Perceived Intergroup Difference as an Organizing Principle of Intercultural Attitudes and Acculturation Attitudes

Abstract

The present article forwards perceived intergroup difference as an organizing principle for both intercultural attitudes and acculturation attitudes. A study among 5,824 majority Dutch and five minority groups revealed that the position of a group on a dimension of perceived intergroup difference organized scores on a wide range of measures of intercultural attitudes and acculturation attitudes. Minority groups that were perceived by majority members as being more different from themselves received less support for multiculturalism, were seen as more threatening, were stereotyped as less warm and competent, were seen to adopt mainstream culture less and to maintain ethnic culture more, and showed more discordance between majority and minority preferences of acculturation strategies; minority groups that perceived themselves as more different from majority Dutch were more in favor of multiculturalism, held stronger ethnic identities, adopted mainstream culture less, and maintained minority culture more. The authors conclude that perceived intergroup difference may be an important organizer of intergroup relations in culturally diverse societies.