How Americans View Asian Americans Politically Nhung Kim Nguyen Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2011 Asians in the American mind: how Americans view Asian Americans politically Nhung Kim Nguyen Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Nguyen, Nhung Kim, "Asians in the American mind: how Americans view Asian Americans politically" (2011). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2198. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2198 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. ASIANS IN THE AMERICAN MIND: HOW AMERICANS VIEW ASIAN AMERICANS POLITICALLY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Political Science by Nhung Kim Nguyen B.S., Vanderbilt University, 1992 B.S., Louisiana State University, 1995 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2008 August 2011 This manuscript is dedicated to: Grandpa with much love and appreciation; my family for their unfailing support and encouragement; my three boys, Tristan, Tyler, and Kenshin, whom I am so proud to be their aunt. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation could not have been accomplished without my network of supporters. I am very much indebted to my family, friends, and faculty members in the Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University for their encouragement, assistance, and guidance. First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to Dr. James Garand, my advisor, teacher, and friend. As a relative novice in the field of political science when I first started in the graduate program, I would not have achieved this high academic honor without his guidance, support, and confidence in my abilities. I have learned much from Dr. Garand about being a good teacher and scholar, and I will take these lessons with me to the next phase of my life. I would also like to thank the other members of my doctoral committee, including Dr. Kathleen Bratton, Dr. Christopher Kenny, Dr. William Clark, and Dr. Andrea Miller, for their constructive comments and helpful suggestions concerning this dissertation as well as possible future research. I would like to thank Tara Montelaro as well for her generous assistance throughout my time in the graduate program, particularly during the dissertation defense process. Finally, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to my parents and sisters who are my loudest cheerleaders and staunchest supporters in every goal I have set out to achieve. I would also like to thank Stella Rouse, Kaitlyn Sills, Tara Montelaro, Mary Gaillard, and Bernita “Shorty” Smith for being great friends and good listeners. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION………….……………………………………………………………..……..ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………..….iii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………..........vi LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………….......viii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...….ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………..………..1 Perceptions of Racial Out-Groups in the United States……………..………………...7 Perceptions of Asian Americans…………………... ………………………………...11 Plan of Dissertation………………………………….………………………………..15 CHAPTER 2: WHO ARE ASIAN AMERICANS?….…………………………………….21 An Evolving Asian Population………………………..……………………………....22 Confronting Popular Myths and Perceptions of Asian Americans…………………....31 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….50 CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF RACIAL ATTITUDES……..….....52 Personal Contact Perspective………………………………………………………....53 Context Perspective.………………………………………………………………….56 Self-Interest Perspective……………………………….………………………..……60 Symbolic Politics Perspective………………………………………………………...64 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….....67 CHAPTER 4: AFFECT-BASED PERCEPTIONS OF ASIAN AMERICANS…..………..69 Affect-Based Responses in Groups………………………………….………….……69 Data and Measures…………………………………………………….……………...71 Results…………………………………………………………..…………………….86 Conclusion………………...…………………………………………...……………...97 CHAPTER 5: COGNITION-BASED PERCEPTIONS OF ASIAN AMERICANS……...102 Cognition-Based Responses in Groups………………………………..……….…….104 Data and Measures…………………………………………………………………...110 Results………………………………………………………………………………..128 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………148 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………........152 Major Findings of the Contours and Sources of Perceptions of Asian Americans…..153 Implications……………………………………………………………..……………157 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………......162 iv APPENDIX A: LETTER OF PERMISSION…………………………………………………….176 B: PRINCIPAL COMPONENT FACTOR ANALYSIS RESULTS FOR GROUP STEREOTYPES (2004 ANES)…………………………………………….