Immigrants’ behavioral participation and its relation with national identification: perceived closeness to the prototype as a psychological mechanism

Abstract

This study investigates the psychological processes by which national language usage predicts immigrants’ national identification. We proposed that national language usage, as a key aspect of behavioral participation, signals to immigrants their closeness to fitting the national prototype (operationalized as perceived similarities with receiving country and acceptance as national co-member). This in turn fosters stronger national identification. Additionally, we tested whether perceived language competence strengthens the link between language usage and closeness to the prototype. The hypotheses were tested using a cross-national survey (N = 3794) of Muslim migrants in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. The results (using structural equation modeling) generally supported the predictions, offering evidence for the psychological mechanisms by which behavioral participation encourages identification with new groups.