Project info
Project name
6.3 Ethnic Diversity, Norms and Networks
Work package
- Inclusion
Sustainability threat
- Feedback Cycles
Challenge
- Dealing with diversity
Study info
Description of Study
Social norms influence homophobic behavior, yet these norms are often misperceived. We study the extent to which friendship ties and group memberships are related to misperceptions of opinions towards homosexuality, and how these misperceptions are sustained in social networks through opinion sharing. We find that misperceptions lead individuals to be less willing to share their opinions with ethno-religious ingroup members, non-friends or with individuals whom they perceive to hold different opinions. Although differences observed in the context of this study are relatively small, in real life they may add up over time. These results offer scope for interventions that try to reduce norm misperceptions between groups - as a way to stimulate social change towards a more tolerant society.
Study research question
To what extent do friendship and similarity in gender and ethno-religious group membership explain the extent to which individuals misperceive the opinions towards homosexuality of others?
To what extent is this misperception related to individuals' willingness to share their opinion about homosexuality with others?
Collection provenance
- Collected during project
Collection methods
- Questionaire
Personal data
No
External Source
Source description
File formats
- .csv
- Stata
Data types
- Structured
Languages
- Dutch
- English
Coverage start
Coverage end
01/06/2022
01/04/2023
Spatial coverage
The Netherlands
Collection period start
01/06/2022
Collection period end
01/04/2023
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
Students aged 16+ at a vocational training school
240
Convenience sample
Other
Classrooms of a vocational training school
26
Convenience sample
Other
Vocational trainig schools
5
Convenience sample
Hypothesis
Theory
Egos’ misperception of alters’ opinions towards homosexuality are lower when egos and alters are friends compared to when they are not friends.
—
Egos’ misperception of alters’ opinions towards homosexuality is lower when egos and alters belong to the same (vs. different) ethno-religious group or have the same (vs. different) gender.
Social identity approach
Egos are more willing to share their opinion with alters when they are friends compared to when they are not friends.
Spiral of Silence
Egos are more willing to share their opinion with alters when they belong to the same (vs. different) ethno-religious group or have the same (vs. different) gender.
Social identity approach
Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
Data packages
Publications
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
Yes
Ethical committee
Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences of Utrecht (approval number 23-0271).