Abstract
Among the central tenets of social identity theory are the arguments that individuals’ attitudes and behavior are shaped by (1) perceptions of threat by out-groups toward individuals’ in-group(s) and (2) the strength of individuals’ identification with the in-group perceived to be under threat. In this paper we explore how American identity and Americans’ perceptions of immigrant threat work together to shape their vote choices in the 2016 presidential election. With the presidential campaign of Donald Trump characterized by strong rhetoric that emphasized immigrant threat and American identity themes, we suggest that the effects of immigrant threat perceptions are amplified by individuals’ American identity, with those who have a strong American identity more likely to translate immigrant threat perceptions into support for Trump than those with weaker levels of American identity. Moreover, we consider whether the effects of American identity on vote choice are activated and moderated by individuals’ perceptions of immigrant threat. Using data from the 2016 American National Election Study, we find that the effects of immigrant threat perceptions and American identity on vote choice are magnified by each other: the effects of immigrant threat perceptions are enhanced among individuals with a strong American identity, and the effects of American identity are activated and magnified by perceptions of immigrant threat.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The critical Z score for the 0.05 level in a one-tailed significance test is ± 1.645, while the critical Z score for a two-tailed test of significance is ± 1.96.
References
Brader, T., Valentino, N. A., & Suhay, E. (2008). What Triggers Public Opposition to Immigration? Anxiety, Group Cues, and Immigration Threat. American Journal of Political Science, 52(4), 959–978.
Blau, Francine and Christopher Mackie (eds.). 2016. “The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration.” A report of the National Academy of Sciences. Available at: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23550/the-economic-and-fiscal-consequences-of-immigration.
Borjas, G. (1987). Immigrants, Minorities, and Labor Market Competition. ILR Review, 40, 382–392.
Branton, R., Cassese, E. C., Jones, B. S., & Westerland, C. (2011). All Along the Watchtower: Acculturation Fear, Anti-Latino Affect, and Immigration. Journal of Politics, 73, 664–679.
Brewer, M. B. (1999). The Psychology of Prejudice: Ingroup Love and Outgroup Hate? Journal of Social Issues, 55(3), 429–444.
Brewer, M. B. 2001. “Ingroup Identification and Intergroup Conflict: When Does Ingroup Love Become Outgroup Hate?” In R. D. Ashmore, L. Jussim, and D. Wilder (Eds.), Social Identity, Intergroup Conflict, and Conflict Reduction. Oxford University Press, 17–41.
Citrin, J., Lerman, A., Murakami, M., & Pearson, K. (2007). Testing Huntington: Is Hispanic Immigration a Threat to American Identity? Perspectives on Politics, 5(1), 31–48.
Cooper, B., D. Cox, R. Lienesch, and R.P. Jones. 2015. “How Americans View Immigrants, and What They Want from Immigration Reform: Findings from the 2015 American Values Atlas.” Downloaded from https://www.prri.org/research/poll-immigration-reform-views-on-immigrants/.
Crutchfield, R., & Pettinicchio, D. (2009). Cultures of Inequality: Ethnicity, Immigration, Social Welfare, and Imprisonment. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 623, 134–147.
Fitzgerald, J., & Corliss, C. L. (2012). Anxious Publics: Worries About Crime and Immigration. Comparative Political Studies, 45(4), 477–506.
Garand, J. C., Ping, Xu, & Davis, B. C. (2017). Immigration Attitudes and Support for the Welfare State in the American Mass Public. American Journal of Political Science, 61, 146–162.
Hogg, M. A., Abrams, D., & Brewer, M. B. (2017). Social Identity: The Role of Self In-Group Processes and Intergroup relations. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 20(5), 570–581.
Hooghe, M., & Dassonville, R. (2018). Explaining the Trump Vote The Effect of Racist Resentment and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments. Political Science and Politics, 51(03), 528–534.
Huddy, L. (2001). From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory. Political Psychology., 22, 127–156.
Huddy, L. (2003). Group Identity and Political Cohesion. In D. O. Sears, L. Huddy, & R. Jervis (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology (pp. 511–558). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lahav, G., & Courtemanche, M. (2012). The Ideological Effects of Framing Threat on Immigration and Civil Liberties. Political Behavior, 34(3), 477–505.
Lerman, R. I. (1999). U.S. Wage-Inequality Trends and Recent Immigration. American Economic Review, 89, 23–28.
Li, Q., & Brewer, M. B. (2004). What Does It Mean To Be An American? Patriotism, Nationalism, and American Identity After 9/11. Political Psychology, 25(5), 727–739.
Lumpe, C., & Weigert, B. (2010). Immigration, Education, and Wage Inequality. Journal of Economic Integration, 25, 592–612.
Mäs, M., & Dijkstra, J. (2014). Do Intergroup Conflicts Necessarily Result from Outgroup Hate? PLoS ONE, 9(6), 97848.
Merolla, J. L., Pantoja, A. D., Cargile, I. A., & Mora, J. (2012). From Coverage to Action: The Immigration Debate and Its Effects on Participation. Political Research Quarterly, 66, 322–335.
Newman, B., Hartman, T., & Taber, C. (2012). Foreign Language Exposure, Cultural Threat, and Opposition to Immigration. Political Psychology, 33(5), 635–657.
Newman, B. J. (2013). Acculturating Contexts and Anglo Opposition to Immigration in the U.S. American Journal of Political Science, 57, 374–390.
Schildkraut, D. J. (2003). American Identity and Attitudes toward Official-English Policies. Political Psychology, 24, 469–499.
Schildkraut, Deborah J. 2015. “Does Becoming American Create a Better American? How Identity Attachments and Perceptions of Discrimination Affect Trust and Obligation.” In Nancy Foner and Patrick Simon, Fear, Anxiety, and National Identity. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Sides, J., & Citrin, J. (2007). European Opinion about Immigration: The Role of Identities, Interests and Information. British Journal of Political Science, 37(3), 477–504.
Sniderman, P. M., Hagendoorn, L., & Prior, M. (2004). Predisposing factors and situational triggers: exclusionary reactions to immigrant minorities. American Political Science Review, 98, 35–49.
Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in Intergroup Discrimination. Scientific American, 223, 96–102.
Tajfel, H. (Ed.). (1978). Differentiation Between Social Groups: Studies in the Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Oxford, England: Academic Press.
Tajfel, H. (1981). Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Xu, P., Garand, J. C., & Zhu, L. (2016). Imported Inequality? Immigration and Income Inequality in the American States. State Politics and Policy Quarterly, 16(2), 147–171.
Wang, X. (2012). Undocumented Immigrants as Perceived Criminal Threat: A Test of the Minority Threat Perspective. Criminology, 50, 743–776.
Weisel, O., & Böhm, R. (2015). Ingroup Love’ and ‘Outgroup Hate’ in Intergroup Conflict Between Natural Groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 60, 110–120.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Garand, J.C., Qi, D. & Magaña, M. Perceptions of Immigrant Threat, American Identity, and Vote Choice in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. Polit Behav 44, 877–893 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09644-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09644-z