We emulate minorities when we perceive them as warm, competent and moral

While social influence research has traditionally looked at the influence of the majority on the minority, members of minority groups can also exert influence on the thoughts and actions of majority group members.

‘In the past, however, research has typically viewed migrants and other minority groups as a homogenous entity. This has overlooked the fact that majority groups have nuanced perceptions of different minorities,’ says Milan Obaidi, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen.

It's about indispensability

Recognising the diversity among immigrant and minority groups, Milan Obaidi and research colleagues investigated how the different characteristics of immigrant and minority groups influence majority groups' adoption of their cultures.

The researchers analysed three pre-registered studies – one correlational and two experimental – with representative samples from the UK and US. The overall picture shows that members of majority groups are more willing to adopt the culture of immigrant and minority groups when it is perceived as warm, competent and moral.

‘These perceptions make immigrants and minority groups seem indispensable to mainstream society's identity and economy,’ explains Milan Obaidi.

Contributes to identity and economy

‘Warmth’ primarily reflects the extent to which individuals are expected to be empathetic and cooperative, prioritising group interests over individual interests.

‘Previous research has associated warmth with the ability to integrate into a group of strangers and thus form a social identity. It is conceivable that warmth predominantly influences the majority's perception of immigrants‘ identity indispensability,’ suggests Milan Obaidi.

‘Competence’ refers to the perception of skill and intelligence of a group or individual. This factor is particularly prominent in social evaluations in organisational and economic contexts.

‘Competence can refer to the value that newcomers bring to an economy. For example, when highly competent immigrants can fill critical roles with high recruitment demand,’ mentions Milan Obaidi.

High morale signals credibility

Finally, ‘morality’ is thought to play a central role in shaping people's social identity and in demarcating individuals as either insiders or outsiders.

‘Morality signals the trustworthiness of potential group members – whether they will be reliable and contribute to social identity cohesion. Morality is also important for the perception of economic indispensability, as it can indicate a sincere intention to contribute financially to the community,’ explains Milan Obaidi.

Overall, the study shows that the motivation of majority groups to adopt immigrant culture depends on how indispensable people from minority groups are to the identity and economic functioning of mainstream society.

‘This selective adoption of minority culture has important implications for cultural dynamism and social equality in many societies,’ says Milan Obaidi.

The study, published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, can be read here.