A new American dilemma? The effect of ethnic identification and public service on the national inclusion of ethnic minorities

Abstract

Three experiments integrate research from political science and social psychology to examine the consequences of two competing visions of American national identity. American identity has been defined not only in terms of shared ethnocultural heritage originating in Europe (the ethnocultural prototype) but also in terms of shared commitment to civic service (the civic responsibility prototype). Three experiments tested the consequence of highlighting each of these national prototypes on perceivers' inclusion of ethnic minorities as legitimately American. Experiments 1–3 showed that highlighting ethnic minorities' allegiance to their ethnic subgroup (versus downplaying it) challenges the ethnocultural prototype and makes ethnic minorities appear less American. Process data showed that this effect was mediated by increased threats to American distinctiveness. By contrast, emphasizing ethnic minorities' national service (versus local community service) highlights ethnic minorities' fit with the civic responsibility prototype and makes ethnic minorities appear more American (Experiments 2–3). Process data showed that this effect was mediated by enhanced American distinctiveness. Collectively, these experiments highlight how inclusion of ethnic minorities in the nation can wax and wane depending on which definition of national character is salient in the social context. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

To be or not to be (ethnic): Public vs. private expressions of ethnic identification differentially impact national inclusion of White and non-White groups

“…However, endorsement of multicultural principles does not fit with recent evidence which shows that people dislike ethnic minorities who express their ethnic identity compared to others who downplay it (Dovidio, Gaertner, Schnabel, Saguy, & Johnson, 2010;Kaiser & Pratt-Hyatt, 2009;Yogeeswaran, Dasgupta, & Gomez, 2011). For example, Kaiser and Pratt-Hyatt (2009) demonstrated that Whites exhibit greater prejudice toward ethnic minorities who are strongly identified with their ethnic group compared to their weakly identified counterparts.…”

“…We assessed the degree to which participants construed Native-Americans as a group as legitimately American using 7 items adapted from previous research (Devos & Banaji, 2005;Yogeeswaran et al, 2011). Specifically, these items assessed the extent to which participants believed that NativeAmericans "belong in the U.S.," "are patriotic to the U.S.," "feel loyal to the U.S.," "respect America's political institutions and laws," "defend the U.S. when criticized," "work for the country's best interests," "identify with the U.S.," and "are truly American" (α = .85).…”

“…In support of this prediction, previous research has shown that group members who deviate from mainstream norms, values, and practices elicit harsh penalties for threatening the positive social identity of their ingroup (i.e., black sheep effect; Marques & Paez, 1994;Marques & Yzerbyt, 1988). Moreover, exposure to ethnic minorities who embrace their ethnic heritage has been found to elicit perceptions of threat to national distinctiveness which, in turn, exacerbates the rejection of their entire ethnic group from the nation state (Yogeeswaran et al, 2011). Public displays of ethnic identity that sharply deviate from the national prototype are, therefore, particularly likely to elicit distinctiveness threat compared to private displays of ethnic identity that one does not have to see.…”

Do we need them? When immigrant communities are perceived as indispensable to national identity or functioning of the host society

“…The civic, more inclusive, conception of national identity defines citizenship based on living within the national territory, following societal rules and laws, endorsement of equal political rights, and active participation and contribution to the society (Reijerse et al, 2012). Research showed that ethnic conceptualizations of the national identity are associated with more negative attitudes towards immigrants (Pehrson, Brown, & Zagefka, 2009;Pehrson, Vignoles, & Brown, 2009;Reijerse et al, 2012), while civic representations are related to prosocial orientations towards immigrants (Wakefield et al, 2011) and to more positive attitudes towards them (Reijerse et al, 2012;Yogeeswaran, Dasgupta & Gomez, 2012).…”

The Interactive Effects of Robot Anthropomorphism and Robot Ability on Perceived Threat and Support for Robotics Research

“…By contrast, identity threats refer to concerns over the ingroups' uniqueness, values, and distinctiveness (Riek et al, 2006;Stephan et al, 1999). As people are motivated to see their own group as positively distinct from other outgroups (Taj fel & Turner, 1986), threats to the ingroup's distinctiveness, uniqueness, or identity have been found to elicit prejudice and discrimination (Jetten, Spears, & Manstead, 1997, 1998Yogeeswaran, Dasgupta, & Gomez, 2012). When robots are sufficiently humanlike and integrated into society, they may not only be perceived as a realistic threat to human jobs and resources but may also be perceived as threatening human identity by blurring the lines between what is human and what is machine.…”