When Psychological Contract Is Violated: Revisiting the Rejection-Disidentification Model of Immigrant Integration

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated how perceived ethnic discrimination is related to attitudes towards the national majority group and willingness to confront injustice to promote the social standing of a minority group. We examined this relationship via two mediating factors; national (dis)identification from and out-group (dis)trust of the national majority group. The Rejection-Disidentification Model (RDIM) was refined, first, to account for willingness to confront injustice as a consequence of perceived rejection, and second, intergroup (dis)trust was examined as an additional mediating mechanism that can explain attitudinal and behavioural reactions to perceived rejection simultaneously with national disidentification. The model was tested in a comparative survey data of Russian-speaking minority in Estonia (N = 482), Finland (N = 254), and Norway (N = 219). In all three countries, the more Russian-speakers identified as Russians and the more they perceived ethnic discrimination, the more negative were their attitudes toward the national majority groups and the more willing they were to engage in action to confront group-based injustice. Whereas disidentification from and distrust of national majority group accounted for the discrimination-attitude link to a large extent, both factors had demobilizing effects on willingness to confront injustice, making Russian-speaking immigrants more passive but hostile. The findings are discussed in relation to the risks involved in politicization of immigrants struggling with perceived inequalities.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume6
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)484-510
Number of pages27
ISSN2195-3325
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Dec 2018
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Fields of Science

  • 5144 Social psychology
  • discrimination
  • national disidentification
  • trust
  • out-group attitudes
  • collective action

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