Social Cohesion and Intergroup Attitudes: The Role of Social Norms
Increasing global migration streams challenge social cohesion. The present blog contribution describes several lines of research examining how social norms shape the ways both national majorities in destination countries and immigrants react to increased diversity and its consequences. Overall, this research shows how social norms operating at the national and subnational (e.g. regional) levels can strengthen social cohesion.
Within diverse and multicultural societies, social cohesion is related to cooperative, supportive, altruistic, harmonious and tolerant intergroup relations between national majorities and immigrant minorities. Indeed, intergroup attitudes, such as nationals’ attitudes towards immigrants and immigrants’ attitudes towards the receiving society, reflect motivations, feelings and behaviors promoting or preventing social cohesion. Therefore, these attitudes constitute the cornerstones of social cohesion in migration societies.
Our research focuses on the role of social norms on intergroup attitudes. More specifically, we investigate the role of conformity to social norms among the majority population on anti-immigrant attitudes as well as how social norms of inclusion or exclusion affect immigrant minorities’ attitudes, such as their feeling of belonging or attachment to Switzerland.
Social Norms and Social Cohesion
Social norms are rules that define appropriate attitudes and behaviors towards what people should do and what is socially approved. Conformity to group norms and rules is related to group cohesion and improves both group functioning and individuals’ wellbeing. In migration societies, migration policies at different levels of government (e.g. national, regional, local) and the attitudes of the native majority population about immigration (e.g. at the community, cantonal or national level) define the normative context, which can be more or less pro-immigration (tolerant and inclusive) versus anti-immigration (intolerant and exclusive). These group norms subsequently influence individuals’ anti-immigrant attitudes.
However, despite the power of normative contexts to shape attitudes and behaviors, individuals do not always conform to norms. Group norms only influence an individual’s attitudes and behaviors when norms are perceived as legitimate, that is when norms are perceived as providing guiding principles adapted to individuals’ perceptions, values and motives. For instance, egalitarian and inclusive norms towards immigration are not considered legitimate and do not reduce nationals’ anti-immigrant attitudes, when immigrants are perceived as threatening nationals’ privileges, cultural values and identity. Thus, conformity to social norms depends on factors influencing the perceived legitimacy of social norms.
The Interplay between Norm Conformity and Intergroup Contact
Positive intergroup contact (e.g., between nationals and immigrants in the form of friendships and everyday encounters) is one of the most powerful means of reducing prejudice among the national majority. Intergroup contact provides individuals with first-hand and direct experiences with (and information about) immigrants. Therefore, intergroup contact can influence the perceived legitimacy of group norms, and shape conformity to these norms.
Our research employed large-scales surveys in Switzerland and across European countries as well as experimental studies (i.e. systematically exposing participants to either egalitarian or anti-egalitarian norms) to investigate whether intergroup contact affects the influence of social norms. On the one hand, we show that when the presence of immigrants is prominent, or when nationals have different forms of contact with them (positive interaction experiences or even merely imaging everyday encounters with immigrants), the influence of anti-immigration norms on nationals’ attitudes towards immigrants is reduced. On the other hand, we also provide evidence that contact shapes the influence of pro-immigration norms depending on whether intergroup relations in a society are positive or negative. For instance, when immigrants are not integrated into society (e.g., refugees compared to established immigrant groups), and the possibility of contact is therefore relatively low or non-existent, pro-immigration norms do not increase willingness for intergroup contact, unless individuals’ positive contact with these immigrants is encouraged.
The Impact of Social Norms on Immigrants
The question remains, finally, how social norms affect immigrants’ ties or social cohesion with the majority population. Our research shows that inclusive manifestations of social norms, such as inclusive integration or citizenship policies, increase noncitizens’ attitudinal bonds, e.g. in terms of government support, with the receiving society. A study assessing the impact of a Swiss integration policy reform implemented between 2006 and 2008 revealed for instance that inclusive labor market and social integration measures (e.g. access to language courses, facilitated labor market access and family reunification) strengthened the ties with the destination society among refugees targeted by the reform. Further studies also show that inclusive cantonal integration policy contexts shape noncitizens’ feeling of attachment to Switzerland, increase the naturalization intentions among noncitizens, either directly, as observed for EU citizens, or overtime, in the case of noncitizens from less developed countries, and decrease noncitizens’ emigration out of Switzerland. Overall, inclusive social norms seem to have the potential to increase both, immigrants’ attitudinal and residential ties with the context of residence, fostering thereby social cohesion in migration societies.
Juan M. Falomir-Pichastor is a Professor at the University of Geneva, Eva G. T. Green is a Professor at the University of Lausanne, and Anita Manatschal is a Professor at the University of Neuchâtel. They are associated to the ‘nccr – on the move’ in the project on “Societal norms among national majorities and immigrants”.
List of collaborators: Salomon Bennour, Jacques Berent, Islam Borinca, Judit Kende, Marco Pecoraro, Oriane Sarrasin, Giulia Valsecchi, Emilio Paolo Visintin
