Maykel Verkuyten

Utrecht University | UU · Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science

Ethnic identity is a major area of study across many disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. Yet, little is known about changes in ethnic identity across the adult lifespan, and whether such changes are driven by normal aging processes (aging effects), unique societal influences linked with one’s formative...

The notion of tolerance is widely embraced in plural contexts, but little is known about how majority members interpret the toleration of minorities. With four studies, we investigated majority group members' interpretations of a minority toleration situation (compared to full acceptance and discrimination situations) as a function of outgroup thre...

The aim of this paper is to advance psychological theory and research on attitudes and behavior towards low status minority groups by discussing group-level indispensability as an important yet largely unexplored factor in intergroup dynamics. Drawing on theory and international research from psychology and the social sciences, the distinction betw...

Tearful faces are frequent in mass media portraits of refugees, but the consequences of such depictions for different kinds of intergroup helping remain poorly understood. Moreover, existing research suggests that individuals tend to be more willing to support those who display tears, yet the impact of emotional tears on actual helping behavior has...

The golden rule is a widespread moral guide for preventing conflict across cultures and religions, and reciprocity is foundational to political tolerance. This raises the question of whether the golden rule has an impact on one's willingness to tolerate political protest actions of disliked ideological groups. In the current research, we examined w...

Under the asymmetry hypothesis, political tolerance and intolerance differ in their underlying psychology, making it easier to persuade the tolerant to become less tolerant than to convince the intolerant to become more tolerant. Using a representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 546), we examined this hypothesis for people’s tolerance or i...

Even without legal ownership, groups can experience objects, places, and ideas as belonging to them (‘ours’). This state of mind–collective psychological ownership–is understudied in social psychology, yet it is central to many intergroup conflicts and stewardship behaviour. We discuss our research on the psychological processes and social-psycholo...

The current research examines the proposition that minority groups can be either accepted or rejected, both in the name of national tolerance. In three studies using national samples in the Netherlands ( N = 1572), we focused on three different understandings of what is required to maintain an alleged national identity of tolerance. Data indicated...

This study ( N = 770) explores in depth the construct of deprovincialization by both uniting and comparing two scales that assess its two facets: the Group Deprovincialization Scale (GDS; Martinovic & Verkuyten, 2013) and the Cultural Deprovincialization Scale (CDS, Boin et al., 2020). First, we tested the factorial structure of the construct throu...

Positive intergroup relations are shown to be related to the perception that, despite mutual differences, all subgroups are indispensable for the identity or functioning of the overall society. Yet, so far, the research on identity and functional indispensability is concerned with minorities that strive for inclusion in the larger nation-state (e.g...

Positive intergroup relations are shown to be related to the perception that, despite mutual differences, all subgroups are indispensable for the identity or functioning of the overall society. Yet, so far, the research on identity and functional indispensability is concerned with minorities that strive for inclusion in the larger nation-state (e.g...

With increasing immigration, it is increasingly important to understand whether and when children consider immigrant peers as co-nationals. Using an experimental design, we examined among native-born preadolescents (8–13 years of age) in the Netherlands whether and when they perceive immigrant peers as co-nationals. First, and in agreement with the...

Conflicts over the ownership of territory have shaped intergroup relations between indigenous and nonindigenous groups in settler societies. Using latent profile analysis, we found four different subgroups of individuals among a sample of European New Zealanders based on their perceived ingroup (NZ European) and outgroup (Māori) ownership. Most peo...

People can have a sense of collective ownership of a particular territory, such as “our” country, “our” neighborhood, and “our” park. Collective psychological ownership is argued to go together with rights and responsibilities that have different behavioral implications. We found that collective psychological ownership leads to perceived determinat...

Gossip is often considered to have negative and exclusionary social consequences within migrant communities and multi-ethnic settings. In contrast, the current research examines whether gossip can contribute to including and integrating people with different ethnic and migration backgrounds into a local community. The empirical study is based on 11...

