Cultural Differences in the Role of Economic Competitiveness in Prejudice toward Immigrants and Foreign Workers.

This study investigated cultural differences in the role of economic competitiveness in prejudice toward immigrants and foreign workers between Northern European-heritage and East Asian cultures. Because economic competitiveness and achievement are associated with core cultural values in Northern European-heritage cultures, we hypothesized that economic competitiveness would be associated with prejudice toward immigrants and foreign workers more strongly in Northern European-heritage than in East Asian cultures. Results based on nationally representative samples drawn from the World Values Survey revealed that prejudice toward immigrants and foreign workers was generally higher in East Asian (South Korea and China) than in Northern European-heritage (Norway and the United States) cultures. However, as predicted, a stronger association was found between economic competitiveness and prejudice toward immigrants and foreign workers in Northern European-heritage than East Asian cultures, controlling for sociodemographic backgrounds of participants (gender, age, education, and income), ecological diversity of each country, values of uniqueness and conformity, attitude toward ethnic diversity, and racism. These findings support the hypothesis that the central values of a culture shape the nature of prejudice within it, including prejudice toward immigrants and foreign workers, and highlight the importance of understanding the cultural dynamics of prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]