386 research outputs found
Tolerance of Muslim beliefs and practices: Age related differences and context effects
Tolerant judgments of Muslimsā political rights and dissenting beliefs and practices by ethnic Dutch
adolescents (12ā18 years) were examined. Participants (N = 632) made judgments of different types
of behaviors and different contexts in an experimental questionnaire study. As in other studies, tolerance
was found to not be a global construct. Adolescents took into account various aspects of what
they were asked to tolerate and the sense in which they should be tolerant. The type of actor, the
nature of the social implication of the behavior, the underlying belief type, and the dimension of
tolerance, all made a difference to the tolerant judgments. Additionally, the findings strongly suggest
that tolerance judgments do not develop through an age-related stage-like sequence where an intolerant
attitude is followed by tolerance. For females, there were no age differences, and older males
were less tolerant than younger males. There were also gender differences with males being less
tolerant for some types of behavior and females being less tolerant for behaviors that negatively
affected Muslim females. Level of education had a positive effect on tolerance. The findings are
discussed with reference to social-cognitive domain theory.
Religious Group Identification and Inter-Religious Relations: A Study Among Turkish-Dutch Muslims
Following social identity theory, this research examines the relationship between group identification and intergroup relations by focusing on religion. Religious as well as Dutch national group identification was examined among Turkish-Dutch Muslims. Identification was studied in relation to general affective ratings of multiple religious groups (Muslims, Christians, Hindustanis, Jews and non-believers) and the endorsement of Islamic group rights. The results show that Muslim identification was more like a nominal (high or `total' identification) than a continuous variable, and that many participants showed low identification with the national group. The affective ratings of religious out-groups were quite negative, particularly of the Jews and non-believers. Muslim identification was positively and strongly related to feelings toward the religious in-group and to the endorsement of Islamic group rights. National identification was positively related to feelings toward the religious out-groups, but only for `total' Muslim identifiers, supporting the mutual intergroup differentiation model. The findings are discussed in relation to social psychological thinking about group identification and the importance of religion for intergroup relations
The Development of In-Group Favoritism: Between Social Reality and Group Identity
This study examined how social reality restricts childrenās tendency for in-group favoritism in group
evaluations. Children were faced with social reality considerations and with group identity concerns.
Using short stories, in this experimental study, conducted among 3 age groups (6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds),
the authors examined the trait attribution effects of reality constraints on eye-color differences and
national group differences. The results show that the trait attributions of all age groups were restricted
by the acceptance of socially defined reality. In addition, when the information about reality was not
considered accurate, only the youngest children showed positive in-group favoritism. It is argued that
these findings are useful in trying to reconcile some of the divergent and contrasting findings in the
developmental literature on childrenās intergroup perceptions and evaluations.
Ethnic in-group bias among minority and majority early adolescents:The perception of negative peer behaviour
Using social identity theory (SIT) as a framework, this study investigates in-group bias in the context of negative social behaviour among Dutch and Turkish children (10ā13 years of age) living in the Netherlands. Using stories about peer behaviour in which ethnicity was an available dimension, the children were asked to evaluate the perpetrator and to explain the negative behaviour. Explanations were analysed in terms of the locus of explanation and the level of linguistic abstraction at which the perpetratorās behaviour was explained. Hence, there were three measures of in-group bias. In addition, ethnic identification, perceived multicultural education and participantsā experiences with ethnic victimization were considered as predictor
variables. The results revealed a small degree of in-group bias for the evaluation and the locus of explanation, but not for linguistic abstraction. Furthermore, for both ethnic groups, it was found that stronger ethnic identification was related to a less negative evaluation of an in-group perpetrator. A higher degree of ethnic victimization was related to a less negative perception of the perpetrator. In addition, a higher degree of perceived exposure to multicultural education was associated with a more negative perception of the perpetrator, particularly among the Dutch participants. It was concluded that the study of ethnic attitudes among children should focus more on the perceptions of actual ethnic conflicts and on specific settings such as schools. Furthermore, it is important to use explicit and implicit measures and to include both majority and minority group children.
Social Psychology and Multiculturalism
Questions of multiculturalism give rise to lively and important debates in many countries and in many spheres of life. Diversity is considered desirable and necessary for the development of secure ethnic identities and positive intergroup relations, but is also challenged for being inequitable and a threat to social cohesion. After considering conceptions of multiculturalism and relevant country differences, the paper discusses social psychological research on multicultural attitudes and the effect of multiculturalism on intergroup relations. Subsequently, three issues are addressed that are central in debates about multiculturalism and that present additional topics for social psychological research. The first concerns the importance of intragroup processes, the second the nature of religious identity and Islam in particular, and the third issue relates to tolerance and civil liberties
School Satisfaction of Elementary School Children:The Role of Performance, Peer Relations, Ethnicity and Gender
The present study examines school satisfaction among 1,090 Dutch and ethnic minority children aged between ten and twelve in relation to their school context. Data were gathered in 51 classes from 26 schools. Individual and classroom variables were examined simultaneously, using multilevel analysis. Controlling statistically for general life satisfaction and teacher likeability, the results show that the effects of educational performance and peer victimization on school satisfaction were mediated by perceived scholastic competence and social self-esteem, respectively. In addition, ethnic minority groups were more satisfied with school than the Dutch pupils, and girls were more satisfied than boys. Multilevel analysis showed that school satisfaction was dependent on the classroom context. The academic and social climate in the class had positive effects on the level of satisfaction with school. The percentage of Dutch pupils, the percentage of girls and the number of pupils had no significant independent effects on school satisfaction
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