Sociological and Psychological Insights on Anti-Immigrant Bias

This chapter examines sociological and psychological perspectives on America's anti-immigrant efforts and how such views affect both immigrant communities and the country as a whole. In particular, it considers insights from media studies scholars, psychologists, and other social scientists to elucidate why anti-immigrant attitudes persist, why they are considered acceptable, and how they affect public policy. After discussing implicit biases and negative stereotypes about immigrants, the chapter reviews findings from sociological and psychological studies regarding the likely public policy effects of the use of hateful narratives that stereotype and stigmatize undocumented immigrants. It also looks at psychological theories of transference and displacement to help explain why immigrants of color are “society's scapegoats”.

Affect (linguistics) · Criminology · Immigration · Narrative · Political science · Social science · Sociological theory · Sociology · Stereotype (UML) · Stereotype threat · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social Psychology