Examining attitudes towards foreigners according to various variables: Çankırı Karatekin University sample

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to examine the attitudes of university staff towards foreigners according to intercultural sensitivity, empathic tendencies, the dimension of conservatism towards historical and national values and some other demographic variables. 88 academic and administrative staff from Çankırı Karatekin University participated in the study. According to the results of the study, nationalist conservatism, intercultural sensitivity, level of religiosity and political orientation are predictors of attitudes towards foreigners. Empathy level did not predict attitudes towards foreigners. These variables explained 43% of the attitudes towards foreigners. While there was no difference in attitudes towards foreigners according to gender, significant differences were found between men and women in intercultural sensitivity, political tendency and natioanlist conservatism. Compared to those who did not, staff with experience of living abroad had lower levels of nationalist conservatism and higher levels of intercultural sensitivity. While there was no difference in the level of empathy between administrative and academic staff, academic staff had higher intercultural sensitivity than administrative staff. When the correlations betwwen the variables were investigated, there were positive relationships between attitudes towards foreigner and emphaty andintercultural sensitivity while there were negative relationships between attitudes towards foreigners and nationalist conservatism. Significant negative correlations were found between intercultural sensitivity and level of religiosity and nationalist conservatism. Lastly, there were significant positive correlations between high intercultural sensitivity and being politically close to the left and high empathy. The current study enriched the studies in this field by evaluating the attitudes of university staff towards foreigners from different perspectives in a city with a low density of foreigners with different status other than foreign students, and re-examined the contradictory findings on attitudes towards foreigners according to some demographic variables such as gender, political orientation and religiosity.

Keywords

• attitude towards foreigners
• empathy
• intercultural sensitivity
• conservatism
• gender and attitude towards foreigners

Yabancılara yönelik tutumlarının çeşitli değişkenlere göre incelenmesi: Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi örneklemi

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, üniversite personelinin yabancılara yönelik tutumlarının kültürlerarası duyarlılık, empatik eğilimler, muhafazakarlığın tarihi ve milli değerlere bakış açısı boyutu ve diğer bazı demografik değişkenlere göre incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmaya Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesinden 88 akademik ve idari personel katılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre, milliyetçi muhafazakarlık, kültürlerarası duyarlık, dindarlık düzeyi ve siyasi eğilim yabancılara yönelik tutumların yordayıcısıdır. Empati düzeyi, yabancılara yönelik tutumu yordamamıştır. Bu değişkenler yabancılara yönelik tutumların %43’ünü açıklamıştır. Cinsiyete göre yabancılara yönelik tutumda bir fark görülmezken kültürlerarası duyarlılıkta, siyasi eğilim ve milliyetçi muhafazakarlıkta kadın ve erkekler arasında anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmuştur. Yurtdışında bulunma deneyimi bulunan personelin bulunmayanlara kıyasla muhafazakarlık düzeyi düşükken kültürlerarası duyarlılığı daha yüksek çıkmıştır. İdari ve akademik personelin empati düzeyinde bir fark görülmezken, akademik personelin idari personele kıyasla kültürlerarası duyarlılığı daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Değişkenler arası korelasyonlar incelendiğinde ise yabancılara yönelik olumlu tutumlar ile empati ve kültürlerarası duyarlılık arasında pozitif yönlü; milliyetçi muhafazakarlık ile ise de negatif yönlü anlamlı ilişkiler bulunmuştur. Kültürlerarası duyarlılıkla dindarlık seviyesi ve milliyetçi muhafazakarlık arasında negatif yönlü anlamlı ilişkiler bulunmuştur. Son olarak, kültürlerarası duyarlılığın yüksek olmasıyla siyasi olarak sola yakın olma ve yüksek empati arasında ise pozitif yönlü anlamlı ilişkiler tespit edilmiştir. Mevcut çalışma, yabancı öğrenciler dışında farklı statüdeki yabancıların düşük yoğunluğu olan bir kentte üniversite personelinin yabancılara yönelik tutumlarını farklı açılardan değerlendirerek bu alandaki çalışmaları zenginleştirmiş ve özellikle cinsiyet, siyasi eğilim, dindarlık gibi bazı demografik değişkenlere göre yabancılara yönelik tutumlar konusundaki çelişkili bulguları tekrar incelemiştir.

