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New Zealand = bicultural? Implicit and explicit associations between ethnicity and nationhood in the New Zealand context
Author(s) -
Sibley Chris G.,
Liu James H.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.459
Subject(s) - ethnic group , ingroups and outgroups , divergence (linguistics) , psychology , indigenous , context (archaeology) , social psychology , identity (music) , multiculturalism , implicit attitude , gender studies , implicit association test , convergence (economics) , sociology , anthropology , geography , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , physics , pedagogy , archaeology , acoustics , biology , economic growth , economics
Four studies examined explicit and implicit perceptions of ethnicity and nationhood in New Zealand (NZ). NZ Europeans/Pakeha (the majority group) endorsed a bicultural perspective and explicitly rated both their own ingroup and Maori (the indigenous peoples of NZ) as contributing equally to NZ national identity and culture (Study 1). Contrary to the divergence between explicit and implicit ethnic‐national associations observed in the USA, implicit associations in NZ were generally consistent with explicitly stated values. Pakeha and Maori, but not Asian New Zealanders, were both strongly implicitly associated with the national category ‘NZ’ (Studies 1–3), although this general tendency was qualified by weak levels of ingroup favoritism from all three ethnic groups (Study 2). Finally, the small tendency for Pakeha to implicitly associate their ingroup more strongly with NZ was erased by using moderately well‐known Pakeha and Maori rugby players as targets (Study 4). These findings contrast with the American = White implicit associations described by Devos and Banaji (2005), and provide insight into the ways in which socio‐cultural realities foster convergence or divergence between explicit and implicit beliefs about equality and the function of ethnicity in nationhood. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.