Australian Psychology Society This browser is not supported. Please upgrade your browser.

Volume 30, No 1, June 2019

“They are humans and humanity comes first”: The function of attitudes towards people seeking asylum

Previous research has found that while many Australians are hostile to people seeking asylum in Australia who arrive by boat (hereafter called asylum seekers), others feel that Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers is inhumane. Two bodies of research that can help us understand why people think the way that they do are the function of attitudes research and the values framework as per Schwartz (1992). In the present study, we use these frameworks to explore what underpins attitudes (both positive and negative) towards asylum seekers. A total of 164 Australian community members completed a mixed-methods questionnaire in 2017 investigating why they felt the way that they did about asylum seekers. Quantitative analyses indicated that the most frequently reported function of attitudes was value-expressive, followed by experiential-schematic, and then indirect experiential-schematic. Qualitative analyses (N = 132) indicated that while both accepting and rejecting participants reported similar values, the most important value reported by accepting participants was Universalism and the most important value reported by rejecting participants was (Un)fairness. Two other values were less reported by both groups: Security and Conformity. Our results take previous findings about attitude function and values further by combining quantitative and qualitative analyses to get a richer picture of Australian attitudes towards people seeking asylum.

Download full article (PDF)

Keywords

Asylum seekers, refugees, value-expressive function, experiential-schemata function; indirect experiential-schemata function; values

