Florentina Onolfo's Collection - PSYC 348

Florentina Onolfo's Collection - PSYC 348

American attitudes toward immigration have changed to be more negative since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but why?

This collection will dive into the cultural psychological variables that explain the shift toward negative attitudes regarding immigration. Certain ecological pressures evoke particular responses within specific cultural communities. The implications of parasite prevalence within a community will be explained as well as the development of the behavioral immune system, which is a cultural psychological adaption to living in areas of high parasite-prevalence - in this case, living during the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. The role of in-group and out-group bias will be explained regarding the threat of infection as well as the threat to resources. The abundance and scarcity of resources within a community, or in this case, a country influences attitudes toward immigration. As a result, the economic downturn will also be examined due to the increased unemployment rates caused by COVID-19. Resource scarcity versus resource abundance has additional evoked cultural responses such as contempt versus tolerance. When the U.S. is prospering and flourishing economically, American attitudes toward immigration are generally more positive. But in times of uncertainty and threat, American attitudes toward immigration shift to become more negative. This podcast and collection will shed some light onto each of these psychological variables that explain this cultural phenomenon and will attempt to predict what will be seen in the years to come regarding American attitudes towards immigration.

Florentina Onolfo

Budiman, A., Tamir, C., Mora, L., & Noe-Bustamante, L. (2020, October 1). Immigrants in america: Key charts and facts. Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project (Data from 1850-2018). Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/20/facts-on-u-s-immigrants/#population-by-nativity-and-citizenship-status-2000-and-2012.

Clissold, E., Nylander, D., Watson, C., & Ventriglio, A. (2020). Pandemics and prejudice. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66, 421–423. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0020764020937873

Covid-19 Global Map. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. (2021). Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.

Esses, V. M., & Hamilton, L. K. (2021). Xenophobia and anti-immigrant attitudes in the time of covid-19. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(2), 253–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220983470

Fincher, C.L., & Thornhill, R. (2012). Parasite-stress promotes in-group associative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35, 61-79.

Krogstad, J. M. (2020). What Americans, Europeans think of immigrants. Pew Research Center (Survey data from 2015). Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/24/what-americans-europeans-think-of-immigrants/.

Schumacher, S., & Moncus, J. J. (2021, November 23). Even as pandemic endures, economic attitudes improve in many nations. Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/07/21/economic-attitudes-improve-in-many-nations-even-as-pandemic-endures/.

Unemployment rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Congressional Research Service. (2021, August 20). Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46554.

Varnum, M.E.W., & Grossmann, I. (in press). Socioecological changes are linked to changes in the prevalence of contempt over time. Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Manhattan College and Omeka

12/09/21

English