Xenophobia

Organization or Publication

APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. 1) a strong and irrational, sometimes pathological, fear of strangers. 2) hostile attitudes or aggressive behavior toward people of other nationalities, ethnic groups, regions, or neighborhoods. In nonhuman animals, xenophobia is manifested by territorial behavior (see territoriality) and is also seen in social groups where intruders are typically attacked and repelled.

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://dictionary.apa.org/xenophobia

Source Type: Reference

Country: USA

Year: 2018

Tags: Scholarly | Educational | Nonprofit

Britannica Online

[F]ear and contempt of strangers or foreigners or of anything designated as foreign, or a conviction that certain foreign individuals and cultures represent a threat to the authentic identity of one’s own nation-state and cannot integrate into the local society peacefully. The term xenophobia derives from the ancient Greek words xenos (meaning “stranger”) and phobos (meaning “fear”). Xenophobia implies the perception that not only is it impossible for certain people designated as foreign to integrate into one’s own society but also that they pose a threat to the integrity of that society.

Individual Author(s): Kulik, Rebecca M.

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://www.britannica.com/science/xenophobia

Source Type: Reference

Country: USA

Tags: Educational

The Counseling Psychologist

Xenophobia is a form of attitudinal, affective, and behavioral prejudice toward immigrants and those perceived as foreign. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary’s (n.d.) definition of xenophobia as the “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign” highlights that the term has been historically used to emphasize a sense of fright of outsiders.

However, more recent definitions of xenophobia suggest that the fear of foreigners and their impact is linked with ethnocentrism, which is characterized by the attitude that one’s own group or culture is superior to others (Merriam-Webster Online, n.d.). V. Reynolds and Vine (1987) stated that xenophobia is a “psychological state of hostility or fear towards outsiders” (p. 28). Crowther (1995) emphasized that xenophobia focuses on individuals who come from “other countries” and toward whom native individuals have “an intense dislike or fear” (p. 1385). Scholars have also used the term nativism to describe negative feelings toward immigrants and immigration (Gellner, 1995)….

The preference for the term nativism is typically based on the emphasis of the neutrality of the word in contrast to xenophobia, which implies the presence of prejudice or fear (e.g., Fry, 2001). However, even those scholars who use the term nativism usually highlight the negative implications of nativist attitudes (Fry, 2001; Perea, 1997). Because these attitudes are not neutral, xenophobia, as a term, seems to more clearly indicate the presence of attitudinal and behavioral hostility toward nonnative individuals. Moreover, the term xenophobia is commonly used by social psychologists, human rights organizations, and the United Nations to describe anti-immigrant sentiments. Thus, the term xenophobia may be most appropriate for naming and understanding prejudices toward recent immigrants to the United States. (pp. 43-44)

Individual Author(s): Yakushko, Oksana

Source Title: “Xenophobia: Understanding the Roots and Consequences of Negative Attitudes Toward Immigrants”

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000008316034

Source Type: Journal Article

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Tags: Scholarly

Find it at UCLA: https://search.library.ucla.edu/permalink/01UCS_LAL/192ecse/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_57276873

Encyclopedia of Counseling

Xenophobia is derived from the terms phobos (meaning “fear”) and xenos (“strangers”). Thus, xenophobia is defined as fear of strangers or of the unknown or of anything that is different. The fears are unwarranted and triggered by unfounded beliefs and generalizations. These fears sometimes incite hostile behavior and attitudes toward the unknown target.

Some scholars suggest that xenophobia is at the root of racism such that individuals see themselves as part of a superior racial ingroup of similar individuals and see other people as part of an inferior outgroup. The outgroup members are perceived as physically and psychologically dissimilar. Thus, prejudiced attitudes and discrimination toward the outgroup member are by-products of a xenophobic climate. Expressed preferences for ingroup familiarities are problematic and reinforce intolerance in a supposedly pluralistic society. In most societies, there are individuals who are socially, culturally, or otherwise different from the majority.

Xenophobia can lead to either overt discrimination or subtle exclusion of certain individuals. This exclusion is also problematic. Persons who present an unbiased attitude but act in subtle ways that reflect implicit biases regarding race are characterized an aversive racists. The subtlety is in justifying the racist behavior based on some factor other than race. Beyond racism, xenophobia is believed to underlie heterosexism or homophobia. These irrational and irreconcilable fears of human beings based on sexual behavior and practices are also based on gross overgeneralizations and misunderstanding.

Individual Author(s): Walker, Rheeda, and Frederick T. L Leong.