In many West European countries, debates about Muslim women wearing a headscarf in public positions evolve around the question whether the reason for wearing it is personal choice, religious freedom or community pressures. This study uses national samples of Dutch and German majority group members (N = 3734) and an experimental design to investigat...

An increasing number of states permit dual citizenship, but there are public concerns about divided loyalties of dual citizens which might lead to intolerance of their political rights. We propose and test whether these concerns depend on the emotional versus instrumental reasons immigrants express for acquiring their second, host society citizensh...

A growing number of states permit dual citizenship, but continued fears about communitarian values and worries about divided loyalties of dual citizens frequently boil up, leading to forms of political intolerance against such individuals. Dual-process theories argue that tolerance is more likely when people engage in deliberative (vs. intuitive) t...

Tolerance of minority beliefs and practices is typically considered a critical ingredient for an equal and diverse society. Psychologically, people can use both intuitive and deliberative cognitive sources to make tolerance judgments. Following dual-process theories, this research uses survey experiments to manipulate intuitive versus deliberative...

Living with cultural, religious, and ideological diversity inevitably creates situations where people are confronted with beliefs, values, or practices that they disapprove of. In such situations, people may consider reasons to nevertheless tolerate what they disapprove of (i.e., forbearance tolerance), or reject these (i.e., intolerance). In the c...

Tolerance is mainly presented as an improvement on discrimination, but research shows that it also can have a negative psychological impact on some minorities. Yet, there is no research into the meanings that minority individuals and trans people in particular append to tolerance. Whether being tolerated is experienced as helpful or hurtful would b...

The current research examines intolerance of protest actions by focusing on two major questions: (a) How intolerant are people of transgressive protest actions of their least-liked versus most-liked groups? and (b) how do individual differences in deontological and utilitarian moral predisposition relate to intolerance of transgressive protest acti...

People can display negative reactions towards those who challenge their sense of psychological ownership. We tested whether natives would show negativity towards refugees upon perceiving collective ownership threat (COT)—the fear of losing control over a territory that is perceived to be “ours”—in the context of mass immigration (Syrian refugees in...

There have been strong debates in many European countries about religious identity enactment of Muslims, with the wearing of the headscarf in public places being a central symbolic topic. This study investigated the importance of the context (private versus three public contexts) for tolerance of Muslim identity enactment (e.g., the wearing of head...

In this chapter we focus on questions related to Muslim minority identity in Western societies and argue for the usefulness of the social identity perspective for examining these questions. We aim to show that the existing research on Muslim minority identity will be enhanced by more fully considering the implications of the social identity perspec...

The notion of tolerance is widely embraced across many settings and is generally considered critical for the peaceful functioning of plural societies, and within organizations, institutions, and many professions. However, the concept of tolerance has various meanings and can be discursively used in different ways and for different purposes. The var...

In Western societies, generalized prejudice and anti-Muslim sentiments can be major drivers of the rejection of Muslim religious practices. However, people can also reject such practices for other reasons, such as concerns about civil liberties or the secular nature of the state. With national samples of German and Dutch majority members ( N = 3,70...

Deprovincialization is a set of attitudes characterized by two sides: a nuanced and fresh perspective on the in‐group culture and an open and accepting attitude toward other groups. After reviewing early research and indirect tests of the construct, we focused our attention on research investigating these two sides of deprovincialization. Studies c...

This paper examines the intriguing possibility that higher national identification commonly found among political conservatives can make them more, rather than less, accepting towards immigrants and minorities. This possibility is based on the theoretical reasoning that national attachment, net of national narcissism, provides a secure and stable s...

Discrimination has a negative impact on minority group members’ wellbeing, particularly immigrants. Yet, empirical research investigating coping mechanisms against perceived discrimination among immigrants remains scarce. The present study examined the association between perceived ethnic discrimination and eudaimonic (psychological and social) wel...

This article uses the case of Riace, a small multiethnic community in Southern Italy, as a lens to evaluate key theoretical and methodological aspects of the influential Intergroup Contact Theory. The article draws upon 10 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Riace, Italy, a town that for more than 20 years has hosted and integrated refugees into th...

