Exploring the Independent and Interactive Effects of Political Identification and Moral Foundations in Perceiving Threats from Latino Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

This study explored the independent and interaction effect of political identification and moral foundations on perceived threats from Latino immigrants. Two hundred and eight adult Americans were recruited from the Amazon Turk Platform, 187 of whom completed the survey questions. On average, conservative participants reported higher realistic perceived threats from Latino immigrants in comparison with liberals. Consistent with prior work, multivariate regression analyses indicate that liberals at the superficial level were less likely to perceive a threat from Latino immigrants compared with conservatives. However, when political orientation/identification interacted with moral foundation, a nuanced picture emerged that contradicts the claim that liberals are more likely to be tolerant of immigrants. Negative associations between perceived threats from Latino immigrants and moral values rooted in harm and justice were observed. Finally, interaction effects suggest that efforts that foster moral values rooted in harm and fairness may reduce the perception of threat, regardless of political orientation, from Latino immigrants in the US.