……177 VITA………………………………………………………………………….….………..179 v LIST OF TABLES 1.1 Population Growth Rate by Racial/Ethnic Group…………………………………………4 2.1 Population Growth Rates of the Largest Asian Ethnic Groups…………………………..25 2.2 Asian Population for the United States, Regions, and Selected States, 2000……………27 2.3 Largest Metropolitan Areas in Asian American Population, 2000………………………29 2.4 Asian American Population by Detailed Group, 2000…………………………………..34 2.5 Socioeconomic Characteristics by Asian Ethnic Group, 2000…………………………..36 2.6 Percent Distribution of Partisanship by Ethnic Origin…………………………………..38 2.7 Percent Distribution of Political Ideology by Ethnic Origin…………………………….39 2.8 Socio-political Characteristics of Immigrant Groups by Region of Birth………………42 2.9 Residential Segregation Indices in the 10 U.S. Cities with the Largest Asian Populations, 2000…………………………………………………………………….….45 2.10 Socioeconomic Characteristics by Racial/Ethnic Group, 2000…………………….…..47 2.11 SAT Mean Scores of College-Bound Seniors by Race/Ethnicity: Selected Years, 2004-05 through 2008-09…………………………………………………………….…49 4.1 Feeling Thermometer Ratings of Racial/Ethnic Groups by Respondents’ Race…….…76 4.2 Closeness to Racial/Ethnic Groups by Respondents’ Race………………………….…80 4.3 OLS Regression Analysis of Favorability Models of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups…87 4.4 Ordered Logistic Regression Analysis of Closeness Models of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups…………………………………………………………………………………..92 5.1 All Respondents’ Trait Dimension Measures of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups……..114 5.2 Trait Dimension Measures of the Racial/Ethnic Groups by Respondents’ Race……...114 5.3 All Respondents’ General Stereotype Measures of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups…..117 5.4 General Stereotype Measures of the Racial/Ethnic Groups by Respondents’ Race…..118 5.5 Ordered Logistic Regression Analysis of Lazy-Hardworking Dimension Models of vi the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups………………………………………………………129 5.6 Ordered Logistic Regression Analysis of Unintelligent-Intelligent Dimension Models of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups……………………………………………………132 5.7 Ordered Logistic Regression Analysis of Untrustworthy-Trustworthy Dimension Models of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups…………………………………………...136 5.8 OLS Regression Analysis of Group Stereotype Models, 2004 ANES………………140 5.9 Ordered Logistic Regression Analysis of Group Stereotype Models, 2004 NPS……143 vii LIST OF FIGURES 1.1 The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of the U.S. Population………………..3 2.1 Percent Distribution of the Asian American Population by Region, 2000……………27 2.2 Percent Asian American Population by County, 2000………………………………..29 2.3 Percent Distribution of the Largest Asian Groups by Alone or in Combination Population, 2000………………………………………………………………………35 2.4 Intermarriage Rates by Race and Ethnicity, 2008…………………………………….43 2.5 Intermarriage Rates among Newlyweds by Gender, 2008……………………………43 4.1 Feeling Thermometer Ratings of Racial/Ethnic Groups……………………………...74 4.2 Closeness Measures of the Four Racial/Ethnic Groups………………………………78 5.1 Trait Dimensions of Asian Stereotyping…………………………………………….113 5.2 General Asian Stereotypes…………………………………………………………..117 viii ABSTRACT This study explores how the general American public thinks about Asian Americans, who are a multiethnic, immigrant-dominated, fast-growing, and understudied group. Understanding Americans’ views toward Asians is important in light of the changing face of the American electorate, whose recent additions comprise largely of immigrants from Asia and Latin America, and the likelihood that Americans’ beliefs or thoughts about race and ethnicity will be altered beyond the black-white divide in U.S. politics. As an attempt to gain such understanding, the purpose of this study is to provide a systematic study of Americans’ attitudes toward Asians in terms of positive/negative evaluations that they have of Asians (i.e., affect-based perceptions) and their perceptions of factual attributes of Asians, such as perseverance and intelligence (i.e., cognition-based perceptions). Americans’ perceptions of Asian Americans are examined using a conceptual framework based on theories and measures that have been discussed in past studies of intergroup relations largely directed at the relationship between white and black Americans, including the personal contact, context, self-interest, and symbolic politics theoretical perspectives. The major findings of the effects of these key explanatory factors on