Disadvantaged group members are prouder of their group when using the language of the dominant group compared to their native language

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hasan-Aslih, Siwar; Idan, Orly; Willer, Robb; Halperin, Eran
• 署名单位: Stanford University; Reichman University; Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10300
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307736120
• 发表日期: 2024-01-02
• 关键词: self; COMPENSATION

摘要

In ethnically and linguistically diverse societies, disadvantaged groups often face pressures to acquire and speak the advantaged group's language to achieve social inclusion and economic mobility. This work investigates how using the advantaged group's language affects disadvantaged group members' in -group pride and collective self- esteem, relative to using their native language. Across six experimental studies involving Palestinian citizens of Israel (total N = 1,348), we test two competing hypotheses: Disadvantaged group members may experience greater in -group pride when using a) their native language, due to its emotional significance (the nativity hypothesis), or b) the language of the advantaged group, due to activation of habituated compensatory responses to dominance relations (the identity enhancement hypothesis). We found that respondents reported significantly higher in -group pride when responding to a Hebrew survey when compared to performing the same activity in Arabic (Studies 1a and 1b), regardless of whether the researchers administering the survey were identified as Jewish or Arab (Studies 2a and 2b). Study 3 replicated this effect while employing the bogus pipeline technique, suggesting the pride expression was authentic, not merely driven by social desirability. Finally, Study 4 (pre- registered) examined additional measures of positive regard for the in- group, finding that participants described their group more positively in an attribute selection task, and reported greater collective self- esteem, when surveyed in Hebrew, rather than in Arabic. Taken together, these findings suggest that language use influences disadvantaged group members' perceptions and feelings concerning their group when those languages are associated with relative position in an intergroup hierarchy. Significance Different languages can create different mindsets among bilingual speakers. For disadvantaged linguistic minorities, switching between their native language and the dominant language may have profound implications for self and group perceptions. Across six studies, we find that Palestinian citizens of Israel experienced higher levels of in -group pride when using the advantaged group's language (Hebrew) rather than their native language (Arabic), a finding that was obtained for multiple measures of positive perceptions of their group and employing experimental methods designed to avoid social desirability. These findings underscore the resilience of disadvantaged group members and demonstrate they can habituate an adaptive response to using the advantaged group's language, which seems to offer a compensatory source of group pride and collective self- regard.