Uncertainty, Threat, and the Role of the Media in Promoting the Dehumanization of Immigrants and Refugees
TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of common media portrayals of immigrants and refugees on dehumanization and its consequences and concluded that uncertainty may lead to dehumanization, and for establishing government policies and practices that counteract such effects.
Abstract: Immigration policies and the treatment of immigrants and refugees are contentious issues involving uncertainty and unease. The media may take advantage of this uncertainty to create a crisis mentality in which immigrants and refugees are portrayed as “enemies at the gate” who are attempting to invade Western nations. Although it has been suggested that such depictions promote the dehumanization of immigrants and refugees, there has been little direct evidence for this claim. Our program of research addresses this gap by examining the effects of common media portrayals of immigrants and refugees on dehumanization and its consequences. These portrayals include depictions that suggest that immigrants spread infectious diseases, that refugee claimants are often bogus, and that terrorists may gain entry to western nations disguised as refugees. We conclude by discussing the implications of the findings for understanding how uncertainty may lead to dehumanization, and for establishing government policies and practices that counteract such effects.
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TL;DR: This paper reviewed the literature on determinants of public attitudes toward refugees, the acculturation of refugees in host societies, and factors affecting refugee mental health, all of which are directly relevant to the success of the resettlement process.
Abstract: The number of refugees across the globe is at an alarming high and is expected to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. As a result, finding durable solutions for refugees has become a major challenge worldwide. The literature reviewed and policy implications discussed in this article are based on the premise that one of the major solutions to the refugee crisis must be refugee resettlement in new host countries. For such a solution to succeed, however, requires relatively favorable attitudes by members of host societies, protection of the well-being of refugees, and effective integration of refugees into new host countries. In this context, we begin by reviewing the literature on determinants of public attitudes toward refugees, the acculturation of refugees in host societies, and factors affecting refugee mental health, all of which are directly relevant to the success of the resettlement process. We then turn our attention to the policy implications of these literatures, and discuss strategies for improving public attitudes toward refugees and refugee resettlement in host countries; for improving the resettlement process to reduce mental health challenges; and for supporting the long-term acculturation and integration of refugees in their new homes.
286 citations
TL;DR: In 2015, Europe faced the arrival of over 1.25 million refugees from war-affected countries as mentioned in this paper, and the public mainly learned about this issue through domestic media through the use of computer-a...
Abstract: In 2015, Europe faced the arrival of over 1.25 million refugees fleeing from war-affected countries. The public mainly learned about this issue through domestic media. Through the use of computer-a...
248 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a study among Dutch Muslim youth (N = 131) focused on the process of radicalization and found that personal uncertainty, perceived injustice, and group-threat factors are important determinants of a radical belief system (e.g., perceived superiority of Muslims, perceived illegitimacy of Dutch authorities, perceived distance to others).
Abstract: In this study among Dutch Muslim youth (N = 131), we focus on the process of radicalization. We hypothesize that this process is driven by three main factors: (a) personal uncertainty, (b) perceived injustice, and (c) perceived group threat. Using structural equation modeling, we demonstrate that personal uncertainty, perceived injustice, and group-threat factors are important determinants of a radical belief system (e.g., perceived superiority of Muslims, perceived illegitimacy of Dutch authorities, perceived distance to others, and a feeling of being disconnected from society). This radical belief system in turn predicts attitudes toward violence by other Muslims, which is a determinant of own violent intentions. Results are discussed in terms of the role of individual and group-based determinants of radicalization.
222 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make a case for the urgency of understanding the psychology of societal extremism, discuss the diverse forms that extremism can take, and identify uncertainty as a correlate of and quite possibly precondition for extremism.
Abstract: Extremism in society is the source of enormous human suffering and represents a significant social problem. In this article, we make a case for the urgency of understanding the psychology of societal extremism, discuss the diverse forms that extremism can take, and identify uncertainty as a correlate of and quite possibly precondition for extremism. We discuss the concept of uncertainty and the burgeoning social psychological research on uncertainty and its links with various forms of extremism. Thus, this article frames and contextualizes the subsequent articles in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues, on the psychology of the relationship, and possible causal link, between uncertainty and societal extremism.
140 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a social identity theory approach was used to find that recruiters might be particularly biased against skilled immigrant applicants, referred to as a skill paradox, according to which immigrants are more likely to be targets of employment discrimination the more skilled they are.
Abstract: Using a social identity theory approach, we theorized that recruiters might be particularly biased against skilled immigrant applicants. We refer to this phenomenon as a skill paradox, according to which immigrants are more likely to be targets of employment discrimination the more skilled they are. Furthermore, building on the common ingroup identity model, we proposed that this paradox can be resolved through human resource management strategies that promote inclusive hiring practices (e.g. by emphasizing fit with a diverse clientele). The results from a laboratory experiment were consistent with our predictions: local recruiters preferred skilled local applicants over skilled immigrant applicants, but only when these applicants were qualified for a specific job. This bias against qualified and skilled immigrant applicants was attenuated when fit with a diverse clientele was emphasized, but not when fit with a homogeneous clientele was emphasized or when the hiring strategy was not explained. We discuss...
