'Make America Great Again'- Collective Nostalgia and Anti-Immigration Sentiment

Anti-immigration sentiments are on the rise in many liberal democracies, and populist candidates are quick to capitalize on them in their pursuit of political power. In light of this, a better understanding of the emotional appeals that trigger and amplify anti-immigration sentiment is paramount. This study focuses on one such emotion- nostalgia. Evocation of collective nostalgia, we hypothesize, inflames feelings of temporal relative deprivation and in-group favoritism, which ultimately lead to prejudice and to anti-immigration sentiment, particularly towards out-group immigrants. Two studies we conducted tested the effects of evoking collective nostalgia on anti-immigration sentiments in an experimental setting. Study 1, conducted in Israel, examined incidental priming of collective nostalgia while study 2, conducted in the United States, examined the evocation of collective nostalgia within the context of anti-immigration rhetoric. The role of inter-group contact as a mediating variable was also examined. Results indicate that while incidental priming of collective nostalgia was not found to significantly affect anti-immigration sentiments, appealing to collective nostalgia within the context of anti-immigration rhetoric did partly increase anti-immigration sentiment. Specifically, participants exposed to an anti-immigration video evoking feelings of collective nostalgia expressed greater resistance to the idea of an out-group immigrant being appointed as their boss, compared with participants exposed to an identical video without the nostalgia evoking themes. This study also found that contact with out-group immigrants not only fails to moderate the adverse effect of the evocation of collective nostalgia on anti-immigration sentiments, but in fact exacerbates it. Among participants with higher degrees of contact with out-group immigrants, the evocation of collective nostalgia was found to increase anti-immigration sentiments. These findings are discussed and possible explanations are considered. This study hopes to add to research on the role that emotional appeals, and particularly appeals to collective nostalgia, play in populist rhetoric. We hope to contribute to an understanding of the ways in which anti-immigration sentiments are provoked and amplified and to offer a basis for future inquiry into possible remedies.