Hispanic Acculturation in the U.S.: Examining the Relationship Between Americans' Ethnocentricity and Education

This research sought to gauge Americans' ethnocentricity in regard to Hispanic immigrants and correlated those levels of bias with education levels. A new instrument was developed for measuring ethnocentricity, and it showed strong reliability, validating it for potential use in future research. Both quantitative and qualitative results are included. The findings revealed measurable levels of ethnocentricity and bias and were consistent with prior research indicating that respondents who had the lowest levels of education were the most likely to have negative views of Hispanics and to overestimate the size of the Hispanic population. This suggests the least well-educated Americans may hold a certain amount of defensiveness and hostility towards Hispanics. This bias associated with a lack of education could cause Hispanics to be reluctant to fully assimilate into the American culture, creating a cycle of distrust.