Fostering inclusivity: The impact of cosmopolitan orientation and European attachment on attitudes toward non-Western immigrants

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of different types of national and European identity—glorification and attachment—on attitudes toward diverse outgroups, centering on the role of cosmopolitan orientation as a mediator. In Study 1 (N = 342), both national and European attachments positively correlated with cosmopolitan orientation, subsequently influencing attitudes toward non-Western international students. Notably, national and European glorification also significantly impacted attitudes but in a negative manner, with their effects mediated through cosmopolitan orientation. The results of Study 2 (N = 346) were more nuanced: European attachment positively correlated with cosmopolitan orientation, which in turn had a positive indirect effect on attitudes toward Middle Eastern and Asian people living in Hungary. However, it was only national glorification, not national attachment, that exhibited a significant negative indirect effect through cosmopolitan orientation on these attitudes. These findings illuminate the multifaceted ways in which distinct forms of identity, filtered through the lens of cosmopolitan orientation, shape attitudes toward outgroups. They underscore the potential of cosmopolitan orientation in promoting inclusivity and suggest avenues for future research to further understand and enhance intergroup relations.

Keywords

• Cosmopolitan orientation
• Ingroup glorification
• Ingroup attachment
• Intergroup attitudes