Keywords

• yabancılara yönelik tutum;
• empati;
• kültürlerarası duyarlılık
• muhafazakarlık
• cinsiyet ve yabancılara yönelik tutum

References

1. Abaslı, K., & Polat, Ş. (2019). Öğrencilerin kültürlerarası duyarlılık ve kültürel zekâya ilişkin görüşlerinin incelenmesi. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 7(1), 193-202. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.419526
2. Abdelaaty, L., & Steele, L. G. (2022). Explaining attitudes toward refugees and immigrants in Europe. Political Studies, 70(1), 110-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321720950217
3. Akça, A., & Ayaz-Alkaya, S. (2023). Determinants of attitudes towards refugees and intercultural sensitivity of nursing students: A descriptive and correlational study. Nurse Education Today, 124, 105772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105772
4. Aktaş, V., Kındap-Tepe, Y.K., & Persson, R.S. (2021). Investigating Turkish university students’ attitudes towards refugees in a time of Civil War in neighboring Syria. Current Psychology, 40, 553-562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9971-y
5. Alonso, S., & da Fonseca, S. C. (2012). Immigration, left and right. Party Politics, 18(6), 865-884. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068810393265
6. Altemeyer, B. (1998). The other "authoritarian personality". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 48-92.
7. Anderson J., & Ferguson R. (2018). Demographic and ideological correlates of negative attitudes towards asylum seekers: A meta-analytic review. Aust. J. Psychol. 70, 18-29. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12162
8. Bakioğlu, A., Artar, F., & İzmir, H. (2018). Ankara’daki Suriyelilerin mültecilik deneyimleri: Göç, gündelik yaşam, geçim deneyimleri ve sosyal dışlanma. Sociological Association Publications, Yayın No: 25.

