Cultural values and outgroup negativity: A cross-cultural analysis of early and late adolescents

Based on Schwartz' theory of cultural values, the present research tested whether the level of outgroup negativity among adolescents is influenced by the preferred values shared by the individual's cultural group. Furthermore, it was expected that this correspondence increases during adolescence, due to (individual and social) identity development in that age period. Measures of cultural values as well as derogatory attitudes towards outgroups were administered to young (age 9-12) and older (age 15-18) adolescents in Germany (Native Germans, Turkish and Former Soviet Union immigrants) and Israel (Native Israelis, Former Soviet Union immigrants, Arab Israelis). Data were analysed on both the individual and the group level. Results confirm the hypothesis that cultural values are associated with outgroup negativity, especially for the culture-level value dimension of hierarchy versus egalitarianism. Both the degree to which a cultural group prefers one value and the degree to which the individual accepts this value for itself are influential for the level of outgroup negativity. On both levels of analyses, our data show that the relationship between the culture-level value dimension of hierarchy versus egalitarianism and outgroup negativity is stronger among older compared to younger adolescents. Our data imply that the cultural context an individual lives in needs more attention when examining origins of outgroup negativity among adolescents. Furthermore, it is argued that relationships between outgroup negativity and relevant predictors undergo crucial changes during adolescence.