111 citations
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TL;DR: Contrary to antipathy models, 2 dimensions mattered, and many stereotypes were mixed, either pitying (low competence, high warmth subordinates) or envying (high competence, low warmth competitors).
Abstract: Stereotype research emphasizes systematic processes over seemingly arbitrary contents, but content also may prove systematic. On the basis of stereotypes' intergroup functions, the stereotype content model hypothesizes that (a) 2 primary dimensions are competence and warmth, (b) frequent mixed clusters combine high warmth with low competence (paternalistic) or high competence with low warmth (envious), and (c) distinct emotions (pity, envy, admiration, contempt) differentiate the 4 competence-warmth combinations. Stereotypically, (d) status predicts high competence, and competition predicts low warmth. Nine varied samples rated gender, ethnicity, race, class, age, and disability out-groups. Contrary to antipathy models, 2 dimensions mattered, and many stereotypes were mixed, either pitying (low competence, high warmth subordinates) or envying (high competence, low warmth competitors). Stereotypically, status predicted competence, and competition predicted low warmth.
5,411 citations
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01 Jan 1999TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a theory of intergroup relations from visiousness to viciousness, and the psychology of group dominance, as well as the dynamics of the criminal justice system.
Abstract: Part I. From There to Here - Theoretical Background: 1. From visiousness to viciousness: theories of intergroup relations 2. Social dominance theory as a new synthesis Part II. Oppression and its Psycho-Ideological Elements: 3. The psychology of group dominance: social dominance orientation 4. Let's both agree that you're really stupid: the power of consensual ideology Part III. The Circle of Oppression - The Myriad Expressions of Institutional Discrimination: 5. You stay in your part of town and I'll stay in mine: discrimination in the housing and retail markets 6. They're just too lazy to work: discrimination in the labor market 7. They're just mentally and physically unfit: discrimination in education and health care 8. The more of 'them' in prison, the better: institutional terror, social control and the dynamics of the criminal justice system Part IV. Oppression as a Cooperative Game: 9. Social hierarchy and asymmetrical group behavior: social hierarchy and group difference in behavior 10. Sex and power: the intersecting political psychologies of patriarchy and empty-set hierarchy 11. Epilogue.
3,970 citations
TL;DR: An expanded sense of dehumanization emerges, in which the phenomenon is not unitary, is not restricted to the intergroup context, and does not occur only under conditions of conflict or extreme negative evaluation.
Abstract: The concept of dehumanization lacks a systematic theoretical basis, and research that addresses it has yet to be integrated. Manifestations and theories of dehumanization are reviewed, and a new model is developed. Two forms of dehumanization are proposed, involving the denial to others of 2 distinct senses of humanness: characteristics that are uniquely human and those that constitute human nature. Denying uniquely human attributes to others represents them as animal-like, and denying human nature to others represents them as objects or automata. Cognitive underpinnings of the "animalistic" and "mechanistic" forms of dehumanization are proposed. An expanded sense of dehumanization emerges, in which the phenomenon is not unitary, is not restricted to the intergroup context, and does not occur only under conditions of conflict or extreme negative evaluation. Instead, dehumanization becomes an everyday social phenomenon, rooted in ordinary social-cognitive processes.
1,879 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that news about the costs of immigration boosted white opposition far more when Latino immigrants, rather than European immigrants, were featured, and that group cues influence opinion and political action by triggering emotions not simply by changing beliefs about the severity of the immigration problem.
Abstract: We examine whether and how elite discourse shapes mass opinion and action on immigration policy. One popular but untested suspicion is that reactions to news about the costs of immigration depend upon who the immigrants are. We confirmthissuspicioninanationallyrepresentativeexperiment:newsaboutthecostsofimmigrationboostswhiteopposition far more when Latino immigrants, rather than European immigrants, are featured. We find these group cues influence opinion and political action by triggering emotions—in particular, anxiety—not simply by changing beliefs about the severity of the immigration problem. A second experiment replicates these findings but also confirms their sensitivity to the stereotypic consistency of group cues and their context. While these results echo recent insights about the power of anxiety, they also suggest the public is susceptible to error and manipulation when group cues trigger anxiety independently of the actual threat posed by the group.
954 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a subjective uncertainty reduction model of motivation associated with social identity process and group and intergroup behavior is developed and described, based on social identity theory and self-categorization theory.
Abstract: A motivational extension of social identity theory is proposed: the uncertainty reduction hypothesis. Building on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, a subjective uncertainty reduction model of motivation associated with social identity process and group and intergroup behavior is developed and described. Contextually generated subjective uncertainty about important, usually self-conceptually relevant, matters motivates uncertainty reduction. The processes of self-categorization and prototypical depersonalization responsible for social identification and group behaviors are well suited to subjective uncertainty reduction; they contextually assimilate self to a prescriptive prototype that guides and consensually validates perception, cognition, affect and behavior. Group membership, social category-based self-conceptualization, group behavior, and intergroup relations are motivated by uncertainty reduction. Contextual uncertainty can be reduced by group membership and group action. This ...
848 citations