How Refugees' Stereotypes Toward Host Society Members Predict Acculturation Orientations: The Role of Perceived Discrimination.

Sebastian Lutterbach,Andreas Beelmann

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.612427

Abstract

Refugee migration leads to increased diversity in host societies and refugees have to face many stereotyped attitudes in the host society. However, there has been little research on minority group stereotypes toward host society members and how these stereotypes relate to the acculturation-relevant attitudes of refugees in their first phase of acculturation. This study surveyed 783 refugees in Germany who had migrated mostly in the so-called “refugee crisis” between 2015 and 2016. At the time of the survey in 2018, they had been in Germany for an average of 27 months (SD = 15 months). These refugees reported their positive and negative sociability stereotypes toward German host society members, acculturation-related orientations, shared reality values, and perceived discrimination. Results showed that positive sociability stereotypes toward host society members were associated with increased cultural adoption and shared reality. In contrast, negative sociability stereotypes negatively affected cultural adoption and shared reality. However, stereotypes showed no association at all with cultural maintenance. Interactions between sociability stereotypes and discrimination experiences highlighted a disillusion effect, in the sense that discrimination reduced the motivation to adopt the host culture more strongly among refugees who held strongly positive sociability stereotypes. The study extends knowledge on the significance of minority group stereotypes in the context of refugee migration and reveals the maladaptive consequences of discriminatory behavior against refugees by host society members.

Highlights

Every year, thousands of people across the globe migrate to another country, into another culture, and into another social context searching for ways to improve their lives
The present study investigated the relationships between positive and negative sociability stereotypes held by refugees toward German host society members and the motivation to adopt the host culture, maintain one’s own cultural identity, and develop shared reality perceptions
Because the sociability dimension is associated more strongly with outgroup attitudes and acculturation relevant perceptions, we focused on the sociability dimension of stereotypes in the context of refugee migration, because it is primarily important to immigrants whether host societies will give assistance, peace, and shelter

Summary

Introduction

Thousands of people across the globe migrate to another country, into another culture, and into another social context searching for ways to improve their lives. Refugees from the Middle East, and North Africa have become the largest group migrating to Germany These increased numbers of refugees have led to more and intensified contacts with members of the German host society, putting the issue of coexistence and acculturation at the heart of public and Refugees’ Stereotypes and Acculturation Orientations political debate. These discussions focus on the acculturative interests and values of the host society and largely ignore refugees’ experiences, their perspectives on integrationrelevant attitudes, and the factors that influence minority acculturation orientations. There has been less research on cognitive variables (such as migrationrelevant expectations and beliefs regarding future relations with host society members) and how these influence the acculturation process, contact experiences with the host society, as well as acculturation-relevant beliefs and behaviors of refugees

Methods

Results

Conclusion