To whom thou art bound: Bicultural identity integration moderates the influence of conspiracy beliefs on Chinese Americans’ ingroup bias

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

8-2024

Abstract

Endorsing conspiracy beliefs about an outgroup typically fosters ingroup bias. However, the response of bicultural individuals to conspiracy theories about one of their ingroups remains understudied. We posited that bicultural individuals’ display of ingroup bias in such situations hinges on their levels of bicultural identity integration (BII). Two studies involving Chinese American participants revealed that conspiracy beliefs about China were associated with lower Chinese ingroup bias among those with higher BII levels. In Study 1, high BII Chinese Americans who endorsed conspiracy theories about China reported less favorable perceptions of the Chinese ingroup, but not among low BII Chinese Americans. Study 2 replicated findings in Study 1 in that high (vs. low) BII Chinese Americans with higher conspiracy beliefs about China were less willing to allocate monetary resources to a fictitious Chinese charity and reported lower Chinese patriotism. This research contributes to the identity integration literature by illustrating how bicultural individuals with varying BII levels respond differently to geopolitical tensions in the context of conspiracy beliefs.

Keywords

biculturalism, bicultural identity integration (BII), conspiracy belief, ingroup bias, Chinese American, COVID-19

Discipline

Asian Studies | Sociology of Culture

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

First Page

1

Last Page

19

ISSN

0022-0221

Identifier

10.1177/00220221241263

Publisher

SAGE Publications (UK and US)

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221241263

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