Space-focused stereotypes of immigrant neighbourhoods
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Authors
Recent research suggests that stereotypes are not only applied to social groups but also to the physical spaces that social groups inhabit. We present three experiments investigating space-focused stereotype content and valence regarding immigrant and non-immigrant neighbourhoods. In Study 1a (N = 198), a pre-registered online experiment, we observed that participants associate more negative characteristics with immigrant neighbourhoods than with middle-class neighbourhoods. Whereas they imagined immigrant neighbourhoods as crime-ridden, dirty and dangerous, they imagined middle-class neighbourhoods to be quiet, clean and safe. Furthermore, whereas stereotype valence regarding immigrant neighbourhoods was negative, stereotype valence regarding middle-class neighbourhoods was positive, suggesting large effects. These results were replicated in Study 1b (N = 274), examining stereotypes of immigrant versus majority-German neighbourhoods. In Study 2 (N = 209), a pre-registered online experiment, we observed that space-focused stereotypes were more negative when cultural stereotypes rather than personal beliefs were assessed. Exploratory analyses revealed that, compared with majority-German neighbourhoods, participants imagined immigrant neighbourhoods to be lower in socioeconomic status and also reported feeling less psychologically connected to these neighbourhoods, regardless of whether space-focused stereotypes were personally endorsed or not. Lastly, a mega-analysis across studies suggested that effects of stereotypes of immigrant in comparison to non-immigrant places were very large (ds = 1.70). Together, the present findings indicate that mere differences in descriptions of places with reference to their demographic composition are sufficient to elicit large differences in associated stereotype content and valence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | British Journal of Social Psychology |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2100-2120 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| ISSN | 0144-6665 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10.2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.
- Social Psychology
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Sustainable Development Goals
- cultural stereotypes, demographic composition, immigrant neighbourhoods, personal beliefs, space-focused stereotypes
- Psychology
