Ethnic Identity Moderates Perceptions of Prejudice: Judgments of Personal Versus Group Discrimination and Subtle Versus Blatant Bias

Abstract

Two studies investigate the association between ethnic identity and perceptions of prejudice. Study 1 examined the relationship between ethnic identity and the personal-group discrimination discrepancy (PGD) among ethnic minority and White respondents. High-identified minorities reported increased personal vulnerability to discrimination and less PGD, whereas less-identified minorities conformed more to the PGD phenomenon. Whites also reported more personal than group discrimination, but ethnic identity did not moderate this effect. Study 2 examined minorities’ perceptions of prejudice in an interaction with a White confederate, who displayed either obvious or subtle prejudice. High-identified minorities showed stronger reactions to subtle prejudice than did low-identified minorities, who tended to overlook subtle prejudice. The authors relate findings to principles from stigma research, social identity, and self-categorization theory and suggest that ethnic identity can explain why some minorities perceive prejudice when others do not.