Stigma and the Meaning of Social Desirability: Concealed Islamophobia in the Netherlands

Abstract

The selective presentation of self can entail a significant difference between what is expressed openly (i.e., front-stage) and what emerges under conditions of absolute anonymity (i.e., back-stage). Theoretically, this chapter links notions of stigma, rooted in the symbolic interactionist tradition in sociology, and the concept of social desirability bias, which emerged from the literature on survey methodology. The result is a coherent framework by which social pressure to offer a desirable response is developed as an object of study in of itself rather than simply a form of bias. Empirically, this work employs a population-level survey experiment in the Netherlands to see how predictions framed by stigma theory result in distinct interpretations of a seemingly well-understood correlate with tolerance—education. If more educated respondents anticipate the stigma of Islamophobia, greater masking will positively correlate with higher levels of attained education as the more educated as more susceptible to social desirability pressure—a pattern of educated liars. However, if more education, via conditioning or selection, shapes a more accepting outlook toward others, the differences between education levels in support for Muslim immigrants should remain although the absolute levels of support could vary by how stigmatised intolerance is in the Dutch context. Results reveal two patterns. Intolerance is clearly stigmatized and when conditions mitigate the risk of exposure, more intolerant sentiment is expressed—regardless of education. In other words, all levels of schooling are subject to the normative pressure of stigma and, evidence suggests, elect to differentiate their front-stage and back-stage response patterns.