Explaining Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy: A Review of the Theoretical Literature

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Allen Berg
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
Theoretical Literature

How Dehumanization Influences Attitudes toward Immigrants

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 440-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Utych
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
Policy Attitudes ◽  
Immigration Attitudes ◽  
Original Experimental Data

Immigrants, as a group, are frequently described in ways, such as vermin or disease, that portray them as less than human. This type of dehumanizing language leads to negative emotional responses and negative attitudes toward the dehumanized group. This paper examines how the dehumanization of immigrants influences immigration policy attitudes. I use original experimental data to show that dehumanization leads to more negative immigration attitudes. I further find that these negative attitudes are mediated by the role of emotion. Dehumanization increases anger and disgust toward immigrants, which causes anti-immigrant sentiment.

You’re (Not) Welcome: The Impact of Symbolic Boundaries, Intergroup Contact, and Experiences With Discrimination on Immigration Attitudes

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 458-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rico Neumann ◽  
Patricia Moy
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Symbolic Boundaries ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
Political News ◽  
The Impact

Against the backdrop of Europe’s migrant crisis, this study investigates attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy. Specifically, how do Europeans’ attitudes stem from: (a) the symbolic boundaries they draw regarding immigrants (i.e., their perceptions of what constitutes an immigrant); (b) their contact with racially and ethnically different others; and (c) their own experiences with discrimination? Data from the 2014-2015 European Social Survey ( N = 37,623) show Europeans’ symbolic boundaries regarding immigrants varied by respondents’ sociodemographics, consumption of political news, and social trust. Most, but not all, forms of intergroup contact enhanced support for specific groups and broader immigration policy. Contrary to expectations, experience with discrimination did not shape attitudes toward specific immigrant groups. Our discussion focuses on theoretical implications, future research, and how findings can inform contemporary public discourse about the migrant crisis.

scholarly journals Bridging the Partisan Divide on Immigration Policy Attitudes through a Bipartisan Issue Area: The Case of Human Trafficking

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabitha Bonilla ◽  
Cecilia Hyunjung Mo
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
Issue Area ◽  
General Support ◽  
Policy Attitudes ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Survey Experiments ◽  
Positive Sentiment

AbstractTo date, while there is a rich literature describing the determinants of anti-immigrant sentiment, researchers have not identified a mechanism to reduce antipathy toward immigrants. In fact, extant research has shown that efforts to induce positive attitudes toward immigrants often backfire. What if a bridging frame strategy were employed? Can a bipartisan issue area in which there is general support act as a bridging frame to elicit more positive sentiment toward immigration among those who oppose more open immigration policies? We explore this question by conducting two survey experiments in which we manipulate whether immigration is linked with the bipartisan issue area of human trafficking. We find that in forcing individuals to reconcile the fact that a widely accepted issue position of combating trafficking also requires a reassessment of immigration policies, we can positively shift attitudes on immigration.

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