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

Intergroup relations research suggests that individuals perceive racial politics through a zero-sum framework, whereas scholarship on mobilization and social movements has shown the importance of cross-racial solidarity in effecting political change through coalition-building. We apply these two theoretical perspectives to the question of discrimination, asking whether perceptions or experiences with discrimination against one’s own racial group lead to diminished (zero-sum) or heightened (coalition) beliefs that other racial groups also face discrimination. To do so, we use a dyadic approach, examining all possible relationships between four major ethnoracial groups in the United States. Analyzing nationally representative data from the 2020 American National Election Studies (ANES), we find evidence for the zero-sum framework for one of the dyads (White ⇔ Black) and evidence for the coalition framework within four of the dyads (Black ⇔ Hispanic, Hispanic ⇔ Asian, White ⇒ Asian, White ⇒ Hispanic). We also find that personal experiences with discrimination matter only for Whites’ outgroup perceptions, whereas group experiences with discrimination are related to outgroup perceptions for ethnoracial minorities. Results demonstrate the power of the dyadic approach by revealing the asymmetry in these dynamics, highlighting the differing role of personal versus group discrimination for various ethnoracial groups, and illustrating the unique nature of anti-Black sentiment among Whites. These results have important implications for scholarship on race and ethnicity as well as political sociology. Our findings are also critical for informing efforts to mobilize and educate the broader public about issues of discrimination and racial injustice.