 134,516) to obtain aggregated country‐level indicators for social‐cultural and economic‐hierarchical right‐wing attitudes for each of these countries. In accordance with previous findings based on the individual level, a positive relationship between threat indicators and right‐wing attitudes emerged. This relationship was stronger than what was usually reported at the individual level. In the discussion, we focus on the mutually reinforcing influence at the individual and national levels in terms of right‐wing attitudes.     

Global identification,xenophobia and globalisation: A cross‐national exploration

This paper explores the ways in which globalisation influences social identity. Combining a psychological social‐identity framework with sociological considerations regarding the contextual impact of globalisation, it tests whether global identification—that is, people's identification as global citizens—constitutes an inclusive category, negatively linked to xenophobic attitudes towards immigrants across countries and whether the actual country level of globalisation moderates the relationship between global identification and xenophobia. Unlike most psychological studies of globalisation, it draws its data from 124 national samples across 86 countries, with 154,760 respondents overall, using three different cross‐national surveys. Study 1 (International Social Survey Program National Identity Module III 2013; N = 39,426, countries = 32) evinces that while global identification is in fact negatively linked to xenophobia, the correlation is moderated by the country level of globalisation, countries marked by higher levels of globalisation exhibiting a stronger negative relation between global identification and xenophobia than those characterised by a lower level of globalisation. Study 2 (European Values Study 2008; N = 53,083, countries = 44) and Study 3 (World Values Survey 6; N = 65,251, countries = 48) replicated these results across other countries employing dissimilar scales for global identification and xenophobia.     

Perceived ethnic superiority and immigrants' attitudes towards multiculturalism and the national majority

Despite the recent multidimensional conceptualisations of social identities, previous research on the relationship between ingroup identification and outgroup attitudes has approached the former mainly through the strength of cognitive‐emotional identification. In our study among Russian‐speaking immigrants living in Finland (N = 312), we focused on the direct and interactive effects of the strength of ethnic identification and perceived ethnic superiority on immigrants' support for multiculturalism and outgroup attitudes towards national majority. First, we found perceived ethnic superiority to be directly and negatively associated with outgroup attitudes. Second, we found a positive relationship between ethnic identification and support for multiculturalism only when ethnic superiority was not perceived. The results highlight the different ramifications of high ethnic identification and perceived superiority and speak for the destructive attitudinal effects of the latter.     

Selecting Talented Migrants: Majority and Minority Perspectives

Many countries seek to specifically attract talented migrants in order to match the needs of national economies. In addition to the well-known intergroup antagonism between natives and immigrants, such immigration policies targeting talented migrants imply differentiation within the immigrant group, using normative criteria to distinguish desirable and economically useful immigrants from undesirable ones. Based on European Social Survey data (Round 7, N = 9856) comprised of national citizens from six multinational countries, we show that national majorities support individualized, “cherry picking” immigration policies to a greater degree than historical national minorities and that this support is associated with national majorities' stronger sense of identification with the country and its individualistic norms. We thereby conceptualize a novel facet of multiculturalism based on individual justice principles that is rarely at the forefront of research on immigration and multiculturalism.     

Are Religious Women More Traditionalist? A Cross-National Examination of Gender and Religion

Does national context shape the relationship between religious attendance and women's gender ideologies? Although previous studies have examined gender and religion within a single national context (and often in a single faith community), few have done so using a cross-national comparative perspective. This has left a significant gap in our understanding of how gender and religion operate in distinctive national contexts. Relying on survey data collected in 37 countries, this study analyzes how the relationship between religious attendance and women's gender ideologies is conditioned by their country's gender inequality. The findings indicate that while women's religious attendance is, on average, negatively related to egalitarian gender ideologies, this association is conditioned by religious affiliation. The relationship is also contingent on the level of gender inequality experienced, and grows weaker in countries with more prominent gender inequality. This study reveals the mechanisms that contextualize the intersection of gender and religion.     

