Seeing Disorder: individual- and neighborhood-level predictors of biased perceptions

• In Event: Communities and Quality of Life

Abstract

Using data from a recent community survey linked to systematic social observations in neighborhoods in two German cities, we analyze the bias in disorder perceptions by survey respondents relative to objective levels of disorder. From previous research in the U.S., it is known that the ethnic composition of the neighborhood is one of the major influences of biased perceptions, hinting at the symbolic meanings of disorder for more generalized uneasiness and fear. We hypothesize that in the German context, likewise, ethnic diversity and concentrated disadvantage is positively linked to more perceived disorder. In addition, we assume that individual psychological factors, such as xenophobic attitudes and the need for closure, individually influence the salience of disorder. We test these assumptions using multilevel modeling including cross-level interactions. The survey sample is N = 6500 respondents in N = 140 small neighborhoods, the systematic social observations cover N = 3000 street segments in these neighborhoods.

Authors

• Heleen J. Janssen, Max Planck Institute Freiburg

• Dominik Gerstner, Max Planck Institute Freiburg

• Dietrich Oberwittler, Max Planck Institute Freiburg