Intraregional Migration in Latin America Psychological Perspectives on Acculturation and Intergroup Relations

This book addresses the psychosocial causes, consequences, and underpinnings of intraregional migration in Latin America.

War, political instability, and disparities in wealth and opportunity have long driven migration within Latin America, and this process shows no sign of slowing. In this book, cross-cultural and social psychologists address the urgent issues that face migrants throughout Central and South America. This includes overt prejudice and discrimination, particularly toward immigrants of indigenous or African-American origin; microaggressions; the tendency to positively value fair skin and European surnames; as well as political questions regarding the nature of citizenship and nationhood and links between legacies of colonialism and slavery and present-day inequality.

Contributors offer conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools for understanding the psychological processes that underlie migration and intergroup contact. Chapters focus on migration between and within countries in Central and South America, including Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil.

Vanessa Smith-Castro earned her PhD in Social Psychology from Philipps-Universität Marburg (Germany). She is full professor​ at the Institute for Psychological Research of the University of Costa Rica. Her research interests are social cognition​, intergroup relations, acculturation, and the social psychology of health. 

David Sirlopú is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Psychology at Universidad del Desarollo (Concepción, Chile). His research interests are intergroup relations and acculturation processes of Latina America immigrants and majority society. He also conducts research involving respect as recognition in minority groups, and subjective well-being in children and adolescents.

Anja Eller (1974-2019) was professor of Social Psychology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She was broadly interested intergroup relations, intergroup contact, identity and categorization, and embarrassment. 

Hüseyin Çakal holds an MSc in Sociology from the University of Manchester and a DPhil in Social Psychology from the University of Oxford. He is a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Keele. His research investigates intergroup contact, social identity processes, collective action, and mental health among severely disadvantaged communities.

Foreword
Thomas F. Pettigrew

Introduction: Intraregional Migration in Latin America From a Psychological Perspective
Vanessa Smith-Castro, David Sirlopú, Anja Eller, and Hüseyin Çakal

Part I. Intercultural Contact and Acculturation 

Chapter 1. South-South Migration in Chile: Well-Being and Intergroup Relations Between Latin-American Immigrants and Host Society Members
María José Mera-Lemp, Gonzalo Martínez-Zelaya, Marian Bilbao, and Aracely Orellana

Chapter 2. Acculturation Strategies and Multicultural Identity in Bolivia: Influences of a Plural Society
Eric Roth and Adriana Méndez

Chapter 3. Acculturation in International Students in Argentina: Factors That Predict Adaptation
Alejandro Castro Solano and María Laura Lupano Perugini

Chapter 4. My Home, My Rules: Costa Rican Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration
Vanessa Smith-Castro, Eugenia Gallardo-Allen, and Mauricio Molina-Delgado

Part II. Intergroup Relations and Social Change 

Chapter 5. Exploring Discrimination and Prejudice in Education: Contributions From Social Psychology to the Immigrant Phenomenon in Chile
Natalia Salas, Dante Castillo, David Huepe, Luis Eduardo Thayer Correa, and Felipe Kong

Chapter 6. Disadvantage, Contact, and Health Among Indigenous People in Mexico and Chile
Anja Eller, Hüseyin Çakal, and David Sirlopú

Chapter 7.  Socio-Ideological Beliefs and Perspective Taking Versus the Two-Headed Dragon:  A Latin American Prejudice Story, as Told in Argentina
Carlos M. Díaz-Lázaro, Jeremías D. Tosi, Luz M. Castro, and Carolina E. Borgeat-Linares

Chapter 8. "What Brings Us Together and Sets Us Apart": Regional Identities and Intergroup Relations as the Basis of Peruvian National Identity in Samples from Ayacucho and Lima
Rosa María Cueto, Agustín Espinosa, and Harry Lewis

Chapter 9. “They Are Close to Us, but We Are So Different From Them”: Prejudice Toward Immigrants and Indigenous Peoples in Brazil
Valdiney V. Gouveia, Rafaella C. R. Araújo, and Taciano L. Milfont

Conclusion: Implications for Future Research
Vanessa Smith-Castro, David Sirlopú, Anja Eller, and Hüseyin Çakal