Social Desirability Bias among Prejudice Instruments : An Integrated Threat

A considerable amount of research has examined the extent to which members of dominant cultures perceive minority groups as threatening their way of life. While various instruments measure these perceptions of threat, few researchers have empirically analysed the statistical properties of these scales. Specifically, studies have not adequately explored social desirability of threat scales. The current study investigates the extent to which one set of threat scales is internally consistent or reliable (González et al., 2008), and explores social desirability within the González et al. (2008) integrated threat instruments by comparing self-reports to other reports (intimate other and friend r…

Immigrant threat, Prejudice, and the Growing Refugee Crisis

Threats and attitudes toward Russian-speaking immigrants: a comparative study between younger and older Finns

Using integrated threat theory as a theoretical lens to detect negative attitudes toward minority groups, this study compares and contrasts the perceptions and attitudes of older and younger Finns toward Russian-speaking minorities in Finland. A sample of high school students between 16 and 20 years of age represented the younger generation, while individuals over 65 years of age represented the older generation. The total sample was 242. Results indicated that there is a positive correlation between threat perception and prejudice. Results revealed that both groups have prejudices against Russian speakers and that these prejudices are related to the perception of realistic threat and negat…

Predictors of Finnish Adolescent’s Prejudice towards Russian Immigrants and the Effect of Intergroup Contact

This study examined perceived threat as a predictor of Finnish adolescent’s prejudice towards Russian immigrants. Moreover, since Russian immigrants represent the largest immigrant group in Eastern Finland, this study also explored the relationship between intergroup contact, threat, and prejudice. The sample consisted of 305 Finnish adolescents ranging from 11 to 19 years old. Results showed threat to be a significant predictor of prejudice towards Russian immigrants in Eastern Finland. Individually, negative stereotype was found to be the only threat that significantly predicted prejudice towards Russian immigrants. Realistic and symbolic threats were not important to the attitudes of Fin…

Perceived threat and prejudice towards immigrants in Finland : A study among early, middle, and late Finnish adolescents

Using integrated threat theory, this study examined how perceived threat, or fear of immigrants, manifests among early, middle, and late Finnish adolescents, and the relationship between perceived threat and prejudice among early, middle, and late adolescents. The sample consisted of 795 Finnish adolescents between 11 and 19 years of age. Realistic and symbolic threats were the most perceived threats and were more prevalent among late adolescents. There was a positive relationship between prejudice and realistic threat, and between prejudice and symbolic threat, but a negative relationship between prejudice and negative stereotyping, and this relationship remained relatively stable from ear…