Perceived group and personal discrimination: differential effects on personal self‐esteem

Abstract

In two studies, we investigate the differential influence of perceived group and personal discrimination on self-esteem in the context of the Rejection-Identification model (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999). We first polled a group of African immigrants and found that whereas personal discrimination was negatively related to personal self-esteem, group discrimination was positively associated with it. As expected, identification served as a buffer between personal discrimination and self-esteem. We replicated these effects in a second study using women as our respondents. These results suggest that perceiving group discrimination may be positively related to self-esteem because people feel less alone in their plight, thereby alleviating the ill-effects of exclusion. We discuss these results in relation to both the Rejection-Identification model and the discounting hypothesis (Crocker & Major, 1989 Human beings are prone to create hierarchies that relegate some groups to the bottom of the social ladder. Being part of a so-called low status group is not a pleasant experience because it is associated with prejudice and discrimination in all aspects of daily life. For some years now, social psychology has taken an interest in the phenomenology of members of stigmatized group. Although a negative impact of discrimination would seem inevitable, research not only revealed the high degree of resilience manifested by stigmatized people but also the numerous strategies they are able to utilize, consciously or unconsciously, in order to deal with the abusive behavior of dominant outgroups (Allport, 1954;Goffman, 1963). The present paper examines the role played by two dimensions of perceived discrimination, namely the personal and the group one, on self-esteem. In line with the Rejection-Identification model (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999), we also explore group identification insofar it provides a means to protect self-esteem against the deleterious effect of discrimination.

Differential Effects of Personal-Level vs Group-Level Racial Discrimination on Health among Black Americans

“…These findings are consistent with prior research of the PGDD showing that greater reports of group-level discrimination is associated with better psychological well-being. [30][31][32] Finally, there was no evidence for an interactive effect of personal-and group-level discrimination on mental and physical health. That is, Black Americans who reported higher levels of perceived group-level discrimination had better mental and physical health than those who reported lower levels of perceived group-level discrimination, regardless of whether they reported higher or lower levels of perceived personallevel discrimination.…”

“…This is particularly true in the current society, where more and more people are exposed to information about other people's experiences with discrimination (eg, unarmed Black Americans being unfairly treated by the police, homosexual couples being refused service at restaurants), possibly because sharing information is easier than ever with the help of advanced technology (eg, smart phone) and social networking websites (eg, Facebook). 26,27 Does group-level discrimination have similar effects on individuals' health as personal-level discrimi- [30][31][32] For example, it has been shown that, among Belgian women and African immigrants in Belgium, those who reported more, as opposed to less, personal-level discrimination had significantly lower self-esteem, whereas those who reported more, as opposed to less, group-level discrimination had significantly higher selfesteem than those who reported less group-level discrimination. 31 These opposite effects of personal-vs grouplevel discrimination on psychological well-being have been further replicated by an experimental study in which the experience of personal-vs grouplevel discrimination was experimentally induced, 32 suggesting a causal negative relation between personallevel discrimination and self-esteem and a causal positive relation between group-level discrimination and selfesteem.…”

“…26,27 Does group-level discrimination have similar effects on individuals' health as personal-level discrimi- [30][31][32] For example, it has been shown that, among Belgian women and African immigrants in Belgium, those who reported more, as opposed to less, personal-level discrimination had significantly lower self-esteem, whereas those who reported more, as opposed to less, group-level discrimination had significantly higher selfesteem than those who reported less group-level discrimination. 31 These opposite effects of personal-vs grouplevel discrimination on psychological well-being have been further replicated by an experimental study in which the experience of personal-vs grouplevel discrimination was experimentally induced, 32 suggesting a causal negative relation between personallevel discrimination and self-esteem and a causal positive relation between group-level discrimination and selfesteem. Taken together, these studies provide strong evidence that grouplevel discrimination may buffer the negative psychological consequences of personal-level discrimination.…”

The Dynamic Nature of Coping with Gender Discrimination: Appraisals, Strategies and Well-being Over Time

“…Further, the negative physical and psychological responses to discrimination have also been shown to be similar across Canadian (Foster, 2000;Foster & Dion, 2003;Matheson, Gill, Kelly & Anisman, 2008) and American samples (Branscombe, Schmitt & Harvey, 1999;Krieger & Stanley, 1996;Landrine, Klonoff, Corral, Fernandez, & Roesch, 2006;Landrine, Klonoff, Gibbs, Manning & Lund, 1995) as well as countries outside of North America (Bourguignon et al, 2006;Resersdorff, Martinot & Branscombe, 2004). Thus, the applicability and interest of these findings to a variety of groups is likely.…”

Stigma and Social Power: Expecting to Interact with an Obese Person Activates Power in the Self-concept

“…It is therefore conceivable that prejudice, stereotyping and empowerment will be most influenced by a target's membership in a stereotyped group to the extent that this target is presented as possessing stereotype-consistent traits. Such an effect of stereotype consistency may be due to purely cognitive factors (i.e., automatic reactions deriving from ''categorical fit''), but also to more motivational-based factors (Bourguignon, Seron, Yzerbyt, & Herman, 2006;Kunda & Oleson, 1995). For example, perceivers may feel more justified in experiencing a sense of empowerment to the extent that the target is a typical member of the stigmatized group.…”