“Who Are These Foreigners Anyway?” The Content of the Term Foreigner and Its Impact on Prejudice

Abstract

The term foreigners is often used in prejudice research to analyze prejudice toward immigrants, but it is not specified which groups respondents have in mind. In the present study, we analyzed the content of the term foreigner and its impact on prejudice toward foreigners in a German national probability sample ( N = 1,763). Results indicated that most respondents think of people with a Turkish migration background, but regional differences between East and West Germany occurred. In addition, the different individual meanings connected with the term foreigner go along with different levels of prejudice against foreigners: Differences in prejudice toward foreigners between East and West Germany are partially due to different groups associated with the term foreigner. Theoretical and practical implications for quantitative prejudice research are discussed.