Antecedents and consequences of autonomy‐ and dependency‐oriented help toward refugees
Becker, J.C.; Ksenofontov, I.; Siem, B.; Love, A.
European Journal of Social Psychology 49(4): 831-838
2018
ISSN/ISBN: 0046-2772 Document Number: 423853
We tested antecedents (paternalistic beliefs; Study 1) and consequences (social change potential; Study 2) of autonomy- and dependency-oriented help and developed scales assessing paternalistic beliefs and both forms of help. In Study 1 (N = 143 Germans), we focused on paternalistic beliefs as an antagonist to social change and a key distinguishing variable between engagement in both forms of help. As expected, paternalistic beliefs were positively related to dependency-oriented help, mediated by concern for a positive national moral image, but negatively related to autonomy-oriented help, mediated by perceived competence of refugees. In Study 2, both refugees (N = 80) and Germans (N = 94) perceived autonomy-oriented help to have more potential for social change than dependency-oriented help.