The Political Psychology Of Immigration Attitudes: A Compound Threat Sensitivity Framework

Abstract

Immigration attitudes are shaped by complex interactions between contextual factors and individual differences. Whereas prior work has generally considered these interactions in isolation, I contend that we can gain a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of immigration attitudes by assessing individual differences in sensitivity to simultaneous contextual changes. I develop a compound threat sensitivity framework, which proposes that the influence of population change on immigration attitudes is dependent on concurrent changes in economic wellbeing and crime, as well as individual differences associated with preferences for security/order over social freedom (e.g., authoritarianism; see Altemeyer, 1981; Stenner, 2005), and those associated with preferences for power/dominance over egalitarianism (e.g., social dominance orientation; see Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994). Correspondingly, the influence of economic conditions and crime on immigration attitudes depends on concurrent changes in the rate of immigration, as well as these individual differences. I tested these ideas in two studies. Study 1 assessed the contingent influence of objective country-level contextual factors, using data from the European Social Survey. Study 2 tested these ideas experimentally by manipulating information about concurrent changes in society. The results provide support for a compound threat sensitivity framework. These findings expand upon and qualify both the Dual Process Model of Prejudice (DPM; Duckitt & Sibley, 2009) and research on the influence of demographic change on political attitudes (e.g., Craig & Richeson, 2014). In addition to enhancing our theoretical understanding of “person X context” interactions in the domain of immigration, this work also has practical implications regarding messages that are likely to influence support for immigration.