2021 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 4-12
This article highlights the social concept of pollution or impurity and its use as a justification for discrimination and exclusion. First, the history of the concept of pollution is reviewed. Second, a development of two scales measuring the tendency towards pollution related thoughts, the Purity Orientation–Pollution Avoidance (POPA) Scale and the Avoidance of Resentment Scale (ARS), is explained. Third, an experimental study using these scales is introduced. Then, the relationships between four purity/pollution factors and exclusive behaviors were investigated using structural equation modelling. The results revealed that the pollution avoidance tendency enhances anxious feeling towards immigrants, but this relationship is mediated by a type of belief that “natural things are the best,” which stems from pollution avoidance motivation. Finally, this article summarizes how the concept of pollution can cause discriminations and exclusions, and discusses solutions for the problem.
