The Role of Assimilation and Multiculturalism for the Relation Between Social Dominance Orientation and Prejudice: The Case of Anglophones and Francophones in Québec

Abstract

Research on national diversity policies show that cultural norms promoted by the government such as multiculturalism and assimilation play an important role in predicting the majority group members’ prejudice toward immigrants. However, the extent to which minority groups can share these cultural norms with majority group members is largely unknown. The first goal of the current research is to determine if majority and minority groups perceive similar national diversity policies and have comparable support for these policies. The second goal is to contrast, between majority and minority groups, the relationship between social dominance orientation (SDO) and prejudice toward immigrants while considering the mediation effect of national diversity policies. To reach these goals, 225 Francophones (nonimmigrant majority) and 207 Anglophones (nonimmigrant minority) living in the province of Québec answered a questionnaire. Analyses performed to satisfy the first goal indicate that Francophones and Anglophones perceive Quebecers’ support toward national diversity policies in similar ways despite the fact that Francophones show more personal support for assimilation than Anglophones while the reverse is true for multiculturalism. Regarding the second goal, results reveal that, when norms are salient, personal support for assimilation is a stronger mediator of the link between SDO and prejudice especially for Anglophones whereas the mediating role of personal support for multiculturalism is significant among Francophones only. The importance of considering majority and minority groups when elaborating national diversity policies is discussed.