Together we stand? Belonging motive moderates the effect of national ingroup salience on attitudes towards ethnic minorities

Adam-Troian J., ÇELEBİ E., Bonetto E., TAŞDEMİR N., YURTBAKAN T.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS, vol.77, pp.95-109, 2020 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 77
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.05.002
  • Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, ASSIA, ABI/INFORM, CINAHL, Communication & Mass Media Index, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.95-109
  • Keywords: Identity motives, Common ingroup, Optimal distinctiveness, Ethnic minorities, Belonging, National identity, SOCIAL-DOMINANCE ORIENTATION, IN-GROUP, INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES, SELF-CATEGORIZATION, CULTURAL DISTANCE, IDENTITY MOTIVES, INTERGROUP BIAS, AMERICAN FLAG, DISTINCTIVENESS, IDENTIFICATION
  • Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Common ingroup categorization reduces outgroup prejudice. This link is moderated by distinctiveness motives (i.e., individuals perceiving this identity as too inclusive). Yet, Optimal Distinctiveness Theory states that both distinctiveness and belonging motives shape intergroup attitudes. For the first time we tested the hypothesis that belonging and distinctiveness motives jointly moderate common ingroup categorization effects. Using a flag-priming paradigm, two studies showed that, when national ingroup identity was salient, only belonging motives predicted positive attitudes towards outgroups (Studyl: Syrians in Turkey, N = 184; Study 2: Maghrebis in France N = 151). This was corroborated by sensitivity analyses on aggregated data (N = 335). These results suggest that national identification may lead to positive outgroup attitudes for individuals who derive belonging from it.