Intergroup benefits of metacognitive cultural self? Cultural self-awareness and multicultural involvement on attitudes towards migrants

Abstract

The investigation of attitudes towards different groups is crucial for improving intergroup relations and increasing acceptance of diversity. The present research examined the potential of metacognitive understanding of cultural self in improving attitudes towards migrants, as individuals reflectively consider their cultural assumptions in evaluating migrants. We tested the effect of individuals’ awareness of culture’s influence on the self (i.e., cultural self-awareness) and how such an effect was moderated by how much individuals’ life experience involved foreign cultures (i.e., multicultural involvement). Study 1 measured American participants’ cultural self-awareness and attitudes towards immigrants. Studies 2 and 3 manipulated Taiwanese participants’ cultural self-awareness and measured their attitudes towards Southeast Asian migrant workers (Studies 2 and 3) and marriage immigrants (Study 3). Results showed that cultural self-awareness had a more positive effect on attitudes towards migrants for low (vs. high) multicultural involvement individuals. The positive role of metacognitive cultural self in intergroup relations and the boundary conditions for such positive effect are discussed.