With an Open Mind: Openness to Experience Moderates the Effect of Interethnic Encounters on Support for Immigration

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

  • Bolette Danckert
  • Dinesen, Peter Thisted
  • Robert Klemmensen
  • Asbjørn Sonne Nørgaard
  • Dietlind Stolle
  • Kim Mannemar Sønderskov
This article examines whether the effect of interethnic encounters on natives’ attitudes towards immigration varies with the Big Five personality trait openness to experience. We hypothesize that individuals who score high on openness, and who therefore are more appreciative of and responsive to new experiences, react more positively/less negatively to interethnic encounters. We test this conjecture on two surveys collected in Denmark and Canada. In line with our expectations, the analyses suggest that openness positively moderates the effect of interethnic encounters on immigration attitudes: compared to those with lower levels of openness, more open individuals express more pro-immigration attitudes when experiencing both personal interethnic contact and self-reported exposure to ethnic diversity in the neighbourhood.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftEuropean Sociological Review
Vol/bind33
Udgave nummer5
Sider (fra-til)721-733
ISSN0266-7215
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2017

ID: 182043127