oa Stereotypen van etnische minderheden, verbondenheid met de eigen groep, assimilatie en integratie

Stereotypes of ethnic minorities, attachment to their own group, assimilation and integration

A. Vrugt, A. Salin & S. Room, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 20, September 2007, nr. 3, pp. 260-271

The present research investigated which stereotypical characteristics Dutch ethnic minority group members, based on their cultural background, attributed to their own social group and to the ethnic Dutch majority. Further it was studied to what extent the assignment of these stereotypical characteristics was related to the attachment to their own group, and whether the attachment to their own group was related to their view on integration and assimilation. The results showed that minority group participants found positive stereotypical features that are derived from collectivistic values, more characteristic of their own group than of the Dutch majority. By contrast, negative stereotypical features, being deviant from collectivistic values, were considered as more characteristic of the majority group. Furthermore, it was found that the minority group participants felt more attached to their own group than did the majority group participants. This attachment was related to the negative stereotypical features that minority group participants regarded as characteristic of the majority. Moreover, this attachment mediated the relationship between negative stereotypical features attributed to the majority and a negative view on assimilation. The implications of these results are discussed.