Expectations about system justification predict the ideological gap in attitudes towards immigrants

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Political Science
• Sociology

Background:

• Political conservatives in the U.S. exhibit less favorable attitudes towards immigrants compared to liberals.
• Ideological differences in immigration attitudes may stem from varying beliefs about immigrants' adherence to societal norms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that conservatives' negative attitudes toward immigrants are linked to their beliefs about immigrants' system justification.
• To examine how political ideology influences perceptions of immigrants' support for the American system across different ethnic groups.

Main Methods:

• An online study was conducted with 404 participants to assess beliefs about system justification among four immigrant groups: Europeans, East Asians, Middle Easterners, and Latin Americans.
• The study measured both prescriptive beliefs (how much immigrants *should* justify the system) and descriptive beliefs (how much immigrants *do* justify the system).

Main Results:

• Conservatism correlated positively with the belief that immigrants should strongly justify the system and with the perception that most immigrants do justify the system (except for Middle Easterners).
• Conservatives perceived a larger discrepancy between expected and actual immigrant system justification than liberals.
• This perceived gap in system justification mediated the relationship between conservatism and attitudes toward non-European immigrants.

Conclusions:

• Findings support a 'Perceived System Justification Deficit Model of Prejudice,' suggesting that expectations about immigrants' ideological support for the status quo contribute to out-group bias.
• The model highlights how perceived deviations from societal norms by immigrant groups can foster prejudice and potentially discrimination.