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963978.n465

Source Type: Reference

Country: USA

Year: 2008

Tags: Scholarly

Find it at UCLA: https://search.library.ucla.edu/permalink/01UCS_LAL/192ecse/cdi_sage_knowledgebooks_10_4135_9781412963978_n465

Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

The word “xenophobia” comes from the composite Greek word “ξενοφοβíα” with two components: the first component is “xenos” (ξένος) that means “foreigner,” and the second one is “phovos” (φóβος) and it means “fear.” Xenophobia has many expressions and varies among the populations and societies. The most common one is the fear of foreigner (people or objects). Concepts of xenophobia generally refer to “foreigner,” i.e., to someone or something that comes from somewhere else. Xenophobia can also manifest in several ways which involves the fear of one group toward another one, regarding its identity, its activities, its aggression, and the desire for a presumed purity. The result is a constant skirmishing between these different groups, with sometimes unexpected consequences.

The greater xenophobic fear (or anger) is related with the reaction against foreign target groups with different color of the skin, different culture elements, different language and habits, different religion or beliefs, and, in general, without an origin within a society that is not considered as its part…. Xenophobia is not infrequently directed against groups of individuals who are citizens of a given country, but it is obvious in both cases that a high influx of foreigners in a short period of time may cause more fears of being overcrowded, than a relatively constant, high stock of immigrants which one is already used to (Bobo & Hutchings, 1996; Wallace, 1999). However, the hostility to foreigners is not activated until there are “strangers” that come too close and pose a “threat” to the identity (Rydgren, 2008; Svensson & Teorell, 2007). While xenophobia is often used alternatively with terms such as prejudice and racism, these terms have different meanings (Castles & Miller, 2003).

There are various determinant factors that affect xenophobia (Wallace, 1999), and these are the following: (1) the migration (a reaction to an increasing number of various migrants), (2) the socioeconomic changes (a reaction to economic recession, unemployment, or fear of losing one’s job), (3) the social isolation and low social status (a reaction to low level of education, low income, or substandard living conditions), (4) the globalization (a reaction to supranational institutions and the commercialization of culture), (5) the right-wing movements (a reaction to very strong belief in law and order when faith in democracy is shaken, patriotism, and nationalism), and (6) the uncertainty (a factor which cuts across the others, linked with the sense of existential and emotional threat).

Individual Author(s): Philippas, Dionisis, and Alex C Michalos

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_3296

Source Type: Reference

Country: Netherlands

Year: 2014

Tags: Scholarly

Find it at UCLA: https://search.library.ucla.edu/permalink/01UCS_LAL/192ecse/cdi_springer_books_10_1007_978_94_007_0753_5_3296

European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS)

Xenophobia (from the Greek xenos, meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘foreigner’, and phobos, meaning ‘fear’) is the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an ingroup and an outgroup and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other’s activities, a desire to eliminate their presence, and fear of losing national, ethnic or racial identity.

Xenophobia and racism often overlap but differ in that the latter is based on physical characteristics while the former is ‘based on the perception that the other is foreign to or originates from outside the community or nation’. A 1997 review article on xenophobia holds that it is ‘an element of a political struggle about who has the right to be cared for by the state and society: a fight for the collective goods of the modern state.’

…. In an article by Veda Elizabeth Beltran, Thomas Greven quoted, right-wing populism is “based on a definition of the people as culturally homogenous” and the immigrants attempting integration in these western countries threaten the sense of ‘identity and common interests’ of the people. As these immigrants are fleeing from underdeveloped countries that are stricken with violence, it is very easy for Westerners to see themselves as superior. “As the West, we can often provide relief, help, or protection with numerous resources at our disposal. However, this also leads to an intensified belief in ethnocentrism amongst Westerners, which is believed to further ‘the xenophobic positioning against the other’,” she wrote.

…. According to a report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) released in 2018, xenophobic populism and racist hate speech continued to make their mark on the contemporary political climate in Europe. The report says that the growing public anxiety about economic, geopolitical and technological changes was exploited by those scapegoating migrants and minorities, in particular populist politicians aiming at dividing societies along national ethnic or religious lines. Not only were such views expressed by fringe politicians, but they increasingly gained footing within mainstream political parties and national governments.

