Cultural distance through the lens of social closeness and individual experienceswith diversity

The influx of refugees to Germany, particularly from Syria and Ukraine, has significantly increased over the past decade due to wars and political tensions in the Middle East and Europe. These refugee groups vary not only in their demographic composition but also in their cultural similarity to Germany. Drawing on theoretical frameworks related to threat perception, social identity, and socialization, this paper explores the influence of cultural distance on the acceptance of immigrants in Germany. The study examines the interplay between cultural and social distance and investigates whether the impact of cultural distance differs based on individuals’ socialization experiences. Using data from a factorial survey experiment implemented in the 63rd wave of the German Internet Panel, we examine cultural distance in a multidimensional way. Our analyses confirm the significant role of cultural distance and highlight that its impact is more pronounced in interactions with lower social distance. Additionally, we find notable differences based on the dimension of cultural distance as well as between respondents depending on their educational level and between birth cohorts.