This study uses data from the 1994 General Social Survey to test the hypothesis drawn from group threat theory that Americans' perception of threatened group interests increases their opposition to policies benefiting immigrants. It extends previous studies in several ways: by addressing policy views toward undocumented immigrants as well as legal immigrants, by considering a broader range of group threats, and by distinguishing group threat from threat to self-interest. Findings show that Americans' perceptions of threats to their economic and cultural interests may exert appreciable influences on their policy preferences and that these influences are independent of self-interest, anti-immigrant prejudice, conservatism, and economic outlook. Implications are drawn for immigration policy reform and for the general applicability of group threat theory.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllportGordon W.1954. The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
2.
AlvarezR. MichaelButterfieldTara L., 2000. “The Resurgence of Nativism in California: The Case of Proposition 187 and Illegal Immigration.”Social Science Quarterly81: 167–79.
3.
BabbieEarl. 1998. The Practice of Social Research. 8th ed.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
4.
BeanFrank D.CushingRobert G.HaynesCharles W.Van HookJennifer V. W., 1997. “Immigration and the Social Contract.”Social Science Quarterly78: 249–67.
5.
BeanFrank D.de la GarzaRudolfo O.RobertsBryan R.WeintraubSidney. 1997. At the Crossroads: Mexico and U.S. Immigration Policy. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
6.
BinderNorman E.PolinardJ. L.WrinkleRobert D., 1997. “Mexican American and Anglo Attitudes toward Immigration Reform: A View from the Border.”Social Science Quarterly78: 324–37.
7.
BlalockHubert M.1967. Towards a Theory of Minority Group Relations. New York: Wiley.
8.
BlumerHerbert G.1958. “Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position.”Pacific Sociological Review1: 3–7.
9.
BoboLawrence. 1983. “Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology45: 1196–1210.
10.
BoboLawrence. 1988a. “Attitudes toward the Black Political Movement: Trends, Meaning, and Effects on Racial Policy Preferences.”Social Psychology Quarterly51: 287–302.
11.
BoboLawrence. 1988b. “Group Conflict, Prejudice, and the Paradox of Contemporary Racial Attitudes.” Pp. 85–114 in Eliminating Racism: Profiles in Controversy, edited by KatzP. A.TaylorD. A., New York: Plenum.
12.
BoboLawrenceHutchingsVincent L., 1996. “Perceptions of Racial Group Competition: Extending Blumer's Theory of Group Position to a Multiracial Social Context.”American Sociological Review61: 951–72.
13.
BoboLawrenceKluegelJames R., 1993. “Opposition to Race Targeting: Self-Interest, Stratification Ideology, or Racial Attitudes?”American Sociological Review58: 443–64.
14.
CamarotaSteven A.1997. “The Effect of Immigrants on Earnings of Low-Skilled Native Workers: Evidence from the June 1991 Current Population Survey.”Social Science Quarterly78: 417–31.
15.
CarminesEdward G.ZellerRichard A., 1979. Reliability and Validity Assessment. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
16.
DavisJames A.SmithTom W., 1998. General Social Surveys, 1972–1998. [Machine-readable data file.] Chicago: NORC.
17.
DiamondJeff. 1998. “African-American Attitudes toward United States Immigration Policy.”International Migration Review32: 451–70.
18.
EspenshadeThomas J.1997. “Taking the Pulse of Public Opinion toward Immigrants.” Pp. 89–116 in Keys to Successful Immigration: Implications of the New Jersey Experience, edited by EspenshadeT. J., Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.
19.
EspenshadeThomas J.HempsteadKatherine. 1996. “Contemporary American Attitudes toward U.S. Immigration.”International Migration Review30: 559–76.
20.
EssesVictoria M.JacksonLynne M.ArmstrongTamara L., 1998. “Intergroup Competition and Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration: An Instrumental Model of Group Conflict.”Journal of Social Issues54: 699–724.
21.
FetzerJoel S.2000. Public Attitudes toward Immigration in the United States, France, and Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
22.
FossetMark A.KiecoltK. Jill. 1989. “The Relative Size of Minority Populations and White Racial Attitudes.”Social Science Quarterly70: 820–35.
23.