In the theoretical literature on tolerance a distinction is proposed between coexistence and respect tolerance. In three studies with four national samples of Dutch majority members, we demonstrate that these two forms of tolerance can be distinguished empirically in relation to different immigrant target groups. The findings of all studies further...

Collective psychological ownership as a sense that a territory belongs to a group might explain attitudes of the White majority toward territorial compensation for Indigenous Peoples in settler societies. Ownership can be inferred from different general principles and we considered three key principles: autochthony (entitlements from first arrival)...

Tolerance, the acceptance of disapproved conduct of others, is considered an indispensable feature of diverse societies. Yet tolerance can be expressed in one of two distinct ways, which is not reflected in the literature. In one way, tolerance is passive and involves suppressing the inclination to interfere with the disapproved conduct of others....

Can targeted messages from political elites impact the relationship between valuing conformity and prejudice? We answer this question in a survey experiment on a national probability sample from the Netherlands by exposing respondents to a favorable vs. unfavorable statement about East European immigrants. We find that individuals attaching relativ...

There are various theoretical approaches for understanding intergroup biases among children and adolescents. This article focuses on the social identity approach and argues that existing research will benefit by more fully considering the implications of this approach for examining intergroup relations among youngsters. These implications include (...

Samenvatting Het bevorderen van tolerantie wordt internationaal gezien als een belangrijk onderwijsdoel. In het onderwijs worden echter verschillende opvattingen over tolerantie door elkaar heen gebruikt, waardoor het begrip haar analytische en educatieve kracht verliest. In dit artikel gaan we specifiek in op de klassieke conceptualisering van tol...

In culturally diverse societies, ethnic minorities are faced with the challenge of negotiating between their national and ethnic identification. Diversity ideologies address this challenge in different ways, by prioritizing national identification in the case of assimilation, and ethnic identification in the case of multiculturalism. However, exist...

This article discusses the social identity approach (social identity theory and self-categorization theory) for understanding children’s ingroup biases in attitudes and behaviors. It is argued that developmental research on ingroup bias will be enhanced by more fully considering the implications of this approach. These implications include (a) the...

The 21st century has highlighted major dilemmas on how to best manage diversity in our increasingly plural societies. Various strategies for managing diversity have been promoted to address this challenge including assimilation, colorblindness, and multiculturalism. However, empirical evidence has revealed that each poses weaknesses for intergroup...

Disapproval of others’ beliefs and practices is an inevitable consequence of living with diversity, and the ability to tolerate, or put up with, these differences is crucial to maintain a functional society. Considering reasons to condone what one disapproves of is considered a key aspect of tolerance. Across three national samples (N = 1,708), the...

There is evidence that in more economically unequal societies, social relations are more strained. We argue that this may reflect the tendency for wealth to become a more fitting lens for seeing the world, so that in economically more unequal circumstances, people more readily divide the world into “the haves” and “have nots.” Our argument is suppo...

Slippery slope beliefs capture the idea that a non-problematic action will lead to unpreventable and harmful outcomes. While this idea has been examined in legal and philosophical literatures, there has been no psychological research into the individual propensity to hold slippery slope beliefs. Across five studies and six samples (combined N = 5,9...

With a person-centered approach, the constellations of internal motivation and external motivation to respond without prejudice within individuals are examined, and how these relate to directly and indirectly reported levels of prejudice. Using latent profile analysis, we identified four subgroups of motivated individuals among large national sampl...

How do people decide whether specific minority behaviours should or should not be tolerated in society? The current research investigates the role of moralization in tolerance of Muslim minority behaviours that differ in their level of perceived normative dissent with four national samples of majority group members in the Netherlands and Germany (N...

Tolerance is widely considered to be a key response to the challenge of managing diversity in pluralistic societies. However, tolerance comes in a number of different forms with distinct psychological profiles and societal implications. Drawing on research from political science, philosophy, sociology, and several subdisciplines within psychology,...

