We Want it That Way: The Acculturation of Muslims in Multicultural and Pluralistic Societies from Minority and Majority Group Perspectives

Siden angrepene mot USA i 11. september 2001, har forholdet mellom majoritetsgruppemedlemmer og muslimske minoriteter i vesten fulgt en sirkel av anti-muslimske og anti-vestlige holdninger. I mange vestlige land har media og offentlig debatt skildret muslimers tilstedeværelse og deres religiøse praksis som uforenlig med vestlige demokratiske stater, som har gitt opphav til sosial eksklusjon, mistillit og mistro mot muslimer. Dette stadig mer anti-muslimsk klima oppfattes og oppleves av muslimske minoriteter som en trussel mot deres religiøse kultur og sosiale kategorisering som muslimer. Følgelig har dette fikk noen muslimer til å distansere seg og i noen tilfeller løsrive seg fra samfunnet, gi opphav til anti-vestlige følelser og oppførsel i form av radikalisering og voldelig ekstremisme. Som et resultat negative synspunkter mot det muslimske samfunnet blant majoritetssamfunnet ar forsterket. Basert på disse argumentene har denne oppgaven som mål å omfattende undersøke forholdet mellom muslimske minoriteter og deres samfunn. Denne oppgaven undersøker intergruppeforhold gjennom akkulturasjon, ved å se på religiøse og majoritetssamfunnskulturer. De underliggende elementene i det anspente forholdet blir undersøkt ved bruk av intergroup threat theory, intergroup emotions theory og perspektiver fra koalisjonell psykologi. Hovedmålene for denne oppgaven er todelt: 1 ) Denne oppgaven søker å undersøke prosessen med akkulturering hos muslimske minoriteter og de underliggende faktorene som påvirker forholdet til majoritetssamfunnet fra et muslimsk minoritetsperspektiv. 2 ) Den har til hensikt å undersøke hvordan akkultureringsprosessen til muslimer oppfattes av majoritetssamfunnet og hvordan denne oppfatningen påvirker intergruppeforhold i deres respektive samfunn. Forskningsdata i denne oppgaven er hentet fra tre studier utført i tre forskjellige land: Norge, Storbritannia og Canada, og blant fire forskjellige grupper: muslimer i Norge og Storbritannia, og de britiske og kanadiske majoritetsgruppemedlemmene. Paper 1 tar det muslimske minoritetsperspektivet og undersøker hvorfor trussel oppfatninger fra majoritetssamfunnet kan føre til høyere voldelige atferds intensjoner blant muslimer basert på distinkte akkulturasjonsorienteringer. Den tester antagelsen i to utvalg som består av norske (N = 253) og britiske muslimer (N = 194). Resultatene indikerer at jo mer norske muslimer oppfatter realistisk trussel, jo mer voldelige atferds intensjoner de viser, men dette forholdet er ikke mediert av akkulturering. Blant britiske muslimer, mainstream akkulturasjonsorientering er relatert til mer voldelige intensjoner, mens trussel ikke er det. I begge utvalg symbolsk trussel er assosiert med mer støtte for muslimsk militær vold og dette forholdet er mediert av religiøs akkulturering i Storbritannia. Symbolsk trussel er knyttet sammen med mindre personlige intensjoner om å begå vold i Storbritannia, mediert av religiøse akkulturasjon. Komplementære analyser som beregner akkulturasjonsstrategier indikerer det assimilerte, og til en viss grad integrerte, muslimer i begge land har en tendens til å vise det høyeste voldelige atferds intensjoner. Derimot viser separerte individer det høyeste nivået av støtte til muslimsk militær vold. Paper 2 er forhåndsregistrert eksperimentell forskning, som undersøker den formidlende rollen til oppfattet (ill)lojalitet av britiske muslimer som underliggende prosess med intergruppe forholdet mellom muslimer og majoritetssamfunnet fra en majoritetsgruppe perspektiv. 334 ikke-muslimske hvite britiske deltakere i studie 1 og 810 i studie 2 ble spurt å indikere deres akkultureringsforventninger overfor muslimer. De var da tilfeldig tildelt å lese en tekst som beskrev muslimer i en fiktiv by som enten (a) vedlikeholde deres religiøse kultur eller (b) tilegne den mainstream britiske kulturen, eller de leser ( c ) en nøytral kontrolltekst. Som forventet, i studie 1, da muslimer ble presentert for å opprettholde deres religiøse kultur, reduserte tilliten sammenlignet med kontrollgruppen. Motsatt, når muslimer ble beskrevet å tilegne mainstream-kulturen, økte tilliten mens støtten til overvåking av muslimer ble redusert. Begge effektene ble formidlet av oppfatningen om at muslimer var illojale eller lojale mot Storbritannia i begge studiene. Oppfattet lojalitet til sin religiøse gruppe viste ikke betydelig effekt. Vi repliserte disse funnene i studie 2. I tillegg resultater viser at det å beskrive muslimer som å opprettholde sin religiøse kultur reduserte tilliten og økte støtte til overvåking spesielt blant deltakere som forventet muslimer til å gi opp sin religiøse kultur. Moderasjonsanalyse viste at disse effektene var delvis formidlet av opplevd lojalitet til Storbritannia. Paper 3 tar også en majoritetsgruppe perspektiv og vurderer eksperimentelt effekten av Muslimers akkulturasjonsstrategier som oppfattet av majoritetsgruppen og hvordan den påvirker sosial eksklusjon av og religiøs ergrelse mot Muslimer i Canada. Utvalget besto av 190 ikke-muslimske kanadiere. Resultatene viser at når muslimer ble sett på som assimilert i det kanadiske samfunnet, sosial eksklusjon av muslimer og religiøs ergrelse mot Muslimer reduserte. Videre medierer religiøs ergrelse assosiasjonen mellom Muslimers oppfattet akkulturasjonsstrategier og sosial eksklusjon bare når de var oppfattet som assimilert. Avslutningsvis bekrefter funnene fra denne oppgaven sirkelen av anti-muslim og anti-vestlig holdninger og oppførsel blant majoritetsgruppemedlemmer og den muslimske minoriteten i vestlige samfunn, påvirket av hendelser i fortiden. Denne oppgaven er relevant for muslimske ledere og organisasjoner som representerer muslimske minoriteter og majoritetsgruppen, organisasjoner som fokuserer på å utvikle og implementere politikk og programmer for sosial samhørighet, og de som jobber å motvirke fiendskap mot muslimsk minoritet og majoritetsgrupper.Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the relationship between majority group members and Muslim minorities in the West has followed a cycle of anti-Muslim and anti-Western attitudes and behavior. In many Western countries, media and public debate have portrayed Muslims’ presence and their religious practices as incompatible with Western democratic states, which have generated biased behaviors and attitudes in the form of social exclusion, distrust, and suspicion toward the Muslim community by the majority society. Furthermore, the majority group has extensively debated factors that might lead Muslim minority group members to support violence by foreign extremist states or to commit violence themselves. This increasingly anti-Muslim climate is perceived and experienced by Muslim minorities as a threat to their religious culture and social categorization as Muslims. Consequently, this has caused some Muslims to distance themselves and, in some cases, disengage from society, giving rise to anti-Western sentiments and behavior in the form of radicalization and violent extremism. As a result, negative views toward the Muslim community intensified among the majority group members. Based on these arguments, this thesis aims to comprehensively examine the intergroup relationship between Muslim minorities and their wider society. This thesis investigates intergroup relations through the process of acculturation, with respect to religious and majority society cultures. The underlying elements of the tense relationship are examined using intergroup threat theory, intergroup emotions theory and perspectives from coalitional psychology. The main goals of this thesis are twofold: 1) This thesis seeks to investigate the process of acculturation in Muslim minorities and the underlying factors that impact their relationship with the majority society from a Muslim minority perspective. 2) It intends to examine how the acculturation process of Muslims is perceived by majority society and how this perception influences intergroup relationships in their respective societies. The research data in this thesis are drawn from three studies carried out in three different countries: Norway, the U.K., and Canada, and among four different groups: Muslims in Norway and the U.K., and the British and Canadian majority group members. Paper 1 takes the Muslim minority perspective and investigates why threat perceptions from majority society may lead to higher violent behavioral intentions among Muslims based on distinct acculturation orientations. It tests this proposition in two samples comprising of Norwegian (N = 253) and British Muslims (N = 194). Results indicate that the more Norwegian Muslims perceive realistic threat, the more violent behavioral intentions they show, but this relation is not mediated by acculturation. Among British Muslims, mainstream acculturation orientation is related to more violent intentions, while threat is not. In both samples, symbolic threat is associated with more support for Muslim military violence and this relationship is mediated by religious acculturation in the U.K. Symbolic threat is linked with less personal intentions to commit violence in the U.K., mediated by religious acculturation. Complementary analyses calculating acculturation strategies indicate that assimilated, and to some extent integrated, Muslims in both countries tend to show the highest violent behavioral intentions. By contrast, separated individuals show the highest level of support for Muslim military violence. Paper 2 is pre-registered experimental research, which examines the mediating role of perceived (dis)loyalty of British Muslims as underlying process of biased intergroup relationship between Muslims and the majority society from a majority group perspective. A total of 334 non-Muslim White British participants in Study 1 and 810 in Study 2 were asked to indicate their acculturation expectations toward Muslims. They were then randomly assigned to read a text that described Muslims in a fictional town as either (a) maintaining their religious culture or (b) adopting the mainstream British culture, or they read (c) a neutral control text. As expected, in Study 1, when Muslims were presented as maintaining their religious culture, trust decreased compared to the control group. Conversely, when described as adopting the mainstream culture, trust increased while support for surveillance of Muslims decreased. Both effects were mediated by the perception of Muslims being disloyal or loyal to the U.K in both studies, respectively. Perceived loyalty to their religious group did not significantly mediate any effect. We replicated these findings in Study 2. Moreover, the results show that describing Muslims as maintaining their religious culture decreased trust and increased support for surveillance especially among participants who expected Muslims to give up their religious culture. Moderated mediation analysis showed that these effects were partly mediated by perceived loyalty to the U.K. Paper 3 also takes a majority group perspective and experimentally assesses the effects of Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies by the majority group on the social exclusion of Muslims in Canada, and to what extent religious resentment mediates the relationship between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion. The sample consisted of 190 non-Muslim Canadians. The results show that when Muslims were viewed as assimilated in Canadian society, social exclusion of Muslims and religious resentment toward Muslims decreased. Furthermore, religious resentment mediates the association between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion only when they were perceived as assimilated. In conclusion, the findings of this thesis confirm the cycle of anti-Muslim and anti-Western attitudes and behavior among majority group members and the Muslim minority in Western societies, influenced by past events. This thesis is relevant to Muslim leaders and organizations representing Muslim minorities and the majority group, organizations that focus on developing and implementing social cohesion policies and programs, and those who work to counter animosity toward Muslim minority and majority groups.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Cultural similarity predicts social inclusion of Muslims in Canada: A vignette-based experimental survey