Indigenous Rights in Chile: National Identity and Majority Group Support for Multicultural Policies

We examine support for policies affecting indigenous ethnic minorities in Chile. Specifically, we examine the role of national group definitions that include the largest indigenous group—the Mapuche—in different ways. Based on questionnaire data from nonindigenous Chilean students (N = 338), we empirically distinguish iconic inclusion, whereby the Mapuche are seen as an important part of Chile's history and identity on the one hand, from egalitarian inclusion, which represents the Mapuche as citizens of equal importance to the nonindigenous majority on the other. Both forms of inclusion positively predict support for indigenous rights, independent of participants' political affiliation, strength of national identification, and social distance. A second study (N = 277) replicates this finding whilst controlling for right‐wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, blind patriotism, and constructive patriotism. It also finds iconic inclusion to be predictive of a pro‐Mapuche position regarding the unrest over the issue of ancestral land in 2009. We conclude that understanding how national identity affects attitudes about minority rights necessitates appreciating the importance of particular meanings of nationality, and not only the strength of identification.     

Income and neighbourhood‐level inequality predict self‐esteem and ethnic identity centrality through individual‐ and group‐based relative deprivation: A multilevel path analysis

Although income and inequality (objective measures of deprivation and the distribution of income within a defined area, respectively) predict people's self‐appraisals, the psychological mechanisms underlying these relationships are largely unknown. We address this oversight by predicting that feeling individually deprived (individual‐based relative deprivation [IRD])—a self‐focused appraisal—mediates the relationship between these two objective measures and self‐esteem. Conversely, believing that one's group is deprived (group‐based relative deprivation [GRD])—a group‐focused appraisal—mediates the relationship between these two objective measures and ethnic identity centrality. We examined these predictions in a national sample of New Zealand adults (N = 6349). As expected, income negatively correlated with IRD and GRD; in turn, IRD negatively correlated with self‐esteem, and GRD positively correlated with ethnic identity centrality. Moreover, after accounting for between‐level variability in income, neighbourhood‐level inequality had indirect effects on self‐esteem and ethnic identity centrality through IRD and GRD, respectively. Thus, income and inequality independently predicted self‐esteem and strength of ingroup identification through distinct mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Best Is Yet to Come? Attitudes Toward Gender Roles Among Adolescents in 36 Countries

In the present article, we look at attitudes toward gender roles among young women and men in 36 countries with different levels of societal gender inequality. By applying multilevel models to data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009, the study contributes to our understanding of gender inequality by showing that (a) both young women and young men (in 8th grade; M_age = 14.39 years) display more gender-egalitarian attitudes in countries with higher levels of societal gender equality; (b) young women in all countries have more egalitarian attitudes toward gender roles than young men do, but (c) the gender gap in attitudes is more evident in more egalitarian contexts; and (d) a higher level of maternal education is associated with more gender-egalitarian attitudes among young women. In contrast, no statistically significant association emerges between maternal employment and young men’s attitudes. Overall, the findings suggest that adolescents in different contexts are influenced by the dominant societal discourse on gender inequality, which they interiorize and display through their own attitudes toward gender roles. However, the findings also indicate that young women are more responsive to external cues than young men are. This result, coupled with the fact that young men in egalitarian contexts have not adopted gender-egalitarian attitudes to the same extent as young women, is concerning because it suggests a slowdown in the achievement of societal gender equality that is still far from being reached.     

The dynamics of ethnic discrimination,identities and outgroup attitudes: A pre–post longitudinal study of ethnic migrants

This longitudinal study among ethnic migrants from Russia to Finland (N = 127) examined the relationships between anticipated and perceived discrimination, ethnic and national identities, and outgroup attitudes towards the national majority group. The study included one pre‐migration and two post‐migration assessments. First, associations between the variables studied were tested using a conventional autoregressive sample‐level modelling approach. Second, individual trajectories and the associations between the individual‐level changes in the variables included in the models were tested. Although there were no sample‐level effects over time, there were significant relationships between changes in discrimination and changes in identification and outgroup attitudes at the individual level. The results indicated that changes in perceived discrimination were not reflected in increased ethnic identification. However, participants who perceived higher levels of discrimination after migration than they anticipated before migration were, in the post‐migration stage, more likely to disidentify from and to increasingly show negative attitudes towards the national majority group. The study complements previous research by examining the identity and attitudinal reactions to perceived ethnic discrimination starting from the pre‐migration stage and highlights the value of incorporating both group and individual perspectives to the research on perceived discrimination. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The world's biggest salad bowl: Facebook connecting cultures

A correlational study on Facebook investigated the relationship between virtual intergroup contact and general attitudes toward diverse out‐groups. A so‐called Facebook application retrieved objective data about the intercultural composition of participants' Facebook networks. The exact percentage of out‐group friends correlated significantly with more favorable out‐group attitudes. This relationship was mediated by humanitarian‐egalitarian values, suggesting that having intercultural friends on Facebook is positively linked to value orientations, which in turn are associated with more favorable intergroup attitudes. In addition, identification with one's own national group and real‐life experience abroad did not moderate the results. Overall, although causation cannot be inferred because of the correlational design of our study, results suggest that virtual intergroup contact may positively affect attitudes.     

