Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Immigrants--Public opinion; Prejudices; Threat (Psychology); Academic theses;
Abstract
The evolutionary theory of intergroup relations suggests that human beings have an inherent tendency to categorize their world in terms of ingroup members and outgroup members (Kurzban & Neuberg, 2005). This distinction between ingroup and outgroup members is based on a cost-benefit analysis with ingroup members consisting of individuals who are beneficial to the individual and outgroup members consisting of individuals who might pose threats to the individual and their ingroup. Emotional systems have evolved to respond to these threats in the environment (Cottrell & Neuberg, 2005). In this study, 317 Caucasian Americans completed measures of threat perceptions and emotional reactions toward Arab immigrant men and women, Mexican immigrant men and women, Canadian immigrant men and women, and Caucasian Americans. Different groups were associated with different threats and negative emotions. Arab immigrant and Mexican immigrant groups were associated with multiple threats and emotions. Male immigrant groups were associated with greater threat perceptions and more negative emotions than female groups, and threats to social coordination and health were the most salient threats in intergroup contexts. Gender of the participant was crucial in determining the type of emotion experienced toward outgroups, with male participants reporting greater levels of anger and disgust toward outgroup members as compared to female participants. Canadian immigrants were not associated with threats or negative emotions, but did not elicit positive emotions either, suggesting that the absence of threats does not assure positive emotions towards outgroups. Not all outgroups seem to be associated with threats and negative emotions, and only those members that indicate benefits to ingroup are associated with positive emotions. The ingroup members of Caucasian Americans were associated with lower levels of threat perceptions and were the only group associated with the positive emotion of admiration. Threats and negative emotions are both important in intergroup relations; reducing threat perception associated with outgroup members and increasing positive emotions associated with them are important steps for improving intergroup relations.
Year of Submission
2009
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Psychology
First Advisor
Helen C. Harton
Second Advisor
Otto H. MacLin
Third Advisor
M. Catherine Desoto
Date Original
2009
Object Description
1 PDF file (100 leaves)
Copyright
©2009 Joshi D. Priyanka
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Priyanka, Joshi D., "Prejudice as an Emotional Response to Threat: An Evolutionary Approach" (2009). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 3126.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/3126
Comments
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