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Virtual Exhibit Hall
How much Chileans trust Peruvian immigrants? The role of contextual, normative and intergroup contact factors
Fri, May 24, 5:45 to 7:15pm, TBAAbstract
This research analyses with a multilevel approach how contextual (percentage of migrants in counties) and individual factors (perceived injunctive norms) influence the development intergroup contact and intergroup trust towards Peruvian immigrants in the Chilean population. Several predictions were derived from the contact hypothesis and the norms literature. Specifically, If the percentage of immigrants in the counties increases, we expect much more opportunities for contact to occur, and the more Peruvian immigrants and Chileans get to know each other, the greater the levels of trust. However, higher proportion of immigrants could potentially increase negative contact and thorough that process reduce the level of trust. This negative effect, however, could be countered by the role of Chilean perceived family and friend’s injunctive norms supporting contact. Specifically, we predict that higher level of family and friend’s injunctive norms would increase positive and quantitative contact experience, which in turn should foster the development of trust. Two studies with urban national representative samples in 2014 (Study 1, N=708, 49 cities) and first wave of the Chilean Longitudinal Social Survey-ELSOC- 2016 (Study 2, N=2178, 56 cities) were used to test these hypotheses. Study 1 provided support for almost all our predictions except that higher percentage of migrants in counties did not foster the development of negative contact. Study 2 mirrored the same pattern of study 1 but confirmed that an increase in the percentage of migrants in counties could also trigger negative experiences of contact and subsequently lack of trust. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.