Is there "smoke without fire"? Applying the theory of values to the study of motivational aspects of ethnic stereotypes: The case of Jewish stereotypes in Russia.

Few studies have examined to what extent commonly held stereotypes reflect real intergroup differences in motivational goals. Taking a values perspective (Schwartz et al., 2012), the study examines value preferences among Jews and Russians in Russia, to assess the extent to which commonly held stereotypes reflect values of group members. Results showed that Jews reported substantially higher levels of universalism-tolerance, benevolence (both caring and dependability), and tradition values, and lower levels of power (both dominance and resources), and universalism-nature values, than Russians. Results indicated that the widespread Jewish stereotypes of power, achievement, and rootlessness/cosmopolitanism are ungrounded, while the stereotypes of liberalism and particularism are upheld by the reported differences in the value preferences between Jews and the majority population in Russia. The present study underscores the importance of value comparisons between ethnic minority and majority groups for understanding their motivational goals and thus fighting prejudices and discrimination.

Motivational goals, group identifications, and psychosocial adjustment of returning migrants: The case of Jews returning to Russia.

The present study investigated the motivational goals, group identifications, and psychosocial adjustment of Jews who returned to Russia after emigrating from the republics of the Former Soviet Union to different countries (n = 151). To gain a deeper understanding of these returning migrants, their traits were compared with those of Jews living in Russia who did not emigrate (n = 935). Compared to locals, returnees reported a higher preference for the openness to change and self-enhancement values and a lower preference for the conservation values; there was no difference in the self-transcendence values. Returning migrants had a relatively weak affiliation with the home country: they had a weaker identification with the home country than with the country of emigration, their identification with Russians was weaker than that among Jews who did not emigrate from Russia, and their intention to emigrate (again) from Russia was greater than that among locals. However, the Jewish identification of returning migrants was similar to that of locals. The adjustment of returning migrants varied across different dimensions: their economic adjustment was better than that of locals; however, the interpersonal adjustment of returnees was less successful than among locals.