Source Title: “Xenophobic Populism”

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/xenophobic-populism/

Source Type: Web Article

Country: European Union

Tags: Educational | Advocacy | Scholarly

The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

[T]here is no single or uniformly agreed-upon definition of the term as used in academic, popular, or human rights discourses. Broadly speaking, psychologists tend to focus on the psychology of fear and view xenophobia as an exclusionary logic—a discriminatory ideology. Sociologists gravitate toward framing xenophobia as a social system that maintains and constructs social and cultural boundaries. These interdisciplinary frameworks suggest that we must not only study what xenophobia has meant, but also what it has done.

I draw from all of these approaches to identify xenophobia as both ideology and action. It is an irrational fear, hatred, and hostility toward immigrants, refugees, or others considered “foreign” as threats. It is also a form of racism that has functioned alongside slavery, settler colonialism, conquest, segregation, and white supremacy as a function of institutionalized discrimination that has shaped so much of American history. Indians, enslaved Africans, and free blacks were the first “others”. How immigrants have fit into this existing racial hierarchy and nation-building process has shaped our welcome of and aversion to them from the colonial era to the present. Their “foreignness” has always been the primary basis for xenophobic attitudes and action. But that “foreignness” has itself rested on multiple, intersecting classifications, such as race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and class.

Like racism, xenophobia is a system of power that is used to divide, control, and dominate. One of the ways it does so in the United States is by promoting an exclusive form of American nationalism and a narrow definition of who is “American” and, equally important, who is not. Xenophobia has thus worked hand in hand with racism and white supremacy to support preferential treatment of so-called “natives” (i.e., white Anglo-Saxon Protestant settlers and their descendants) over foreigners, and promotes a nativism that purports to put “Americans” first. (p. 5)

Individual Author(s): Lee, Erika

Source Title: “America First, Immigrants Last: American Xenophobia Then and Now.”

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537781419000409

Source Type: Journal article

Country: USA

Year: 2020

Tags: Scholarly

Find it at UCLA: https://search.library.ucla.edu/permalink/01UCS_LAL/192ecse/cdi_proquest_journals_2342165497

Merriam-Webster

It’s never a good sign when we start seeing a massive increase in lookups for two closely related and unwelcome terms like racism and xenophobia, as is the case of late with the rise of COVID-19 and subsequent global pandemic. However, our place, as a dictionary, is not to judge the words that are being looked up (or the people looking them up), but instead to provide, to the best of our ability, as much information about them as is possible.

Xenophobia is “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.” Racism has a slightly broader range of meanings, including “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race,” and “a political or social system founded on racism.” It should be noted that the meanings of these two words are sufficiently different that a person (or thing, such as a policy) may very easily be both racist and xenophobic.

Both words are fairly recent additions to our language; newer certainly than the condition they describe. Racism does not appear in print prior to the early 20th century, and xenophobia is only a few decades older….

[W]hile it is certainly possible to distinguish between xenophobia and racism on a number of levels, it is also possible that the words may be used almost interchangeably. Each word may also have some degree of semantic overlap with nativism…. Please be advised that there are many words which have definitions that are not accepted, or employed, by all the speakers of a language. Racism and xenophobia are likely two such specimens, and serve as reminders of both the messiness of the human condition and the human vocabulary.

Source Title: “‘Xenophobia’ vs. ‘Racism’: Where they overlap and how they differ”

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/xenophobia-and-racism-difference

Source Type: Reference

Country: USA

Tags: Educational

Web MD

Xenophobia is the fear of strangers. The word is also used to describe an attitude of prejudice and an outlook that is exclusionary of foreigners and certain people based on their background and identity. It may also manifest as a display of hostility towards specific ethnic groups.

There’s a fine line between xenophobia and racism but the two words are mutually exclusive. As the term suggests, xenophobia (phobia meaning fear) is a fear of foreigners and their customs that often transforms into intense dislike. On the other hand, racism is a firm belief in the misplaced idea that gauges an individual’s worth and capabilities based on their physical attributes like the color of their skin and hair….

While xenophobia and racism do converge in some aspects, xenophobia does not lead to discrimination based on someone’s physical features or membership in a specific group of people. Xenophobia tends to divide people into two groups — insiders and outsiders. This in turn leads to fear and insecurity about outsiders who are presumed to pose a threat to the existing inhabitants.

A recent example of xenophobia is the increased number of incidences of violence in the U.S. against Asian-Americans since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Several cities across the U.S. have reported unprovoked instances of violence and theft, some of which have also led to fatalities.

Individual Author(s): Venkat S.R.

Source Title: “What Is Xenophobia?”

DOI / ISBN / Link: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-xenophobia

Source Type: Web article

Country: USA

Year: 2024

Tags: Educational

BACK TO GLOSSARY