References

  • Anderson, J. R., Stuart, A., & Rossen, I. (2015). Not all negative: Macro justice principles predict positive attitudes towards asylum seekers in Australia. Australian Journal of Psychology, 67(4), 207-213.
  • Boer, D., & Fischer, R. (2013). How and when do personal values guide our attitudes and sociality? Explaining cross-cultural variability in attitude-value linkages. Psychological Bulletin, 139(5), 1113-1147.
  • Bongiorno, F., & Pennay, D. (2018). Australians rate the most significant events in their lifetimes - and show the ‘fair go’ is still most valued. The Conversation, 24th January 2018. https://theconversation.com/australians-rate-the-most-significant-events-in-their-lifetimes-and-show-the-fair-go-is-still-most-valued-90453
  • Braithwaite, V. (1997). Harmony and security value orientations in political evaluation. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 401-414.
  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101.
  • Cohen, D. (2007). Methods in cultural psychology. In S.Kitayama & D.Cohen (Eds.). Handbook of Cultural Psychology (pp. 196-236). New York: The Guilford Press.
  • Elias, M. J., Neigher, W. D., & Johnson-Hakim, S. (2014). Guiding principles and competencies for community psychology practice. Community psychology: Foundations of practice, 35-62.
  • Festinger, L. (1962). A theory of cognitive dissonance (Vol. 2). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • Gammeltoft-Hansen, T. (2014). International refugee law and policy: The case of deterrence policies. Journal of Refugee Studies, 27(4), 574-595. 
  • Greenhalgh, E., & Watt, S. E. (2015). Preferences for consistency and value dissimilarities in dehumanization and prejudice toward asylum seekers in Australia. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 110-119. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2066. 
  • Griffiths, B., & Pedersen, A. (2009). Prejudice and the function of attitudes relating to Muslim Australians and Indigenous Australians. Australian Journal of Psychology, 61, 228-238. doi: 10.1080/00049530902748275
  • Hartley, L.K. & Pedersen, A. (2015). Asylum seekers and resettled refugees in Australia: Predicting social policy support prejudice versus emotion. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 179–197.
  • Heaven, P. C., Organ, L. A., Supavadeeprasit, S., & Leeson, P. (2006). War and prejudice: A study of social values, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(3), 599-608.
  • Herek, G. M. (1986). The instrumentality of attitudes: Toward a neofunctional theory. Journal of Social Issues, 42(2), 99-114.
  • Herek, G. M. (1987). Can functions be measured? A new perspective on the functional approach to attitudes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50(4), 285-303.
  • Kagan, C., Burton, M., Duckett, P., Lawthom, R., & Siddiquee, A. (2011). Critical community psychology. Chichester: Wiley. 
  • Katz, D. (1960). The functional approach to the study of attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 24(2), 163-204.
  • Labrecque, L. I., vor dem Esche, J., Mathwick, C., Novak, T. P., & Hofacker, C. F. (2013). Consumer power: Evolution in the digital age. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 257-269.
  •  Lind, E. A., Kulik, C. T., Ambrose, M., & de Vera Park, M. V. (1993). Individual and corporate dispute resolution: Using procedural fairness as a decision heuristic. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(2), 224-251.
  • Lindeman, M., & Verkasalo, M. (2005). Measuring values with the Short Schwartz’s Value Survey. Journal of Personality Assessment, 85, 170-178.
  • Maio, G. R., & Olson, J. M. (1995). Relations between values, attitudes, and behavioral intentions: The moderating role of attitude function. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31(3), 266-285.
  • Mancini, T., Bottura, B., & Caricati, L. (2018). The role of perception of threats, conservative beliefs and prejudice on prosocial behavioural intention in favour of asylum seekers in a sample of Italian adults. Current Psychology, 1-10.
  • McKay, F. H., Thomas, S. L., & Kneebone, S. (2012). ‘It would be okay if they came through the proper channels’: Community perceptions and attitudes toward asylum seekers in Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 25, 113-133. doi: 10.1093/jrs/fer010
  • Pedersen, A., Attwell, J., & Heveli, D. (2005). Prediction of negative attitudes toward Australian asylum seekers: False beliefs, nationalism and self-esteem. Australian Journal of Psychology, 57, 148-160. doi: 10.1080/00049530500125157
  • Pedersen, A., & Barlow, F. (2008). Theory to social action: A university based strategy targeting prejudice against Aboriginal Australians. The Australian Psychologist, 43, 148-159. doi: 10.1080/00050060802318587
  • Pedersen, A., & Fozdar, F. (2010). Refugee without refuge: Wasim, Phillip Adams, and a nation divided. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 4, 7-18. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/prp.4.1.7
  • Pedersen, A., Contos, N., Griffiths, B., Bishop, B., & Walker, I. (2000). Attitudes toward Aboriginal-Australians in city and country settings. The Australian Psychologist, 35(2), 109-117.
  • Pedersen, A., & Hartley, L.K. (2012). Prejudice against Muslim Australians: The role of values, gender and consensus. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 22, 239-255. doi: 10.1002/casp.1110.
  • Hartley, L.K., & Pedersen, A. (2015). Asylum seekers and resettled refugees in Australia: Predicting social policy attitude from prejudice versus emotion. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 179–197, doi:10.5964/jspp.v3i1.476. 
  • Pedersen, A., & Hartley, L. (2017). False beliefs about asylum seekers to Australia: The role of confidence in such beliefs, prejudice and the third person effect. The Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 11, 1-12. doi: 10.1017/prp.2017.5. 
  • Pedersen, A., Watt, S., & Griffiths, B. (2008). Prejudice against Australian asylum seekers and their function: Suggestions for anti-prejudice strategies. In H.Babacan & N. Gopalkrishnan (Eds), The complexities of racism: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on “Racisms in the New World Order. Queensland: University of the Sunshine Coast. ISBN13 978-0-9804744-1-1
  • Pedersen, A., Watt, S., & Hansen, S. (2006). The role of false beliefs in the community's and the federal government's attitudes toward Australian asylum seekers. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 41(1), 105-124. 
  • Peterson, R. S. (1994). The role of values in predicting fairness judgments and support of affirmative action. Journal of Social Issues, 50(4), 95-115.
  • Qureshi, A. (2016). Conceptualizing Schwartz values in university preference decisions: A pitch. Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, 15(3), 612-617.
  • Sagiv, L., & Schwartz, S.H. (1995). Value priorities and readiness for out-group social contact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 437-448. 
  • Schweitzer, R., Perkoulidis, S., Krome, S., Ludlow, C., & Ryan, M. (2005). Attitudes towards refugees: The dark side of prejudice. Australian Journal of Psychology, 57, 170–179. 
  • Schwartz, S.H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-65.
  • Schwartz, S. H., Caprara, G. V., & Vecchione, M. (2010). Basic personal values, core political values, and voting: A longitudinal analysis. Political psychology, 31(3), 421-452.
  • Schwartz, S. H., & Bardi, A. (2001). Value hierarchies across cultures: Taking a similarities perspective. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32(3), 268-290.
  •  Shavitt, S. (1990). The role of attitude objects in attitude functions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 26, 124-148.
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2017). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2016. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2016/.
  • Verkuyten, M. (2004). Emotional reactions to and support for immigrant policies: Attributed responsibilities to categories of asylum seekers. Social Justice Research, 17(3), 293-314. 
  • Watt, S. E., Maio, G. R., Rees, K., & Hewstone, M. (2006). Functions of attitudes towards ethnic groups: Effects of level of abstraction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 441–449.
  • Welles, J.F. (2017). Cognitive dissonance: A critique. Annals of Behavioural Science, 3, 1-2. DOI: 10.21767/2471-7975.100003. Retrieved: http://behaviouralscience.imedpub.com/cognitive-dissonance-a-critique.pdf

Authors

  • Lisa K. Hartley
  • Anne Pedersen
    Curtin University, Western Australia

Author biographies

Lisa Hartley is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Human Rights Education at Curtin University. Her interdisciplinary teaching and research are focused on questions of human rights and social change and is driven by a desire to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Lisa's research cuts across the fields of refugee and migrant studies, sociology, and community and social psychology. Her research interests include refugee resettlement issues; the rights of refugees and asylum seekers; women's rights and prejudice towards marginalised social groups and interventions to reduce prejudice. 

Anne Pedersen is a community/social psychologist and adjunct associate professor at the Centre for Human Rights Education at Curtin University. Her current research interests include prejudice and antiprejudice with an emphasis on asylum seekers to Australia, Indigenous Australians, and Muslim Australians.

Search

Submit