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National Identity, Australian Values and Outsiders

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Peace Psychology in Australia

Part of the book series: Peace Psychology Book Series ((PPBS))

Abstract

This chapter examines the Australian identity and values, and Australians’ treatment of outsiders. A historical overview of the ways in which Australian identity has been defined is accompanied by a review of relevant research. We explore the construction and contestation of the Australian identity on an explicit and implicit level, and its relation to other identities such as the inclusive human category, or identification as a White/European Australian. We describe a programme of research in which identification as an Australian is associated with hostile or favourable attitudes to outsiders across a range of contexts. These associations of social attitudes and the Australian identity are understood in terms of influence processes, and in particular the operation of group norms (standards or rules for social behaviour). A theoretical model of the operation of identity politics to create or alter conflictual relations between social groups is described, and implications for peace-building interventions are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This study, and many (but not all) others reported below, generalise results from undergraduate students to an inferred Australian pattern. It is certainly worth noting that undergraduates may differ from the broader Australian population. For example, an older community sample may be even more racist, having grown up in a time when authorities explicitly valued Whites more and legislated that Australians be White through laws and policies such as ‘White Australia’ and the ‘Stolen Generations’.

  2. 2.

    It is also important to note that one can differentiate between encouraging common identification with humanity, and encouraging individuals to see self and others as possessing qualities that are considered human. The harmful impact of an imposed common human identity is likely to be quite different from the beneficial outcomes of perceiving that self and others possess qualities such sociality, warmth and empathy (see also, Opotow, 1990).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Winnifred Louis, Fiona Kate Barlow & Katharine Greenaway

Authors
  1. Winnifred Louis
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  2. Fiona Kate Barlow
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  3. Katharine Greenaway
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Correspondence to Winnifred Louis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072, Queensland, Australia

    Diane Bretherton

  2. , School of Law, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, Victoria, Australia

    Nikola Balvin

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Louis, W., Barlow, F.K., Greenaway, K. (2012). National Identity, Australian Values and Outsiders. In: Bretherton, D., Balvin, N. (eds) Peace Psychology in Australia. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1403-2_6

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