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Personal contact with refugees is key to welcoming them
- Source :
- Knappert, L J, Van Dijk, H, Yuan, S, van Prooijen, J-W, Engel, Y & Krouwel, A 2021, ' Personal contact with refugees is key to welcoming them: An analysis of politicians’ and citizens’ attitudes towards refugee integration ', Political Psychology, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 423-442 . https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12705, Political Psychology, 42(3), 423-442. Wiley-Blackwell
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Politicians are influential both in directing policies about refugees and in framing public discourse about them. However, unlike other host country residents, politicians’ attitudes towards refugees and integration are remarkably understudied. We therefore examine similarities and differences between politicians’ attitudes towards refugee integration and those held by citizens. Based on the Stereotype Content Model, we expect that political ideology informs stereotypes about refugees, which subsequently shape attitudes towards refugee integration. Based on the Contact Hypothesis, we further argue that personal contact with refugees reduces negative stereotypes about them – in particular for those endorsing a right-wing ideology. We draw on data collected via two surveys with 905 politicians and 8,013 citizens in The Netherlands, to show that (1) residents (i.e., politicians and citizens) who hold a right-wing orientation hold more negative stereotypes about refugees than those with a left-wing orientation, which in turn relate to more negative attitudes towards refugee integration; (2) personal contact with refugees reduces negative stereotypes among residents; and (3) politicians, compared to citizens, reported overall less negative stereotypes and more positive attitudes towards refugee integration. The practical implication of fostering residents’ contact with refugees as well as the implications for future research on politicians’ stereotypes and integration attitudes are discussed.
- Subjects :
- stereotypes
Sociology and Political Science
Social Psychology
media_common.quotation_subject
Refugee
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
IDEOLOGY
integration
Stereotype content model
Biology and political orientation
Politics
PREJUDICE
Political science
SUPPORT
political orientation
STEREOTYPE CONTENT
Contact hypothesis
media_common
RADICAL RIGHT
ASYLUM SEEKERS
Gender studies
SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
COMPETENCE
POLICY
refugees
Philosophy
Clinical Psychology
Framing (social sciences)
IMMIGRATION
Political Science and International Relations
Public discourse
FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSIONS
Ideology
contact theory
politicians
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0162895X
- Volume :
- 42
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Political Psychology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b62356893880054ff390c21fa5a7f44d
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12705