Open AccessConceiving one‘s national group as transgenerational: Effects on attitudes towards ‘foreign’ and diaspora migrants
Author(s) -
Klaus Boehnke,
David Schiefer,
Marieke Christina van Egmond,
Katja Hanke,
Yechiel Klar,
Sonia Roccas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0230303
Subject(s) - social dominance orientation , diaspora , ingroups and outgroups , german , citizenship , european union , dominance (genetics) , authoritarianism , national identity , social psychology , refugee , acculturation , sociology , ethnic group , political science , gender studies , psychology , democracy , biology , law , anthropology , geography , economics , biochemistry , archaeology , politics , gene , economic policy
The current paper presents three studies, which suggest that perceiving one’s nation as transgenerational ( TG ) is related to a differentiation in the evaluation of ethnically German diaspora migrants and ethnically non-German (‘foreign’) migrants. First, we find that unlike ‘classical’ concepts such as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and hierarchic self-interest (HSI), TG explains differences in derogatory sentiments expressed towards diaspora and ‘foreign’ migrants. Second, TG is differentially related to positive emotions and behavioral intentions expressed towards these two groups of migrants. Lastly, results indicate that people who perceive the ingroup as TG require ‘foreign’ migrants to fulfill more criteria that make them eligible for citizenship and are thereby more exclusionist than people who include only the current generation into their concept of national identity. The social implications of these findings in face of the so-called refugee crisis in Germany and the wider European Union are discussed.