Does intergenerational social mobility affect antagonistic attitudes towards ethnic minorities?

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Social Psychology
• Ethnic Studies

Background:

• Limited research exists on the relationship between social mobility and negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities.
• Understanding how individuals' social trajectories influence their ethnic prejudice is crucial for social cohesion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of educational and class intergenerational mobility on ethnic stereotypes, ethnic threat perception, and opposition to ethnic intermarriage.
• To test hypotheses derived from ethnic competition and socialization theories regarding social mobility and ethnic attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized diagonal mobility models to analyze data from the Social and Cultural Developments in The Netherlands (SOCON) surveys (1995-2005) and The Netherlands Kinship and Panel Study (NKPS) (2002).
• Examined the interplay between social origin and social destination in shaping attitudes.

Main Results:

• The influence of social origin on antagonistic attitudes is substantial when individuals move to less tolerant social destinations, sometimes exceeding the impact of the destination itself.
• Adaptation to more tolerant social norms is more readily achieved than adaptation to less tolerant norms.
• Limited evidence supports the hypothesis that downward mobility directly leads to increased frustration and antagonistic attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Social mobility's impact on ethnic prejudice is complex and context-dependent, particularly influenced by the tolerance levels of the destination social position.
• Findings suggest that upward mobility into tolerant environments can mitigate the influence of social origins on ethnic prejudice.