Perceived prototypicality of Asian subgroups in the United States and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Asians are monolithically categorized under one broad racial label despite their diverse compositions (e.g., with national origins from South, East, Southeast, or West Asia). Some Asian subgroups are perceived to be more prototypically Asian than others and cultural contexts may further shape such perception. With historically longstanding presence of East Asians in the United States and South Asians in the United Kingdom, we theorized that the perceived prototypicality of different Asian subgroups in the two countries would reflect these respective historical saliencies. Three studies (N = 849) examined how (non-Asian) Americans and Britons perceived different Asian subgroups in terms of how prototypically Asian and how foreign they seem. Studies 1 and 2 found that compared to British participants, Americans perceived East and Southeast Asians as more prototypically Asian; Britons considered South Asians as more prototypically Asian than American participants. Study 3 showed that Americans perceived East and Southeast Asians to be less foreign and more prototypically American than South and West Asians; in contrast, Britons perceived South Asians to be less foreign and more prototypically British than all other Asian subgroups. This research demonstrates the importance of disaggregating Asian subgroups and contextualizing prototype theories within sociohistorical frameworks.