Group Conflict Theory

It serves well to qualify this theory for the purposes of this investigation.

The definition for group conflict theory is referenced from the work of Bart Meuleman, Eldad Davidov and Jaak Billiet of the University of Leuven and University of Cologne.

“According to group conflict theorists (Blalock, 1967; Blumer, 1958; Campbell, 1965; Coser, 1956; Olzak, 1992; Quillian, 1995), negative attitudes toward outgroups essentially stem from the view that certain prerogatives of the own group are threatened by other groups. Negative outgroup sentiments can thus be seen as a defensive reaction to perceived intergroup competition for scarce goods. These scarce goods can relate to material interests (e.g., affordable housing, well-paid jobs, resources of the welfare state), but also include power and status. The development of perceived group threat is fundamentally a collective process by which a certain social group comes to define other groups (Blumer, 1958). It would, therefore, be inappropriate to conceive negative outgroup attitudes as based solely on threats to the individual well-being; challenges to group privileges or status are equally as important (Bobo, 1983, p.

Seventeen European countries participated in all three different ESS rounds. The ESS is a Europe-wide survey that has been conceived of as a series of cross-sections. From the very outset, the ESS was designed as a research instrument aimed at making cross-cultural comparisons. Therefore, elaborate attention has been paid to ensuring the methodological quality of the survey. Translation of the questionnaire into each native language, for example, followed the rigorous procedures for cross-cultural surveys set out in Harkness et al. (2003, pp. 35–56). Respondents were selected by means of strict probability samples of the resident populations aged 15 years and older. Although many countries were not able to meet the target response of 70% that was set out, response rates are reasonably high for most countries. Since we are focusing on attitudes among majority group members, respondents of a foreign nationality or who are part of an ethnic minority group are not included in this analysis. Table 1 lists the 17 countries participating in the study and the numbers of respondents in each round who completed the items indicating attitudes toward