9. Bentsen, B.M.A. (2017). Attitudes toward ımmigrants among youth in Sweden. WelfareWorking Paper Series (No. 17:4). Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, Malmö University, Sweden. https://www.mah.se
10. Berry, M., Garcia‐Blanco, I., & Moore, K. (2016). Press coverage of the refugee and migrant crisis in the EU: A content analysis of five European countries. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
11. Canetti, D., Snider, K. L. G., Pedersen, A., & Hall, B. J. (2016). Threatened or threatening? How ideology shapes asylum seekers' immigration policy attitudes in Israel and Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 29(4), 583-606. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/few012
12. Chandler, C. R., & Tsai, Y. M. (2001). Social factors influencing immigration attitudes: An analysis of data from the general social survey. The Social Science Journal, 38(2), 177-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0362-3319(01)00106-9.
13. Cowling M. M., Anderson J. G., & Ferguson R. (2019). Prejudice-relevant correlates of attitudes towards refugees: a meta-analysis. J. Refug. Stud. 32, 502-524. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fey062
14. Çalışkan-Sarı, A., & Yalçınkaya-Alkar, Ö. (2022). Mediator role of intergroup anxiety in relationship between the social contact, intercultural sensitivity and attitudes towards Syrians among Turkish local society. International Migration, 61, 257-271. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13097
15. Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi (2023, Ağustos 7). ÇAKÜ, uluslararası öğrenci sayısıyla ikinci sırada. https://gensek.karatekin.edu.tr/tr/caku-uluslararasi-ogrenci-sayisiyla-ikinci-sirada-38200-haberi-icerigi.karatekin#:~:text=%C3%87ANKIRI%20KARATEK%C4%B0N%20%C3%9CN%C4%B0VERS%C4%B0TES%C4%B0%20Genel%20Sekreterlik,-Ana%20Sayfa&text=2023%2D2024%20e%C4%9Fitim%2D%C3%B6%C4%9Fretim%20y%C4%B1l%C4%B1nda,ve%20Afrika'dan%20%C3%B6%C4%9Frenci%20geliyor .
16. Çiftçi, H. (2018). Türkiye Cumhuriyeti vatandaşlarının Suriyeli sığınmacılara yönelik tutum, algı ve empatik eğilimlerinin analizi. İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7(3), 2232-56.
17. Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113–126.
18. Dovidio, J. F., Johnson, J. D., Gaertner, S. L., Pearson, A. R., Saguy, T., & Ashburn-Nardo, L. (2010). Empathy and intergroup relations. M. Mikulincer & P. R. Shaver (Ed.), Prosocial motives, emotions, and behavior: The better angels of our nature içinde (393-408). American Psychological Association.
19. Dökmen, Ü. (1988). Empatinin yeni bir modele dayanılarak ölçülmesi ve psikodrama ile geliştirilmesi. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 21(1-2), 155-190.
20. Drazanova, L., & Gonnot, J. (2023). Attitudes toward immigration in Europe: Cross-regional differences. Open Res Eur, 3, 66. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.15691.1
21. Edwards, A. (2015). Global forced displacement hits record high. UNHCR website. http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/6/5763b65a4/global‐forced‐displacement‐hits‐record‐high.html
22. Eisenberg, N., Eggum, N. D., & Giunta, L. D. (2010). Empathy-related responding: Associations with prosocial behavior, aggression, and intergroup relations. Social Issues Policy Review, 4, 143-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-2409.2010.01020.x .
23. Ekici, H. (2019). Türk toplumunda Suriyelilere yönelik algılanan tehditler ve çözüm önerileri. Sosyal Politika Çalışmaları Dergisi, 44, 695-730.
24. Erdoğan, M. M. (2020). Suriyeliler barometresi 2019, Suriyelilerle uyum içinde yaşamın çerçevesi. Orion Kitabevi.
25. Espenshade, T. J., & Hempstead, K. (1996). Contemporary American attitudes toward U.S. immigration. International Migration Review, 30, 535-570.
26. Esses, V. M., Hamilton, L. K., & Gaucher, D. (2017). The global refugee crisis: Empirical evidence and policy implications for improving public attitudes and facilitating refugee resettlement. Social Issues & Policy Review, 11, 78-123.
27. Farris, S. R. (2017). In the name of women's rights. Duke University Press.
28. Feldman, S., & Johnston, C. (2014). Understanding the determinants of political ideology: Implications of structural complexity. Political Psychology, 35(3), 337-358. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12055
29. Goot, M., & Watson, I. (2005). Immigration, multiculturalism, and national identity. S. Wilson, G. Meagher, R. Gibson, D. Denemark ve M. Western (Ed), In Australian social attitudes: The first report (pp. 182-203). University of New South Wales Press.
30. Gorodzeisky, A., & Semyonov, M. (2009). Terms of exclusion: Public views towards admission and allocation of rights to immigrants in European countries. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(3), 401-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870802245851
31. Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı (2024, Mayıs 30). İkamet izni ile ülkemizde bulunan yabancıların illere göre dağılımı. https://www.goc.gov.tr/ikamet-izinleri
32. Göker, G., & Keskin, S. (2015). Haber medyası ve mülteciler: Suriyeli mültecilerin Türk yazılı basınındaki temsili. İletişim Kuram ve Araştırma Dergisi, 41, 229-256.
33. Grezo, M., Adamus, M., & Tencerova, J. (2024). Palliative and hegemonic dimensions of conservatism: the mitigating role of institutional trust in shaping attitudes toward migrants and migration policy preferences. Frontier Psychology, 15, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1308990
34. Haberci18. (2024, Haziran 27). Çankırı'da 5 bin 404 yabancı var. https://www.haberci18.com/cankiri-da-5-bin-404-yabanci-var/19201/
35. Habito, R. L. F., & Inaba, K. (Eds.). (2006). The practice of altruism: Caring and religion in global perspective. Cambridge University Press.
36. Hawley, G. (2011). Political threat and immigration: Party identification, demographic context, and immigration policy preference. Social Science Quarterly, 92(2), 404-422.
37. Hernes, G., & Knudsen, K. (1992). Norwegians’ attitudes toward new immigrants. Acta Sociologica, 35(2), 123-139.
38. Jost, J. T. (2017). Ideological asymmetries and the essence of political psychology. Political Psychology, 38(2), 167-208. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12407
39. Knappert, L. Van Dijk, H., Yuan, S. Engel, Y., Van Prooijen, J.W., & Krouwel, A. (2020). Personal contact with refugees is key to welcoming them: An analysis of politicians' and citizens' attitudes towards refugee integration. Political Psychology, 42(3), 423-442. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12705
