Canadian Citizens’ Helping Intentions toward Syrian Refugees

  Since 2011, over 5 million refugees have fled civil war in Syria (UNHCR, 2018). Canada has responded tothe Syrian refugee crisis by resettling over 50,000 Syrian refugees and encouraging its citizens to supportthe integration process. Previous research has shown that when in-group members take the perspectiveof an out-group it leads to increased helping intentions toward that out-group (Mashuri, Hasanah,Rahmawati, 2013). To replicate and extend these findings in a Canadian context, the current study soughtto answer the question: How does national identity impact the relationship between perspective taking andhelping intentions toward Syrian refugees? The results indicated that when undergraduate participantsengaged in perspective taking, it led to increased financial helping intentions toward Syrian refugees,and this relationship was mediated by empathy. It was also found that individuals with a greater ethnicnational identity had lower levels of political and financial helping intentions toward Syrian refugees.  Keywords: Syrian Refugees, Immigrants, Newcomers, Canada, National Identity, Ethnic National Identity, Perspective Taking, Empathy, Helping Intentions