Undocumented immigration has been a historically controversial political topic in the United States and under the Trump Administration. This study aims to look at attitudes towards immigration in the context of whether perception is related to ethnicity or rests on moral belief. It is hypothesized that individuals who score more conservative on the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) are more likely to reflect more anti-immigration beliefs than individuals who score more liberal. It is expected that individuals who have read the Mexican vignette will reflect more anti-immigration beliefs than individuals who have read the Swedish vignette or ethnically ambiguous vignette

Morgan, Nicole

English

Undocumented immigration has been a historically controversial political topic in the United States and is much discussed under the current Trump Administration. The Latinx population, specifically Mexican, has received much negative speculation under the current political platform. While past articles have suggested that prejudice and xenophobia may play a role in attitude and perception of immigration, not many articles look at whether ethnicity influences perception in relation to Haidt and Graham’s Moral Foundation Theory (MFT).  MFT looks at moral belief on a multi-dimensional level and reflects scores as more conservative or liberal for five categories. This study aims to look at attitudes and perspectives of immigration in the context of different ethnicities and whether perception is related to ethnicity or rests on moral belief alone. It is hypothesized that individuals who score more conservative on the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) are also more likely to reflect more anti-immigration beliefs than individuals who score more liberal on the MFQ. Additionally, it is expected that individuals who have read the Mexican vignette sample will reflect more anti-immigration beliefs than individuals who have read the Swedish vignette or ethnically ambiguous vignette. The participants (n=54) in this study completed measures pertaining to social desirability, attitudes towards immigrants and immigration, and the Moral Foundation Questionnaire. Participants were asked to read one of three randomized vignettes containing one of three different ethnic backgrounds (Mexican, Swedish, and ambiguous). Each vignette contained the same background story of an individual immigrating to the United States. Only the name and country of origin varied. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare the perception of immigration of undocumented persons in the three vignette conditions. Results suggested that attitudes did not differ at the p\u3c.05 level between participants who read the Mexican vignette (M= 78, SD = 9.363), Swedish vignette (M= 77.31, SD = 8.882, or neutral vignette (M=73.94. SD= 12.25), [F= (2, 51) = 0.8709, p = 0.426]. The MFT questionnaire was correlated along with the Attitudes Towards Illegal Aliens (IA) scale with an alpha level of 0.05. (harm/care r = 0.1965, p = 0.017054; fairness/reciprocity r = 0.0696, p = 0.20467; in-group/loyalty r = -0.1414, p = 0.003373; authority/respect and IA scale, r = -0.23095, p = .006494; purity/sanctity r = -0.0049, p = .022996)

University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Spring 5-18-2019 Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Undocumented Immigration in the United States Nicole Morgan nlmorgan@dons.usfca.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/honors  Part of the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Morgan, Nicole, "Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Undocumented Immigration in the United States" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 40. https://repository.usfca.edu/honors/40 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact repository@usfca.edu. Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Undocumented Immigrants in the United StatesNicole Lillian MorganIntroduction• Undocumented immigration in the United States has become a controversial topic in the current media•The rapidly growing Latinx population is projected to reach up to 30% of the U.S. population in 2060 (Scott, 2017)• Haidt and Graham’s theory of moral beliefs examine the system of patterns for how an individual reacts to agreeable or disagreeable stimuli (Haidt & Graham, 2007) • Both prejudice and xenophobia are influential factors when considering individual moral beliefs that stem from individual’s preconceived beliefs about another person (Fein & Spencer, 1997; Stephen, Ybarra & Bachman, 1999)• This study examines moral beliefs over the scope of five moral dimensions and the role of ethnicity in the perception of the immigration populationMethod• The participant scores of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) were compared with participant scores of the Attitudes Towards Illegal Immigrants (IA) Scale to determine the relationship between moral beliefs and perception of undocumented immigrants• Participants (n = 54): USF Undergraduate students (18-25 years of age) completed a series of questionnaires in the following orderResults: Ethnicity Vignettes and IA Scale• No statistical significance was observed between different ethnicity groups and participant scores of the IA scale• Results suggested that attitudes did not differ (p<.05) between participants who read the Mexican vignette (M= 78, SD = 9.363), Swedish vignette (M= 77.31, SD = 8.882, or neutral (ambiguous) vignette (M=73.94. SD= 12.25), [F= (2, 51) = 0.8709, p = 0.426]ReferencesFein, S., & Spencer, S. J. (1997). Prejudice as self-image maintenance: Affirming the self through derogating others. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 73, 31.Haidt, J., & Graham, J. (2007). When morality opposes justice: Conservatives have moral intuitions that liberals may not recognize. Social Justice Research, 20, 98-116.Isom Scott, D. (2017). The new Juan Crow? Unpacking the links between discrimination and crime for Latinxs. Race and Justice.Stephan, W. G., Ybarra, O., & Bachman, G. (1999). Prejudice towards immigrants. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 2221–2237Results: MFQ and IA Scale• To assess a relationship between MFQ and IA scale, participant scores were separated by moral dimension and compared with IA participant scores• No significant correlation among the IA scale and dimensions for Harm/Care (r = 0.1965, p = 0.017054) or Purity/Sanctity (r = -0.0049, p = .022996)• Significant correlation among the IA scale and dimensions for Fairness/Reciprocity (r = 0.0696, p = 0.20467), In-group/Loyalty (r = -0.1414, p = 0.003373), and Authority/Respect (r = -0.23095, p = .006494 )Discussion• No indication that ethnicity influences perception of immigration for surveyed population• Significance indicative of relationship between certain MFT dimensions and attitudes towards undocumented immigration and immigration• Fairness/reciprocity, in-group/loyalty, and authority/respect may influence perception of immigration• Harm/Care or purity/sanctity may not influence perception of  immigration as a moral issue• Wording change in IA Scale •Perception of immigration may be influenced by wording change “Illegal immigrant/alien” to “undocumented immigrant”1. Individuals who score more conservative on the MFQ are more likely to reflect more anti-immigration beliefs than individuals who score more liberal on the MFQ.2. Individuals who have read the Mexican vignette will score more negatively on the IA Scale than individuals who read the Swedish or ethnically ambiguous vignette.3. Individuals who have read the Swedish vignette will score more positively on the IA Scale than individuals who read the Mexican or ethnically ambiguous vignette. Hypothesis

Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Undocumented Immigration in the United States

Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Undocumented Immigrants in the United StatesNicole Lillian MorganIntroduction• Undocumented immigration in the United States has become a controversial topic in the current media•The rapidly growing Latinx population is projected to reach up to 30% of the U.S. population in 2060 (Scott, 2017)• Haidt and Graham’s theory of moral beliefs examine the system of patterns for how an individual reacts to agreeable or disagreeable stimuli (Haidt & Graham, 2007) • Both prejudice and xenophobia are influential factors when considering individual moral beliefs that stem from individual’s preconceived beliefs about another person (Fein & Spencer, 1997; Stephen, Ybarra & Bachman, 1999)• This study examines moral beliefs over the scope of five moral dimensions and the role of ethnicity in the perception of the immigration populationMethod• The participant scores of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) were compared with participant scores of the Attitudes Towards Illegal Immigrants (IA) Scale to determine the relationship between moral beliefs and perception of undocumented immigrants• Participants (n = 54): USF Undergraduate students (18-25 years of age) completed a series of questionnaires in the following orderResults: Ethnicity Vignettes and IA Scale• No statistical significance was observed between different ethnicity groups and participant scores of the IA scale• Results suggested that attitudes did not differ (p<.05) between participants who read the Mexican vignette (M= 78, SD = 9.363), Swedish vignette (M= 77.31, SD = 8.882, or neutral (ambiguous) vignette (M=73.94. SD= 12.25), [F= (2, 51) = 0.8709, p = 0.426]ReferencesFein, S., & Spencer, S. J. (1997). Prejudice as self-image maintenance: Affirming the self through derogating others. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 73, 31.Haidt, J., & Graham, J. (2007). When morality opposes justice: Conservatives have moral intuitions that liberals may not recognize. Social Justice Research, 20, 98-116.Isom Scott, D. (2017). The new Juan Crow? Unpacking the links between discrimination and crime for Latinxs. Race and Justice.Stephan, W. G., Ybarra, O., & Bachman, G. (1999). Prejudice towards immigrants. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 2221–2237Results: MFQ and IA Scale• To assess a relationship between MFQ and IA scale, participant scores were separated by moral dimension and compared with IA participant scores• No significant correlation among the IA scale and dimensions for Harm/Care (r = 0.1965, p = 0.017054) or Purity/Sanctity (r = -0.0049, p = .022996)• Significant correlation among the IA scale and dimensions for Fairness/Reciprocity (r = 0.0696, p = 0.20467), In-group/Loyalty (r = -0.1414, p = 0.003373), and Authority/Respect (r = -0.23095, p = .006494 )Discussion• No indication that ethnicity influences perception of immigration for surveyed population• Significance indicative of relationship between certain MFT dimensions and attitudes towards undocumented immigration and immigration• Fairness/reciprocity, in-group/loyalty, and authority/respect may influence perception of immigration• Harm/Care or purity/sanctity may not influence perception of  immigration as a moral issue• Wording change in IA Scale •Perception of immigration may be influenced by wording change “Illegal immigrant/alien” to “undocumented immigrant”1. Individuals who score more conservative on the MFQ are more likely to reflect more anti-immigration beliefs than individuals who score more liberal on the MFQ.2. Individuals who have read the Mexican vignette will score more negatively on the IA Scale than individuals who read the Swedish or ethnically ambiguous vignette.3. Individuals who have read the Swedish vignette will score more positively on the IA Scale than individuals who read the Mexican or ethnically ambiguous vignette. Hypothesis

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Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Undocumented Immigration in the United States

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