Social identity exploration is a process whereby individuals actively seek information about their group membership and show efforts to understand its meaning. Developmental theory argues that exploration-based ingroup commitment is the basis for outgroup positivity. We tested this notion in relation to national identity and attitudes towards immig...

In culturally diverse societies, ethnic minorities are faced with the challenge of negotiating between their national and ethnic identification. Diversity ideologies address this challenge in different ways, by prioritizing national identification in the case of assimilation, and ethnic identification in the case of multiculturalism. However, exist...

Intergroup relations in settler societies have been defined by historical conflict over territorial ownership between indigenous peoples and settler majorities. However, the indigenous groups were there first, and first arrival is an important principle for assigning ownership to a group. In two studies among Australians of Anglo-Celtic origin ( N...

Tolerating or condoning practices that one finds objectionable is typically considered a positive way to negotiate intergroup differences. However, being the target of tolerance might harm well-being, which we examined in three studies (a survey and two experiments) among a total of 1,054 members of various racial/ethnic minority groups in the Unit...

Ethnic minorities tend to develop dual identities and therefore can face identity denials from two groups. We examine in two studies the relation between dual identity and experiences of dual identity denial as misgivings or a manifested mistrust of one’s group membership from both majority and minority group members. Based on identity integration...

Collective ownership threat is the fear of losing control over what is perceived to be owned. In two experimental studies, we examined the intergroup consequences of collective ownership threat in relation to perceived owned territories. First, among a sample of Dutch adolescents ( N = 227), we found that infringement of a hangout place owned by a...

Divergent cultural, religious, and ideological beliefs and practices are often challenging to contemplate and difficult to accept when they conflict with an individual's own convictions and way of life. The recognition that children and adolescents grow up in an increasingly diverse world has led to a general interest in fostering tolerance. In thi...

Multilingualism is considered a pathway to European identification but might also undermine national identification. We examine regular foreign language usage and two psychological constructs that can explain the relationship between multilingualism and European and national identification in the Netherlands: greater mental openness and a deprovinc...

Increases in cultural and religious diversity have led to calls for toleration of differences, although it is unclear how calling for toleration impacts people’s affective and attitudinal responses. The present research conducted in a small western nation examines if calling for toleration of Muslim minority practices elicits an aggressive backlash...

Rejection of Muslim religious practices in West European societies is typically explained by prejudicial feelings towards Muslims as a group. However, although people can oppose Muslim religious practices because they feel negatively towards Muslims as a group, they might also have more general reasons for doing so. By simultaneously considering mu...

During the recent inflow of asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, the native population in Greek frontier islands largely offered humanitarian assistance to these immigrants, while support for their permanent settlement in the area was low. To explain this discrepancy, we investigated whether sympathy toward asylum seekers...

This research examines the role of deprovincialization, conceptualized in terms of a nuanced perspective on one’s in‐group culture, for majority members’ support for immigrants’ cultural practices and expressive rights. In three studies using data from samples drawn from nationally representative panels in the Netherlands (additionally analyzed in...

Research has examined tolerance of Muslim minority practices and anti-Muslim sentiments. We go beyond the existing research by applying latent profile analyses (LPA) on majority member’s evaluations of a range of Muslim practices and their feelings toward Muslims. We found five different subgroups of individuals among a sample of Dutch majority mem...

Intolerance appears to be commonplace worldwide. There are near-daily reports of intolerance toward refugees and immigrants, people from different religious and ethnic groups, and people who hold ideologically differing viewpoints. However, not all forms of intolerance are the same. In the present work, we discuss the psychology of three understand...

Collective psychological ownership refers to people’s perception that an object, place, or idea belongs to their own group. We considered this concept in the context of territorial conflicts and proposed that (1) collective psychological ownership is distinct from place attachment, (2) higher ingroup identifiers are more likely to claim collective...

Various diversity ideologies including assimilation, colorblindness, and multiculturalism have been promoted with mixed results about their costs and benefits. In the current research, we consider the impact of a new diversity ideology, interculturalism, discussed and debated by political philosophers and policy-makers as the “way forward.” Across...

