National identity misrecognition and attitudes toward the French mainstream society

Drawing on the rejection-identification (Branscombe et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999, 77, 135) and rejection-disidentification (Jasinskaja-Lahti et al., Applied Psychology: An International Review, 2009, 58, 105) models, we examined the effects of national identity misrecognition on attitudes toward the French mainstream society among Maghrebi-French and Muslim minority group members. We conducted a survey (N = 190) and two experiments (N = 103; 190), in which we measured and manipulated, respectively, the feeling of misrecognition (i.e., having one's national identity denied by the mainstream). Results showed that national identity misrecognition is a concept different from other forms of rejection by the majority group (i.e., perceived discrimination) (Studies 1 and 2). We also showed that feelings of misrecognition were related to higher hostility toward the mainstream (Studies 1 and 3) and higher identification with the national group (Study 3). In the discussion, we highlight the need for public policies to implement preventive actions against this form of rejection within French society.