Prejudice towards Muslim immigrants in Australia: the role of values in understanding and reducing prejudice

Submission note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology to the School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora.

Since the events of September 11, Muslim immigrants living in Australia have been the target of discrimination, intolerance, and even ethnic violence (Poynting and Mason, 2006). Despite the continuance of prejudice directed at this immigrant group, there has been a lack of research investigating the antecedents of prejudice towards Muslims in an Australian context. This thesis aimed to fill this gap by investigating the role of individual and cultural values in both understanding and reducing prejudice towards Muslim immigrants. In Study 1, a correlational design was employed in which 196 participants from the Australian community completed an online survey. Participants completed a shortened version of the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992) where they rated the importance of ten values for themselves personally and then for Muslim immigrants. Consistent with hypotheses, the results showed that the higher the value discrepancy, the stronger the level of prejudice. In Study 2, two hundred and forty participants from the Australian community were assigned to an identity condition (Australian vs. personal) and then read about Australian born citizens having either similar or different values with Muslim immigrants. The type of values was also manipulated in which participants read about self-transcendence, openness to change, or conservation values. In line with the common ingroup identity model (Gaertner and Dovidio, 2000), a main effect emerged for identity which showed that the Australian identity prime was successful in reducing prejudice. This was qualified by an interaction effect which demonstrated that prejudice was further reduced when participants read about similar values. In direct contrast, the strongest levels of prejudice were shown when participants read about similar values under the personal identity prime. These effects occurred regardless of what type of values was presented as similar between the cultures. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to relevant theory, further research, and methods for anti-prejudice interventions.