Images of immigrants: a study on the xenophobia and permeability of intergroup boundaries

Abstract

An experimental questionnaire study was carried out in order to test partly contradictory hypotheses associated with respectively a threat discourse and a delegitimization discourse. The dependent variable was the images of the immigrant. The central independent variable was the permeability (subjects anticipated a European policy of open-frontiers) versus impermeability (subjects anticipated a European policy of closed-frontiers) of intergroup boundaries. The immigrants' status (operationalized by specifying the target group either as immigrants from the Third World or from other European Union countries) was the second independent variable. Consistent with the threat discourse, the anticipation of open borders led to more negative descriptions of immigrants from Third World countries and those descriptions could be interpreted as negative reactions due to threatening insecurity. However, consistent with the delegitimization hypothesis, the anticipation of closed borders detracted considerably from the positive images of the immigrants from European countries and even involved main effects indicating that also the image of the Third World immigrants was negatively affected (in different dimensions than those associated with the negative reactions triggered by the open-border policy).