Many ethnic minorities in the United States hold both an ethnic minority and national American identity. Yet, they often encounter identity questioning when asked questions such as, “Where are you really from?,” which may operate as an ambiguous threat to their national identity. Because varied motivations (curiosity versus exclusion) create ambiguity, targets likely vary in their tendency to view identity questioning as prejudicial. Study 1 examined the extent to which ethnic minorities attribute identity questioning to prejudice, and the associated well-being consequences. Study 2 examined the immigration policy-oriented antecedents of identity questioning prejudice attributions. The results suggest that prejudice attributions are psychologically harmful (Study 1) and are associated with anti-immigration policies (Study 2). Because identity questioning challenges one’s ability to maintain a dual identity, it is important to better understand identity questioning. Specifically, these findings provide initial evidence of the role policy contexts may play in shaping identity questioning attributions.

中文翻译：

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身份质疑：偏见归因的前因后果

美国的许多少数族裔同时拥有少数族裔和美国民族身份。然而，当被问到诸如“你到底来自哪里？”等问题时，他们经常会遇到身份问题，这可能对他们的国家身份构成模糊威胁。由于不同的动机（好奇心与排斥）会产生歧义，目标可能会在将身份质疑视为偏见的倾向方面有所不同。研究 1 研究了少数民族将身份质疑归因于偏见的程度，以及相关的幸福后果。研究 2 研究了以移民政策为导向的身份质疑偏见归因的前因。结果表明，偏见归因在心理上是有害的（研究 1）并且与反移民政策有关（研究 2）。因为身份质疑挑战了一个人保持双重身份的能力，所以更好地理解身份质疑很重要。具体而言，这些发现提供了政策背景在塑造身份质疑归因方面可能发挥的作用的初步证据。