Discrimination towards ethnic minorities: how does it relate to majority group members’ outgroup attitudes and support for multiculturalism

Abstract

We examined how ethnic discrimination targeting ethnic minority group members would affect majority group members’ attitudes and multiculturalism towards ethnic minority groups in the context of Turkish–Kurdish interethnic conflict. Study 1 (N = 356) demonstrated that the extent to which majorities (Turkish) believed there was ethnic discrimination towards minorities (Kurdish) in the Turkish society was associated with positive outgroup attitudes and support for multiculturalism through decreased levels of perceived threat from the outgroup. Study 2 (N = 82) showed that Turkish participants who read bogus news reports about the prevalence of ethnic discrimination towards the Kurdish were more positive towards this ethnic group (higher levels of support for multiculturalism, culture maintenance, and intergroup contact) compared to participants in the neutral condition. Furthermore, participants who were presented with lower levels of discrimination (few companies have been discriminatory against the Kurdish) were more positive towards Kurdish people than participants who were presented with higher levels of discrimination (most companies have been discriminatory against the Kurdish). Regardless of the intensity of discrimination, information about the prevalence of ethnic discrimination improved majority members’ attitudes towards ethnic minority groups. Practical and theoretical implications of the studies were discussed.