Article Version of Record

Prejudice in disguise: Which features determine the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements?

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Fetz, Karolina
Kroh, Martin

Abstract / Description

In current immigration debates ethnic prejudice is often expressed in a subtle manner, which conceals its xenophobic content. However, previous research has only insufficiently examined the specific features that make certain ethnically prejudicial statements subtler, i.e., less readily identifiable as xenophobic, than others. The current study employs an experimental factorial survey design and assesses the subtlety of systematically manipulated prejudicial statements. Our data from a German random population sample (N = 895) indicate that the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements is manipulable along the dimensions of topic, linguistic (essentialist) phrasing, and target group: Prejudicial statements that refer to culture, that are phrased weakly essentialistically, and that target Muslims were subtlest, in being evaluated as least xenophobic by the respondents. Moreover, with an increasing internal and a decreasing external motivation to respond without prejudice, individuals reacted more strongly to the variation of the statements’ topic and linguistic phrasing and were thus more sensitive to features determining subtler and more blatant ways of ethnic prejudice expression. These findings contribute to a better understanding of current migration discourses, in demonstrating that the specific manner in which ethnic prejudice is communicated can camouflage the xenophobic nature of a statement, so that it is less readily recognized as prejudicial.

Keyword(s)

subtle prejudice ethnic prejudice survey experiment internal motivation to respond without prejudice external motivation to respond without prejudice

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2021-05-10

Journal title

Journal of Social and Political Psychology

Volume

9

Issue

1

Page numbers

187–206

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Fetz, K., & Kroh, M. (2021). Prejudice in disguise: Which features determine the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements?. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 9(1), 187-206. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.6381
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Fetz, Karolina
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Kroh, Martin
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-04-14T11:24:11Z
  • Made available on
    2022-04-14T11:24:11Z
  • Date of first publication
    2021-05-10
  • Abstract / Description
    In current immigration debates ethnic prejudice is often expressed in a subtle manner, which conceals its xenophobic content. However, previous research has only insufficiently examined the specific features that make certain ethnically prejudicial statements subtler, i.e., less readily identifiable as xenophobic, than others. The current study employs an experimental factorial survey design and assesses the subtlety of systematically manipulated prejudicial statements. Our data from a German random population sample (N = 895) indicate that the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements is manipulable along the dimensions of topic, linguistic (essentialist) phrasing, and target group: Prejudicial statements that refer to culture, that are phrased weakly essentialistically, and that target Muslims were subtlest, in being evaluated as least xenophobic by the respondents. Moreover, with an increasing internal and a decreasing external motivation to respond without prejudice, individuals reacted more strongly to the variation of the statements’ topic and linguistic phrasing and were thus more sensitive to features determining subtler and more blatant ways of ethnic prejudice expression. These findings contribute to a better understanding of current migration discourses, in demonstrating that the specific manner in which ethnic prejudice is communicated can camouflage the xenophobic nature of a statement, so that it is less readily recognized as prejudicial.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Fetz, K., & Kroh, M. (2021). Prejudice in disguise: Which features determine the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements?. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 9(1), 187-206. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.6381
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-3325
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/5661
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6265
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.6381
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4781
  • Keyword(s)
    subtle prejudice
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    ethnic prejudice
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    survey experiment
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    internal motivation to respond without prejudice
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    external motivation to respond without prejudice
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Prejudice in disguise: Which features determine the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements?
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Journal of Social and Political Psychology
  • Page numbers
    187–206
  • Volume
    9
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record
    en_US