One in three people admit to being prejudiced against ethnic minority communities living in Northern Ireland and some of them are not afraid to show it.
The increasing bias is fed in part by "stereotypical generalisations which are based upon a limited engagement," according to joint research by the University of Ulster and Queen's University, Belfast.
The proportion whose prejudice ranges from "a little" to "very" reflects a lack of knowledge of ethnic cultures and a limited amount of contact with people from the ethnic communities.
The findings are disclosed in the latest Northern Ireland Life and Times survey conducted by ARK, a collaborative venture by the two universities.
The report said: "A sizeable proportion of those admitting prejudice are also unwilling to disguise it in interactions with members of minority communities. However, there is also some evidence that people do not see all minority communities as the same."
The findings were released at a Belfast seminar, entitled 'Prejudice and Tolerance in Northern Ireland', presented by Dr Neil Jarman of the Institute for Conflict Research.
He claimed that three years ago the Chinese community was seen bearing the brunt of the prejudice but the new survey claimed that Polish people are now most in the firing line.
It also revealed continuing and deeply ingrained bias against members of the Traveller community, who are second to the Poles as being perceived as victims of prejudice.
The fieldwork was completed before the sudden upsurge in intimidation against people from the Roma in south Belfast earlier this year.
University of Ulster's Professor Gillian Robinson, Director of ARK, said: "There is overwhelming acknowledgement by respondents that anti-ethnic prejudice exists. That acknowledgement, in itself, is positive.The downside is that we now have a time-series that shows that bias is on the increase."
She added: "This survey is clearly a wake-up call for action to break down prejudice, not least by increasing areas of contact between the ethnic population and the indigenous general public."
© Press Association