FrendreisJohnTatalovichRaymond. 1997. “Who Supports English-Only Language Laws? Evidence from the 1992 National Election Study.”Social Science Quarterly78: 354–68.
24.
GilensMartin. 1999. Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
25.
GilesMichael W.EvansArthur S., 1985. “External Threat, Perceived Threat, and Group Identity.”Social Science Quarterly66: 50–66.
26.
GilesMichael W.HertzKaenan. 1994. “Racial Threat and Partisan Identification.”American Political Science Review88: 317–26.
27.
GlaserJames M.1994. “Back to the Black Belt: Racial Environment and White Racial Attitudes in the South.”Journal of Politics56: 21–41.
28.
HasenfeldYeheskelRaffertyJane A., 1989. “The Determinants of Public Attitudes toward the Welfare State.”Social Forces67: 1027–48.
29.
HoodM. V.MorrisIrwin L., 1997. “Amigo o Enemigo? Context, Attitudes, and Anglo Public Opinion toward Immigration.”Social Science Quarterly78: 309–23.
30.
HoskinMarilyn. 1991. New Immigrants and Democratic Society. New York: Praeger.
31.
JaretCharles. 1999. “Troubled by Newcomers: Anti-Immigrant Attitudes and Action during Two Eras of Mass Immigration to the United States.”Journal of American Ethnic History18: 9–39.
32.
KaltonGrahamKasprzykDaniel. 1986. “The Treatment of Missing Survey Data.”Survey Methodology12: 1–16.
33.
KinderDonald R.KiewietD. Roderick. 1981. “Sociotropic Politics: The American Case.”British Journal of Political Science11: 129–61.
34.
KinderDonald R.MendelbergTali. 1995. “Cracks in American Apartheid: The Political Impact of Prejudice among Desegregated Whites.”Journal of Politics57: 402–24.
35.
KluegelJames R.SmithEliot R., 1983. “Affirmative Action Attitudes: Effects of Self-Interest, Racial Affect, and Stratification Beliefs on Whites' Views.”Social Forces61: 797–824.
36.
LapinskiJohn S.PeltolaPiaShawGregYangAlan. 1997. “The Poll-Trends: Immigrants and Immigration.”Public Opinion Quarterly61: 356–83.
37.
PageSusan. 1997. “Poll: Fear of Immigration Eases.”USA Today, October 13, p. 1A.
38.
QuillianLincoln. 1995. “Prejudice as a Response to Perceived Group Threat: Population Composition and Anti-Immigrant and Racial Prejudice in Europe.”American Sociological Review60: 586–611.
39.
QuillianLincoln. 1996. “Group Threat and Regional Change in Attitudes toward African-Americans.”American Journal of Sociology102: 816–60.
40.
SearsDavid O.FunkCarolyn L., 1991. “The Role of Self-Interest in Social and Political Attitudes.”Advances in Experimental Social Psychology24: 1–91.
41.
SearsDavid O.JessorTom. 1996. “Whites' Racial Policy Attitudes: The Role of White Racism.”Social Science Quarterly77: 751–59.
42.
SearsDavid O.Van LaarColetteCarrilloMaryKostermanRick. 1997. “Is It Really Racism? The Origins of Whites Americans' Opposition to Race-targeted Policies.”Public Opinion Quarterly61: 16–53.
43.
SmithA. Wade. 1981. “Racial Tolerance as a Function of Group Position.”American Sociological Review46: 558–73.
44.
SorensonMarianneKrahnHarvey. 1996. “Attitudes toward Immigrants: A Test of Two Theories.”Alberta Journal of Educational Research42: 2–18.
45.
StephanWalter G.YbarraOscarMartinezCarmen MartinezSchwarzwaldJosephTur-KaspaMichal. 1998. “Prejudice toward Immigrants to Spain and Israel: An Integrated Threat Theory Analysis.”Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology29: 559–76.
46.
TaylorMarylee C.1998. “How White Attitudes Vary with the Racial Composition of Local Populations: Numbers Count.”American Sociological Review63: 512–35.
47.
TuchStevenHughesMichael. 1996a. “Whites' Opposition to Race-targeted Policies: One Cause or Many?”Social Science Quarterly77: 778–88.
