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Disgust Sensitivity's Effect on Immigration Opinion Across Four Nations

Thu, August 30, 10:00 to 11:30am, Marriott, Suffolk

Abstract

Scholars increasingly emphasize the utility of biological concepts in understanding public opinion (Jost et al. 2003; Alford et al. 2005; Graham et al. 2009; Mondak 2010). We add to this tradition by investigating the impact of a basal human reaction, disgust. We consider the impact of disgust on policy preferences regarding immigration. Disgust is characterized as part of a behavioral immune system that motivates avoidance of people or situations that might result in contamination. We use individual sensitivity to disgust as the key variable driving our theoretical predictions. Disgust sensitivity is measured using the pathogen subscale of the Three Domains of Disgust Scale (Olatunji et al. 2012). We predict respondents with higher levels of disgust sensitivity will more strongly endorse limitations on immigration and refugees (H1).
To test this we collect data across USA, Norway, Sweden, and Turkey. The Turkish data are from a national public opinion survey. The other three countries use nationwide samples with highly diverse samples, collected using internet surveys. Despite considerable differences across these countries in the visibility of immigrants, immigrant/refugee policies, the economic and political conditions, along with background differences in income, religious composition, and gender equality we find Disgust Sensitivity explains individual support or opposition to immigrants across all four countries, even after relevant political variables are controlled for.

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