Native by Chance, Hostile by Choice: How Threat Perception and Privileged Identity Management Affect Anti-Immigrant Attitudes in the U.S. and France

Author

• Zoe E. Jacques

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Restricted Thesis: Campus only access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Adam Stanaland

Abstract

Hostility toward undocumented immigrants is rising across Western democracies, yet the psychological mechanisms underlying these attitudes remain understudied. The present research explored how different perceived “threats” to natural-born citizens in two Western democracies, the U.S. and France, affect anti-immigrant attitudes, and whether citizens’ own privilege management mediated (explained) these associations. In Study 1 (preregistered), participants (N = 285 U.S.-born citizens) read five randomly-ordered “news stories” about an undocumented immigrant residing in the U.S., provided their attitudes toward the immigrant, and completed a measure of privilege management relative to undocumented immigrants. We found two privilege management strategies, Defending inequalities and Denying inequalities, predicted greater anti-immigrant attitudes and wanting to Dismantle inequality predicted lower ones. Age and conservatism both predicted attitudes, with conservatism partially mediated by Defend, Deny, and Dismantle. Study 2 (preregistered; N = 395; 199 U.S., 196 French) extended Study 1 by testing similar effects across U.S. and, newly, French nationals, with a new element of perceived threat: four behaviors that the immigrants in vignettes exhibit that could be interpreted negatively (cultural non-assimilation, economic noncontribution, economic benefit-utilization, and violence). In explaining anti-immigrant attitudes, there were two significant interactions between (i) participant nationality and threat type and (ii) threat type and participant conservatism. French participants reported significantly higher anti-immigrant attitudes than American participants under perceived “cultural” threats, and the associations between threats and attitudes differed across nationalities. Future analyses explored the mediating effects of participants’ privilege maintenance strategies, and implications of the present research are considered.

Comments

Please note that this thesis is RESTRICTED. Only the Title page and Abstract are available.

Recommended Citation

Jacques, Zoe E., "Native by Chance, Hostile by Choice: How Threat Perception and Privileged Identity Management Affect Anti-Immigrant Attitudes in the U.S. and France" (2026). Honors Theses. 1965.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1965