Zero-Sum or Coalition? A Dyadic Approach for Testing Discrimination's Impact on Perceptions of Ethnoracial Outgroups

Area of Science:

• Political Sociology
• Social Psychology
• Intergroup Relations

Background:

• Intergroup relations theory posits racial politics are often viewed through a zero-sum lens.
• Social movement scholarship highlights cross-racial solidarity and coalition-building for political change.
• Existing research has not fully explored how perceptions and experiences of discrimination influence beliefs about other groups' discrimination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether perceptions or experiences of discrimination against one's own racial group foster zero-sum (diminished) or coalition (heightened) beliefs about other groups facing discrimination.
• To examine these dynamics across all possible dyads of four major ethnoracial groups in the U.S. using a dyadic approach.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of nationally representative data from the 2020 American National Election Studies (ANES).
• Dyadic analysis examining relationships between White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian groups.
• Statistical modeling to assess the impact of personal and group discrimination experiences on outgroup perceptions.

Main Results:

• Evidence for a zero-sum framework was found for White ⇔ Black dyads.
• Evidence for a coalition framework was observed in Black ⇔ Hispanic, Hispanic ⇔ Asian, White ⇒ Asian, and White ⇒ Hispanic dyads.
• Personal discrimination experiences primarily influenced White outgroup perceptions, while group experiences affected outgroup perceptions for racial minorities, revealing asymmetric dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The dyadic approach reveals significant asymmetries in how different ethnoracial groups perceive discrimination.
• Personal versus group discrimination experiences have differential impacts across racial groups.
• Findings underscore the unique nature of anti-Black sentiment among Whites and have implications for anti-discrimination mobilization and education.