ABSTRACT

What mitigates prejudice against migrants in situations of uncertainty? Addressing this question, we explored how individuals with greater COVID-19 concern perceive migrants as a greater threat and show prejudice against them, indirectly through the mechanism of need for cognitive closure and binding moral foundations.

This study was conducted in two European countries: Malta and Italy. Six hundred and seventy-six individuals participated in this quantitative study (Malta: N = 204; Italy N = 472). Results from this study showed that the need for cognitive closure and binding moral foundations mediate the relationship between COVID-19 concern and prejudice against migrants in both countries. When testing the three binding moral foundations (loyalty, authority, and purity), the authority foundation seems to be the most consistent predictor.

The implications of the findings contribute to theories about how situational uncertainty caused by COVID-19, together with the need for epistemic certainty and binding morality, contribute to increased prejudiced attitudes against migrants.

摘要

在不确定的情况下，什么可以减轻对移民的偏见？针对这个问题，我们探讨了对 COVID-19 有更大关注的个人如何将移民视为更大的威胁，并对他们表现出偏见，间接地通过认知封闭的需要和具有约束力的道德基础的机制。

这项研究是在两个欧洲国家进行的：马耳他和意大利。676 人参与了这项定量研究（马耳他：N = 204；意大利 N = 472）。这项研究的结果表明，认知封闭和具有约束力的道德基础的需要在两国对 COVID-19 的关注和对移民的偏见之间起到了中介作用。在测试三个具有约束力的道德基础（忠诚、权威和纯洁）时，权威基础似乎是最一致的预测指标。

研究结果的影响有助于形成关于 COVID-19 引起的情境不确定性以及对认知确定性和具有约束力的道德的需求如何导致对移民的偏见态度增加的理论。