Majority preferences and minority goals: The case of Asian international students in Australia

Australia welcomes international students from diverse culture groups however perceived group-based discrimination from society can severely impact their learning experience. The primary aim of this thesis was to examine the moderating effect of minority goals on the relationship between perceived discrimination and minority group identification, and the relationship between perceived discrimination and hostility. This thesis also aimed to explore how the interplay of minority goals and majority preferences impacts on psychological well-being and risky decision-making. In service of these goals an experiment was employed using a 2 (minority goals: integration goal versus separation goal) x 2 (majority preferences: inclusion preference versus exclusion preference) between-subjects design in the context of perceived discrimination. Participants (N = 105) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Results showed some support for the moderating effect of minority goals in the relationship between perceived discrimination and minority group identification. No significant effect of hostility or negative emotion was found. In addition, results showed that risky decision-making was higher when minority goal converged with majority preferences than when minority goals diverged with majority preferences. The theoretical and practical implications of these results will be discussed