Encounters, Predispositions, and Refugee Prejudice

• In Event: Public Attitudes, Immigration, and Refugees

Abstract

Studies show that local exposure to a large number of refugees increases threat perception and thus hardens public antipathy toward them. We focus on individual-level exposure to a number of refugees. Allport (1954) argues that frequent contact with outgroup members without communication, or superficial contact strengthens prior prejudice. Allport’s argument connects with the recent argument that situational triggers galvanize or mobilize predispositions to prejudice. We thus test the hypothesis that superficial contact strengthens predispositions to prejudice toward refugees in the case of Turkey. We conducted cross-sectional regression using our survey dataset (N = 3000) for 2022. The results show that frequent superficial contact increases the impact of refugee-relevant socioeconomic concerns and rigid personalities on prejudice. Superficial contact thus strengthens predispositions to prejudice.

Author

• Yasushi Hazama, Institute of Developing Economies