40. Kurtz, RR., & Grummon, D.L. (1972). Different approaches to the measurement of therapist empathy and their relationship to therapy outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 39(1), 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0033190
41. Kuru-Alıcı, N. (2021). Cultural sensitivity and attitudes towards refugees of Turkish nursing students: A cross-sectional descriptive study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 80, 1-6.
42. Louis, W. R., Duck, J. M., Terry, D. J., Schuller, R. A., & Lalonde, R. N. (2007). Why do citizens want to keep refugees out? Threats, fairness, and hostile norms in the treatment of asylum seekers. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 535-573. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.329
43. Murphy, B. C., Shepard, S. A., Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., & Guthrie, I. K. (1999). Contemporaneous and longitudinal relations of dispositional sympathy to emotionality, regulation, and social functioning. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 19(1), 66-97.
44. Murray, K.E., & Marx, D.M. (2013) Attitudes toward unauthorized immigrants, authorized immigrants, and refugees. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(3), 332-341.
45. Navruz, M., & Çukurçayır, M. A. (2015). Factors affecting changes in perceptions of Turkish people towards Syrian refugees. International Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 75-85.
46. Newman, B., Hartman, T., Lown, P., & Feldman, S. (2015). Easing the heavy hand: Humanitarian concern, empathy, and opinion on immigration. British Journal of Political Science, 45(3), 583-607. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123413000410
47. Nickerson, A. M., & Louis, W. R. (2008). Nationality versus humanity? Personality, identity, and norms in relation to attitudes toward asylum seekers. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 796-817. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559‐1816.2007.00327.x
48. Ponce, A. (2017). Gender and anti-immigrant attitudes in Europe. Socius 3:237802311772997. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023117729970
49. Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2006). Immigrant America: a portrait. Univ of California Press
50. Rustenbach, E. (2010). Sources of negative attitudes toward immigrants in Europe: A multi-level analysis. International Migration Review, 44(1), 53-77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2009.00798.x
51. Scheepers, P., Gijsberts, M., & Hello, E. (2002). Religiosity and prejudice against ethnic minorities in Europe: Cross-national tests on a controversial relationship. Review of Religious Research, 43(3), 242-265.
52. Semyonov, M., Raijman, R., & Gorodzeisky, A. (2006). The rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in European societies, 1988-2000. American Sociological Review, 71, 426-449.
53. Short, R. R. (2004). Justice, politics, and prejudice regarding immigration attitudes. Current Research in Social Psychology, 9(14), 193-208.
54. Schweitzer, R., Perkoulidis, S., Krome, S., Ludlow, C., & Ryan, M. (2005). Attitudes towards refugees: The dark side of prejudice. Australian Journal of Psychology, 57, 170-179. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530500125199
55. Smither, R., & Khorzandi, A. (2009). The implicit personality theory of Islam. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1(2), 81-96.
56. Stafford, J.R., Bowman, R., Ewing, T., Hanna, J., & Lopez-De Fede, A. (1997). Building Culture Bridges. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.
57. Stipisic, T. (2022). Attitudes toward immigrants ıntertwined with religion: Comparison of Croatia and Italy. Religions, 13(7), 664. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070664
58. Şahin, K. (2010). Türkiye’de gençliğin muhafazakâr eğilimleri. (No: 636721). [Doktora tezi, Sakarya Üniversitesi]. Yükseköğretim Kurulu Başkanlığı Ulusal Tez Merkezi.
59. Şar, E., & Kuru, N.O. (2020, Haziran 11). İstanbul’da Suriyeli sığınmacılara yönelik tutumlar. İstanbul Politik Araştırmalar Enstitüsü. https://www.stgm.org.tr/sites/default/files/2020-09/istanbulda-suriyeli-siginmacilara-yonelik-tutumlar-arastirma-raporu.pdf .
60. Schahbasi, A., Huber, S., & Fieder, M. (2020). Factors affecting attitudes toward migrants-An evolutionary approach. American Journal of Human Biology, e23435, 1-13.
61. Şirin, C. V., Valentino, N. A., & Villalobos, J. D. (2016). Group empathy theory: The effect of group empathy on US intergroup attitudes and behavior in the context of immigration threats. Journal of Politics, 78(3), 893-908. https://doi.org/10.1086/685735 .
62. Tamura, A. ve Sugiura, Y. (2017). Prosocial behavior and physical aggression in psychopathy: Mediating effect of affective and cognitive empathy. The Japanese Journal of Personality, 26(1), 38-48.
63. Tarman, B., & Gürel, D. (2017) Awareness of social studies teacher candidates on refugees in Turkey. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 41(3), 183-193.
64. Taylor, L.K., & Glen, C. (2019). From empathy to action: Can enhancing host-society children's empathy promote positive attitudes and prosocial behaviour toward refugees? Community and Applied Social Psychology, 30(2), 214-226. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2438
65. Ünal, H. S. (2023). What are the determinants of attitudes towards immigrants in Turkey? Evidence from the world values survey. Balkan Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 12(23), 49-59. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3171389
66. Verkuyten, M., Kollar, R., Gale, J., & Yogeeswaran, K. (2022). Right-wing political orientation, national identification, and the acceptance of immigrants and minorities. Personal. Individ. Differ. 184, 111217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111217
67. Verkuyten, M., Mepham, K., & Kros, M. (2017). Public attitudes towards support for migrants: The importance of perceived voluntary and involuntary migration. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41, 901-918. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1367021
68. Walker, I. (1994) Attitudes to minorities: Survey evidence of Western Australians' attitudes to Aborigines, Asians, and women. Australian Journal of Psychology, 46(3), 137-143.