Work

U.S. public perceptions of Mexican immigrants: Effects of immigrant acculturation strategy, documentation status, and gender and participants’ social dominance

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Given the salience and rise of anti-immigrant sentiments in the United States, Mexican immigrants who are not integrated into the American cultural system, are undocumented, or are men may be particularly susceptible to negative treatment. Moreover, people who are high in social dominance orientation (SDO) endorse social hierarchies and are more likely to perceive groups from a lower status less positively. Using a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, we presented participants (N = 243) with a vignette describing a Mexican immigrant who differed on acculturation strategy (assimilated or separated), documentation status (documented or undocumented), and gender (woman or man). We then asked participants to answer questions about the Mexican immigrant and complete an SDO scale. Overall, participants had more negative perceptions of separated (vs. assimilated) and undocumented (vs. documented) Mexican immigrants, and they felt less positively about Mexican immigrant women (vs. men). Participants with high SDO felt more negatively about separated (vs. assimilated) Mexican immigrants. Additionally, participants perceived the separated (vs. assimilated) Mexican immigrant as being more representative of Mexican immigrants as a group, but they identified more with the assimilated (vs. separated) Mexican immigrant. We also assessed participants’ attitudes toward Mexican immigrants in general and found that they perceived greater competitiveness toward undocumented (vs. documented) Mexican immigrants. These findings provide important insight into factors that impact U.S. perceptions of Mexican immigrants—a starting point to better understand and improve relations between the U.S. public and Mexican immigrants.

Source: International Journal of Intercultural Relations

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.03.008

Authors: Ramon T. Flores, Norma Rodriguez, Diego Arroyo, Noemí Delgado, Michelle Ramirez Martinez

Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, Pitzer College, Scripps College

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Refugees, and Integration

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,850