Based on acculturation psychology and intergroup emotions theory, the current experimental study assessed the effects of Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies by the majority group on social exclusion of Muslims in Canada, and to what extent religious resentment mediated the relationship between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion. The experimental study used a vignette-based approach. This model was examined among 190 non-Muslim Canadians. Results showed that when Muslims were viewed as assimilated in Canadian society, social exclusion of Muslims and religious resentment toward Muslims decreased. Furthermore, religious resentment mediated the association between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion only when Muslims were perceived as assimilated. Our findings suggest that Canadian majority-group members indicated positive attitude toward Muslims when they were identified as assimilated in Canadian society. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future studies and intergroup relations.publishedVersio

Acculturation preferences and perceived (dis)loyalty of Muslims in the U.K.: Two vignette-based experimental studies

Muslims in the U.K. who maintain their religious culture are often viewed as a suspect community. This pre-registered experimental research examined the mediating role of perceived (dis)loyalty as underlying process and the moderating role of acculturation expectations. A total of 334 non-Muslim White British participants in Study 1 and 810 in Study 2 were asked to indicate their acculturation expectations towards Muslims. They were then randomly assigned to read a text that described Muslims in a fictional town as either (a) maintaining their religious culture or (b) adopting the mainstream British culture, or they read (c) a neutral control text. As expected, in Study 1, when Muslims were presented as maintaining their religious culture, trust decreased compared to the control group. Conversely, when described as adopting the mainstream culture, trust increased while support for surveillance of Muslims decreased. Both effects were mediated by the perception of Muslims being disloyal or loyal to the U.K in both studies, respectively. Perceived loyalty to their religious group did not significantly mediate any effect. We replicated these findings in Study 2. Moreover, we showed that describing Muslims as maintaining their religious culture decreased trust and increased support for surveillance especially among participants who expected Muslims to give up their religious culture. Moderated mediation analysis showed that these effects were partly mediated by perceived loyalty to the U.K. We discuss the societal implications of the findings for policymakers and Muslim leaders along with recommendations for future research.publishedVersio

Optical, microstructural and electrical studies on sol gel derived TiO2 thin films

TiO2 thin films have many interesting optical, physical, electrical and chemical properties that offer many applications in different fields of science and technology. The sol-gel spin coating technique has immense advantageous; such as low cost, usage of very simple equipment and relatively easy process control method. The optical, structural, microstructural and electrical properties have been analyzed through four point probe, XRD, SEM, high resolution electron microscopy, AFM and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer. This paper is a research article about the sol-gel spin coated TiO2 thin film. The results will focus on the preparation and coating of TiO2 thin films on glass substrate at different annealing temperatures

Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries

This study explored the correlates of climate anxiety in a diverse range of national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 32 countries (N = 12,246). Our results show that climate anxiety is positively related to rate of exposure to information about climate change impacts, the amount of attention people pay to climate change information, and perceived descriptive norms about emotional responding to climate change. Climate anxiety was also positively linked to pro-environmental behaviours and negatively linked to mental wellbeing. Notably, climate anxiety had a significant inverse association with mental wellbeing in 31 out of 32 countries. In contrast, it had a significant association with pro-environmental behaviour in 24 countries, and with environmental activism in 12 countries. Our findings highlight contextual boundaries to engagement in environmental action as an antidote to climate anxiety, and the broad international significance of considering negative climate-related emotions as a plausible threat to wellbeing

Climate anxiety, pro-environmental action and wellbeing: antecedents and outcomes of negative emotional responses to climate change in 28 countries

This study explored the correlates of climate anxiety in a diverse range of national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 32 countries (N = 12,246). Our results show that climate anxiety is positively related to rate of exposure to information about climate change impacts, the amount of attention people pay to climate change information, and perceived descriptive norms about emotional responding to climate change. Climate anxiety was also positively linked to pro-environmental behaviours and negatively linked to mental wellbeing. Notably, climate anxiety had a significant inverse association with mental wellbeing in 31 out of 32 countries. In contrast, it had a significant association with pro-environmental behaviour in 24 countries, and with environmental activism in 12 countries. Our findings highlight contextual boundaries to engagement in environmental action as an antidote to climate anxiety, and the broad international significance of considering negative climate-related emotions as a plausible threat to wellbeing

Negative emotions about climate change are related to insomnia symptoms and mental health : Cross-sectional evidence from 25 countries

Climate change threatens mental health via increasing exposure to the social and economic disruptions created by extreme weather and large-scale climatic events, as well as through the anxiety associated with recognising the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Considering the growing levels of climate change awareness across the world, negative emotions like anxiety and worry about climate-related risks are a potentially pervasive conduit for the adverse impacts of climate change on mental health. In this study, we examined how negative climate-related emotions relate to sleep and mental health among a diverse non-representative sample of individuals recruited from 25 countries, as well as a Norwegian nationally-representative sample. Overall, we found that negative climate-related emotions are positively associated with insomnia symptoms and negatively related to self-rated mental health in most countries. Our findings suggest that climate-related psychological stressors are significantly linked with mental health in many countries and draw attention to the need for cross-disciplinary research aimed at achieving rigorous empirical assessments of the unique challenge posed to mental health by negative emotional responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries

This study explored the correlates of climate anxiety in a diverse range of national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 32 countries (N = 12,246). Our results show that climate anxiety is positively related to rate of exposure to information about climate change impacts, the amount of attention people pay to climate change information, and perceived descriptive norms about emotional responding to climate change. Climate anxiety was also positively linked to pro-environmental behaviours and negatively linked to mental wellbeing. Notably, climate anxiety had a significant inverse association with mental wellbeing in 31 out of 32 countries. In contrast, it had a significant association with pro-environmental behaviour in 24 countries, and with environmental activism in 12 countries. Our findings highlight contextual boundaries to engagement in environmental action as an antidote to climate anxiety, and the broad international significance of considering negative climate-related emotions as a plausible threat to wellbeing.publishedVersio

Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action : correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsThis study explored the correlates of climate anxiety in a diverse range of national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 32 countries (N = 12,246). Our results show that climate anxiety is positively related to rate of exposure to information about climate change impacts, the amount of attention people pay to climate change information, and perceived descriptive norms about emotional responding to climate change. Climate anxiety was also positively linked to pro-environmental behaviours and negatively linked to mental wellbeing. Notably, climate anxiety had a significant inverse association with mental wellbeing in 31 out of 32 countries. In contrast, it had a significant association with pro-environmental behaviour in 24 countries, and with environmental activism in 12 countries. Our findings highlight contextual boundaries to engagement in environmental action as an antidote to climate anxiety, and the broad international significance of considering negative climate-related emotions as a plausible threat to wellbeing.Peer reviewe

Negative emotions about climate change are related to insomnia symptoms and mental health: Cross-sectional evidence from 25 countries

Climate change threatens mental health via increasing exposure to the social and economic disruptions created by extreme weather and large-scale climatic events, as well as through the anxiety associated with recognising the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Considering the growing levels of climate change awareness across the world, negative emotions like anxiety and worry about climate-related risks are a potentially pervasive conduit for the adverse impacts of climate change on mental health. In this study, we examined how negative climate-related emotions relate to sleep and mental health among a diverse non-representative sample of individuals recruited from 25 countries, as well as a Norwegian nationally-representative sample. Overall, we found that negative climate-related emotions are positively associated with insomnia symptoms and negatively related to self-rated mental health in most countries. Our findings suggest that climate-related psychological stressors are significantly linked with mental health in many countries and draw attention to the need for cross-disciplinary research aimed at achieving rigorous empirical assessments of the unique challenge posed to mental health by negative emotional responses to climate change