Political campaign slogans, such as ‘Take back control of our country’ (United Kingdom Independence Party) and ‘The Netherlands ours again’ (Dutch Party for Freedom), indicate that right‐wing populism appeals to the belief that the country is ‘ours’, and therefore, ‘we’ have the exclusive right to determine what happens. We examined this sense of o...

Intergroup toleration is a requirement for living with diversity and actively promoted by local, national, and international bodies. However, although psychological researchers have extensively considered the implications of being discriminated, little is known about the psychological consequences of being tolerated. In this article, we argue that...

Amidst debates about national unity and cultural diversity, this paper examines whether and when people living in a highly diverse country self-identify as a member of their nation, their ethno-cultural group, or with both (dual self-identification). Two large-scale studies with nationally representative data of the Mauritian population show that a...

West European societies have seen strong debates about the acceptance of Muslim minority practices. In the current research we sought to better understand intolerance by examining whether people use a double standard in which the same practices are tolerated of Christians but not of Muslims (discriminatory intolerance), or rather reject the practic...

In recent decades, a norm of tolerating group differences has been promoted by laypeople and leaders as a way to manage cultural and religious diversity. But whether such a policy is beneficial for the targets’ sense of group belonging and well-being is unknown. This research investigates how being tolerated differs from being discriminated against...

This study used a person-centered approach to distinguish groups of bicultural (national and ethnocultural) individuals in culturally diverse Mauritius. We focused on experiences of harmony or conflict among blended bicultural individuals and used representative data from the three numerically largest ethnocultural groups (Hindus, Creoles, and Musl...

This research investigates individual’s support for social provisions and rights of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Support is examined in relation to perceived threat of Syrian refugees and negative emotions in combination with the perception of family and friends considering Syrian refugees a threat (negative descriptive social norm) and whether these...

Multiculturalism has been criticized and rejected by an increasing number of politicians, and social psychological research has shown that it can lead to outgroup stereotyping, essentialist thinking, and negative attitudes. Interculturalism has been proposed as an alternative diversity ideology, but there is almost no systematic empirical evidence...

Since 2014, the refugee crisis has launched a political shockwave across Europe, with consequences for the European Union, the Schengen Zone, and national politics. Within this context, we investigated how public statements about the refugee crisis are received. While debate and criticism are hallmarks of a democratic society, research demonstrates...

This study investigated understandings of national group belonging in relation to attitudes toward foreign and established outgroups in Mauritius. Representative data were collected among the three numerically largest ethno-cultural groups (Hindus, Muslims, and Creoles; Ntotal = 1770) and results confirmed a distinction between “being,” “doing,” an...

Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community s...

This survey experiment examined national majority group members’ reactions to immigrants’ citizenship status with a focus on dual citizenship. A sample of 779 participants ( n Finland = 174; n Netherlands = 377; n Germany = 228) was used to examine whether immigrants’ citizenship status affects trust towards immigrants, willingness to accept immigr...

This study investigates the psychological processes by which national language usage predicts immigrants’ national identification. We proposed that national language usage, as a key aspect of behavioral participation, signals to immigrants their closeness to fitting the national prototype (operationalized as perceived similarities with receiving co...

Increased cultural diversity has led to considerable debate on how to best promote intergroup harmony within pluralistic nations. In the current research, we consider the nature of interculturalism, a new diversity ideology extensively discussed by political philosophers and policy‐makers in Europe and beyond. Interculturalism consists of three int...

Growing Muslim minorities in Western societies has sparked debate about which Muslim practices should be accepted, with many people finding certain practices intolerable. Two competing perspectives on this intolerance argue that it represents either principled objections or prejudice. Using four large samples from the Netherlands, we apply latent p...

While a large body of social psychological research has shed light on the nature of prejudice and how to reduce it, we argue that such work does not address situations of cultural or religious outgroup beliefs and practices thatare considered incompatible with one's own. The present theoretical article contrasts a prejudice‐reduction approach with...