Mutual Acculturation Processes in Prejudice Reduction

California State University Northridge, Northridge CA

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Abstract

This project tests a revised mutual acculturation model of prejudice reduction. The broad objectives are to: 1) understand motives that underly prejudice;2) test status-related variables as moderators of the model, so as to better understand the relationship among strength and exploration of ethnic identity and prejudice; and 3) use the information to develop school-based interventions. The specific aims are to 1) assess the importance of both social categorization and acculturation variables for predicting prejudice toward outgroup members;2) establish the causal role of outgroup orientation in the relationship between positive intergroup contact and low intergroup prejudice;3) show that low intergroup prejudice does not require relinquishing identity with one's ethnocultural group, as long as such identity is a result of exploring the relationship of one's own group to other groups in the society;4) examine whether group status variables and beliefs in social dominance need to be taken into account when assessing the relationship between acculturation variables and intergroup prejudice, and 5) use the research results to tailor educational interventions that will reduce intergroup prejudice and prevent intergroup conflict and injury among adolescents and young adults. The fieldwork consists of pre-post-intervention surveys of high school students;the experimental research with college students tests causal relationships in the model. The samples, secondary and higher education venues, and metropolitan area for the research are all multicultural, with no ethnocultural group in the majority. The model takes into account status differences, cultural dilemmas, and differences in ethnic identity exploration, making the findings applicable to social, cultural, and developmental psychology theory. The empirical components of the project break new ground methodologically and statistically, providing survey items, measurement techniques, and statistical analyses useful to other researchers. At a practical level, the initiative will suggest strategies for developing and implementing educational interventions. "Public health and safety are significantly enhanced when intergroup conflict among adolescents is prevented. This project tests and implements a strategy for reducing racial/ethnic prejudice in multiracial schools. The strategy combines elements of a healthy classroom social climate with support for student interactions that reduce racial/ethnic prejudice, foster respect for student diversity and prevent conflict."