The Relationship Between Stereotypes About Nationality and Stereotypes About Race/Ethnicity

Nationality groups such as Mexican and Japanese Americans have long been subjected to distinct forms of stereotyping and discrimination in the U.S. Concurrently, nationality groups have been subsumed into broader racial/ethnic identities and stereotyped based on associated racial/ethnic groups. Across four studies, we examined when nationality groups’ stereotypes diverge from or converge with racial/ethnic stereotypes (i.e., stereotype distance). In Study 1 (N = 7,050), we measured 11 stereotypes of 28 nationality groups and 6 racial/ethnic groups. Generally, Mexican Americans were stereotyped similarly to Hispanic or Latino Americans and East Asian nationality groups were stereotyped similarly to Asian Americans. White and Black Americans were stereotyped differently from associated nationality groups. In Study 2 (N = 630), we measured two constructs as explanations for stereotype distance: nationality groups’ racial/ethnic prototypicality and racial/ethnic groups’ perceived likelihood of identification with race/ethnicity over nationality. In Study 3, we demonstrated that racial/ethnic prototypicality and identification with race/ethnicity over nationality were related to stereotype distance. In Study 4, Census data revealed relationships between stereotype distance and real-world immigration patterns. In a nation of immigrants, these findings demonstrate how nationality and race/ethnicity jointly—and sometimes separately—structure stereotypes.