Abstract
In a cross-cultural study, we investigated the link between explicit attitudes towards the hijab and implicit measures of cultural and religious bias during the recognition of emotions. Participants tested in Austria (N = 71) and in Turkey (N = 70) reported their attitude towards the hijab, and categorised in a mousetracker task happy and sad faces of women, shown with five levels of intensity, and framed either by a hijab or by an oval-shaped mask. The two samples did not differ in their explicit attitudes towards the hijab. However, negative attitude towards the hijab predicted greater sadness attribution to happy faces with the hijab in Austrian participants. Unrelated to their explicit attitudes, Turkish participants attributed more sadness to happy faces with than without the hijab. Results suggest that the sight of the hijab activated, in both Austrian and Turkish participants, implicit biases resulting in associations with sadness and negative emotions.
Highlights
In the last decades, many Western countries have witnessed an increase in the number of immigrants and asylum seekers from countries in which the main religion is Islam
Cross-cultural comparison of responses to female faces with the hijab showed, across all three dependent variables, that participants with a more negative explicit attitude towards the hijab were biased in their implicit responses to faces with the hijab, especially for low-intensity happiness, and that this link was stronger in the Austrian sample
Confirming H3, the area under the curve (AUC) in correct trials with happy faces was larger for participants with a more negative attitude towards the hijab, reflecting greater deflection of the mouse trajectory towards the “sad” label (Figure 4)
Summary
Many Western countries have witnessed an increase in the number of immigrants and asylum seekers from countries in which the main religion is Islam. Muslim women wearing the hijab (headscarf), and even more so those wearing the niqab (face veil), remain an unfamiliar sight to many Western Europeans and may evoke fear or disapproval in parts of society (Moors & Salih, 2009). Even those who generally favour a multicultural society may have strong prejudices about the headscarf. Can these prejudices and stereotypes affect facial emotion recognition?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
