discrimination
Definition
Discrimination refers to the unfair or prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups based on their social identity, cultural background, or perceived membership in marginalized categories. It operates as a contextual stressor that can undermine psychological well-being and adaptive outcomes, even among structurally successful or well-integrated individuals, through mechanisms involving perceived relative deprivation, social comparison, and reduced sense of belonging. In educational and intercultural contexts, perceived discrimination moderates the effects of acculturation processes: while emotional fit with majority culture norms may facilitate peer contact, high perceived discrimination transforms this advantage into a liability, predicting lower school engagement, motivation, and increased behavioral disengagement among minority youth. Discrimination also shapes political solidarity among people of color; making shared experiences of discrimination salient increases cross-racial solidarity and indirectly influences voting intentions through heightened sense of collective identity and commitment.
Sources: Sam & Kunst (2026), Jasini et al. (2025), Rogbeer & Pérez (2026)
Related Terms
Applications
Discrimination and Acculturation
Perceived discrimination fundamentally alters the effects of acculturation processes on minority youth adjustment. While emotional acculturation (adoption of majority culture emotion norms) typically supports peer contact, this benefit reverses in discriminatory school contexts, where emotionally acculturated students experience steeper declines in school engagement and motivation.
Sources: Jasini et al. (2025)
Discrimination and Solidarity
Shared experiences of discrimination among people of color activate cross-racial solidarity, which in turn indirectly increases voting intentions and political engagement.
Sources: Rogbeer & Pérez (2026)
Discrimination and Integration
Discrimination and structural integration operate independently: well-educated, structurally integrated immigrants may experience psychological disengagement and reduced well-being when they perceive discrimination and relative deprivation despite their apparent success, revealing how discrimination undermines the presumed benefits of integration.
Sources: Sam & Kunst (2026)
