Brown Bag Series Presents Series Presents: Angie Ocampo

Bio:

Angie N. Ocampo is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh and a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University for 2021-2022. Her research examines the social and political incorporation of racial and ethnic minorities, with a particular focus on the heterogeneity of the Latina/o/x population in the United States. Ocampo’s work compares multiple viewpoints, examining Latina/o/x political attitudes as well as those of White and Black Americans. Her current project examines where Latinas/os/xs fit into conceptualizations of who is an American, as well as the consequences of being included or excluded from this group. Ocampo received her PhD in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021.

Abstract:

National identity remains an important boundary that defines differences between “us” and “them.” Although national identity can operate as an exclusionary boundary, scholars argue that priming national identity can also improve attitudes between groups in conflict. Understanding whether the benefits of the ingroup extend to Latinos as they do to Whites is helpful for understanding the incorporation of the group into American society. This paper assesses support for economic relief for small businesses in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this paper examines whether priming American identity results in positive attitudes toward redistribution for Mexican and Italian restaurants. This paper also explores whether highly-assimilated individuals are more likely to elicit support. Results indicate that although priming a common in-group identity results in more support for redistribution toward Latinos, this does not fully extend to behavior. Highly-assimilated individuals do not elicit more support relative to when this information is omitted. Furthermore, these results are generally consistent across parties.

Zoom link to be announced.