Double standards in the treatment of refugees: why are people more likely to help Ukrainian compared to Syrian refugees?

We tested whether residents of Germany are more willing to help refugees from Ukraine compared to Syria and examined underlying psychological factors (perceptions of similarity, intergroup threat and the association with Islam). Across three experiments (total N = 3,119), a significant pro-Ukrainian preference emerged: Ukrainian refugees (vs. Syrian refugees) were perceived as less threatening (both realistically and symbolically), elicited less safety threat and were seen as more similar. Study 1 (N = 991) showed that perceptions of threat and similarity mediated the impact of refugees' nationality on helping intentions. Study 2 (N = 938) further demonstrated that perceptions of Syrian refugees as predominantly Muslim contributed to heightened perceptions of threat, which was associated with reduced helping intentions. In Study 3 (N = 1,190), we employed vignettes to manipulate refugees’ nationality (Ukrainian/Syrian) and religion (Muslim/Christian). Participants perceived Ukrainian refugees portrayed as Christian (vs. Muslim) as more similar to themselves and less threatening and were more willing to help them. There was no effect of religion on helping behaviour, threat and similarity perceptions for Syrian refugees. The implications of these findings are discussed.