Ethnic Inequality and National Pride

This article examines patterns in individual attachments towards the nation‐state in multiethnic countries. Specifically, we examine the effect of between‐ethnic‐group political and economic inequality on these attachments. Pairing attitudinal data from the sixth and most recent wave of the World Values Survey, administered between 2010 and 2012, with ethnicity measures from the Ethnic Power Relations dataset, we show that between‐ethnic‐group political inequality significantly weakens national pride and identity, but between‐ethnic‐group economic inequality does not have a similar effect. Our findings provide robust support for the view that ethnic‐group separatism in divided societies is motivated, not by the quest for economic power, but by considerations of lost status and dignity that can only be recovered through ownership in state institutions. Hence, the binding constraint on national integration in these settings is political, not economic, inequality.     

Social Norms and Egalitarian Values Mitigate Authoritarian Intolerance Toward Sexual Minorities

In the United States, acceptance of sexual minorities (e.g., gay men and lesbians) has increased substantially since the early 1990s. This study examined whether authoritarians' attitudes have been influenced by the societal shift toward greater acceptance of sexual minorities. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) collected between 1992 and 2012, we tested a model in which authoritarianism, endorsement of egalitarian values, and social norms shifting in the direction of tolerance predict individual attitudes toward sexual minorities and LGBT rights issues. Results indicated that (1) there was a subset of authoritarians who endorsed egalitarian values, (2) authoritarians in general became more tolerant (i.e., held less negative attitudes) toward sexual minorities between 1992 and 2012, and (3) “egalitarian authoritarians” held more positive attitudes toward sexual minorities than other authoritarians. The findings contribute to contemporary theory and research on authoritarianism, which is moving from a monolithic view of authoritarianism to one in which culture and core values activate and shape manifestations of authoritarian tendencies.     

The Effect of Education on Nationalism and Ethnic Exclusionism: An International Comparison

In most studies on ethnic attitudes, a rather strong negative relationship has been found between educational attainment and positive ingroup attitudes (or negative outgroup attitudes). However, it is not well known to what extent this educational effect varies across different national contexts. This study investigated the effect of education on different dimensions of nationalism and ethnic exclusionism with the use of 1995 survey data gathered in 22 countries. Notions from socialization theory were used to test whether the educational effect varies according to the length of liberal-democratic tradition and the degree of religious heterogeneity within a country. Results indicate that educational attainment is strongly related to ethnic exclusionism as well as chauvinism, but not to patriotism. Moreover, the effect of education on ethnic exclusionism is smaller in recently established democracies. The hypothesis regarding stronger educational effects in societies with more religious heterogeneity was not supported.     

Is There a Backlash Against Immigration From Richer Countries? International Hierarchy and the Limits of Group Threat

Why do immigrants from particular countries systematically face more opposition? To resolve inconsistencies of prevailing group‐threat theories, I reintroduce a long‐standing hypothesis stipulating that people have a disposition for maintaining status hierarchy between ethnic groups. Accordingly, independent of perceived economic or cultural threat, natives are more likely to prefer immigrant groups of higher status based on the development level of the group's national origin. To test this argument, I exploit a substantial provincial variation of immigration flows and attitudes in Spain—one of the only countries that has received immigrants from both less and more developed countries. Consistent with my hypothesis, I demonstrate that anti‐immigration attitudes are more widespread in areas with immigrants from less developed countries regardless of their economic and cultural characteristics. I further document that many voters perceive stable group hierarchies and that these preferences are more predictive of anti‐immigration attitudes in lower‐status immigration contexts. Overall, these results suggest that even culturally similar and economically beneficial immigrant groups from poorer countries can face public opposition due to their lower‐status national origin, highlighting the independent role of group‐status perceptions in politics.     

