Ingroup Identification and Group-Level Narcissism as Predictors of U.S. Citizens’ Attitudes and Behavior Toward Arab Immigrants

Abstract

In four studies, the authors explored factors contributing to negative attitudes and behavior toward Arab immigrants in the United States. In Study 1, Americans reported greater threat from Arabs, compared to other groups (e.g., Latino, Asian). In Study 2, they tested the effects of ingroup identification and group-level narcissism on attitudes toward Arab, Latino, Asian, and European immigrants. Identification interacted with group narcissism in predicting attitudes toward Arab (but not other) immigrants, such that identification predicted negative attitudes toward Arab immigrants only at mean and high levels of group narcissism. Study 3 explored the convergent and discriminant validity of the group narcissism construct. In Study 4, the authors added a behavioral dependent measure. Again, ingroup identification predicted negative behavior and attitudes toward an Arab immigrant group (but not comparison groups) only at mean and high levels of group narcissism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Populism as Identity Politics

“…Collective narcissism tends to be positively correlated with nationalism (e.g., Lyons, Kenworthy, & Popan, 2010). Yet, it is a broader construct (it can be used in relation to national but also other social groups) and captures a concern with protecting the in-group's image, rather than the need for dominance characteristic for nationalism (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989 Overall, our results might at least partially explain why populism is often linked to prejudicial attitudes and behaviors.…”

Understanding defensive and secure in-group positivity: The role of collective narcissism

“…For example, collective narcissism correlates positively with nationalism (Kosterman & Feschbach, 1989), rs ranging from .34 (Golec de Zavala, Peker, Guerra & Baran, in press; Study 3, Polish adults) to .38 (Lyons, Kenworthy, & Popan, 2010; Study 3, American students), blind patriotism (Schatz et al, 1999), rs ranging from .55 (Golec de Zavala, Cichocka, & Bilewicz, 2013; Study 4, Polish students) to.65 (Golec de Zavala et al, in press; Study 3, Polish adults), as well as national glorification (Roccas et al, 2006), r = .78 ; Study 2, Polish students). Similarly to these measures, collective narcissism captures convictions about in-group superiority and special deservingness, which have the potential to foster out-group negativity.…”

What determines attitudes to immigration in European countries? An analysis at the regional level

“…Many papers that focus on attitudes towards immigrant rights use racial prejudices and stereotypes as a predictor for opposition to immigrant rights (Burns and Gimpel 2000;Raijman et al 2003). For the United States, the literature focuses on attitudes towards specific ethnic groups and countries of origin, such as Hispanics, Blacks, Asians and Arabs, regardless of citizenship status (Berg 2009;Lyons et al 2010). In studies of attitudes of Europeans on the other hand, the focus is placed mostly on immigration, sometimes with the conditional influence of the race and culture of the immigrants in question (e.g.…”