Prototypicality threat drives support for nativist politics in U.S. and U.K. elections

Autor: Felix Danbold, Jesús Serrano-Careaga, Yuen J. Huo
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, Vol 4, Iss , Pp 100080- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2666-6227
DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100080
Popis: Recent research shows that increasing diversity due to immigration can lead members of dominant ethnic groups (e.g., Whites in America) to experience prototypicality threat – the concern that their claim to best represent their national identity may be lost. Here we examine the emotional and behavioral responses to prototypicality threat in the domain of politics. Across eight years, five studies, two nations, and four electoral contexts (White Americans’ support for Trump in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election; White Britons’ support for the 2016 Brexit Referendum; White Americans’ support for Congressional candidates in 2018 U.S. Midterm Election; and White Americans’ support for a fictitious Congressional candidate in the 2022 U.S. Midterm Election), we show that prototypicality threat explains support for nativist policies and candidates. Furthermore, when those high in prototypicality threat see their favored nativist politics as victorious, they report lower anxiety and threat after the election. By demonstrating the role of prototypicality threat in support for nativist politics specifically, this work helps us understand how people respond to broad societal issues and suggests novel strategies for addressing politics hostile to immigrants.
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