Immigrant acculturation attitudes and host country identification

This study assessed the efficacy of a model predicting the host country identification of members of immigrant groups. The model proposed that host country identification is primarily determined by the positivity of the immigrants' acculturation attitude towards living according to the standards and values of the host country, followed by the degree of acceptance by members of the dominant cultural group, the success immigrants experience in the new country, and the extent to which they choose to live within their ethnic environment rather than the wider society. The study included 602 adult immigrants from a number of countries (Vietnam, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand), which varied in their cultural similarity to the host country, Australia. Results from a multiple regression analysis of participants' questionnaire responses revealed good support for the model. As expected, acculturation attitude towards Australia was the strongest predictor of host country identification, followed by acceptance by Australians, while extent of ethnic involvement was a significant negative predictor. The results also revealed ethnic identification as a significant positive predictor of host country identification. The importance of the relationship between acculturation attitudes and identification is discussed, together with immigrants' identification processes towards their ethnic group and the host country. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Latino Religious Affiliation and Ethnic Identity

Despite the pervasiveness of Catholicism among Latinos, studies reveal an increasing shift toward Protestantism. Examining the relationship between religion and ethnicity, we explore homeland language use as a core ethnic marker using a survey from the Pew Hispanic Center. Results reveal that Catholic Latinos are significantly more likely to use Spanish at home, even after controlling for other key variables. In response, we posit that Latino Catholicism and Protestantism entail significantly different religiosities in both home and host countries that impact Latino ethnic identification and its markers such as language use. Catholicism displays a higher level of inculturation in the sending country and greater overt institutional acceptance of ethnic culture in host countries. Protestantism in Latin America breaks with localized religiosity and traditions, and U.S. Protestant congregations may de‐emphasize ethnic culture in their theologies and worship. Hence, Latino Catholicism acts as a bridge to homelands and reinforces ethnic salience, thereby supporting continued Spanish use at home. In contrast, Protestants embrace a reorienting religiosity that often presides over ethnic identification, decreasing the salience of homeland cultural markers.     

The relationship between political participation and civic community of migrants in the Netherlands

This article examines the relationship between different forms of political participation and the civic participation in organizations of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. We have investigated the turnout rates and voting behaviour of migrants, the participation of councillors from ethnic minority groups and party of officials in four cities and the organizations of ethnic minorities in Amsterdam and on a national level. The combination of all this information supplies us with a picture of the civic community of the ethnic groups in the Netherlands and we theorize about explanations on differences between these groups.     

National and ethnic identification,intergroup attitudes,and sport participation in the context of the London Olympics

In the run‐up to the 2012 London Olympics, the sense of national identity was salient. We tested children (N = 401) aged 5–15 years living near the Olympic site on national (British) and ethnic identification, national ingroup and outgroup attitudes, and sport participation. It was found that the strength of British identification peaked at age 9 years, but the strength of ethnic identification remained stable with age. Both liking for, and stereotyping of, different national groups diverged from age 9 years, but whilst stereotyping remained diverged liking converged by 15 years. The ingroup was one of the most liked, but one of the least positively stereotyped groups. Sport participation declined with age and was higher among boys, whilst the lowest socio‐economic group showed the greatest discrepancy between normal and recent reported participation. The strength of British identification was associated with liking for, and stereotyping of, the British as well as sport participation, but the degree of associations varied between different groups of children.     

What Makes a Satisfied Immigrant? Host-Country Characteristics and Immigrants’ Life Satisfaction in Eighteen European Countries

Based on the data from six waves of the European Social Survey collected from 18 European countries between 2002 and 2012, we aimed at explaining the variation in immigrants’ life satisfaction across countries, by focusing on host countries’ characteristics. By adopting the multi-level analysis, we examined the national-level traits from three aspects: namely, the climate of immigrant reception, the extent of public goods provision and the level of economic inequality. Our findings suggest that immigrants are likely to be more satisfied in countries that offer more welcoming social settings. However, this association is significant only when the social setting is measured by attitudes of the native-born towards immigrants, rather than by legal immigration regulations and policies. When taking into account the extent to which host country is able to provide public goods, country’s wealth levels seems not to matter for immigrants’ life satisfaction, whereas countries’ levels of human development is associated with an increase in immigrants’ life satisfaction albeit only at the 10% significance level. The role of economic inequality varies with immigrants’ own socio-economic statuses. On average, immigrants are less satisfied with their lives in host countries with higher levels of economic inequality. However, highly educated immigrants tend not to perceive economic inequality of the country as an obstacle of their satisfaction.