Misperceived DiscriminationHow accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive discrimination?Merlin Schaeffer & Judith Kas2022-05-301 / 45

Perceived grievances are often puzzling

Source: for Fundamental Rights (2014)

2 / 45

Another such puzzle:

The integration paradox

Source: Schaeffer and Kas (2021)

3 / 45

Another such puzzle:

The integration paradox

[...] greater familiarity with the culture and language and economic advancement can lead to greater consciousness of the reality of discrimination.

-- Portes, Parker, and Cobas (1980)

Source: Schaeffer and Kas (2021)

4 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?5 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Challenges

No aggregate analysis: Measure actual and perceived discrimination for individuals.

5 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Challenges

No aggregate analysis: Measure actual and perceived discrimination for individuals.
Mis-perceptions $\neq$ correlation: Measure actual and perceived discrimination on the same scale.

5 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Challenges

No aggregate analysis: Measure actual and perceived discrimination for individuals.
Mis-perceptions $\neq$ correlation: Measure actual and perceived discrimination on the same scale.
Ethics: Researchers must not discriminate participants.

5 / 45

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

Two players' mutual evaluation.
Clear metric: €.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent.

$\to$ Survey expected € received.

6 / 45

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

Two players' mutual evaluation.
Clear metric: €.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent.

$\to$ Survey expected € received.

True first name & city of residence from registers
Alisina, Ahmad, Anne, Binyamin, Joyce, Somaia, Sarah, Hayriye, Saibe, Björn, Salem, Fabienne, Sadet, Linda, Margarita, Ali, Joseph, Mhd Kheir, Baran, Bahaa, Jebran, Reno, Seiji, Irina, Ajsel, Christine, Rahim, Yaw Abrefa, Mark, Anjali Dev, Elmar, Anke, Laura, Heiko, ...

7 / 45

10 Trust games per participant

Mainstream¹ participants:
- 3 games with mainstream players.
- 7 games with immigrant origin players.

Immigrant origin² participants:
- 7 games with mainstream players.
- 3 games with immigrant origin players.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent to others.

1: Born in Germany and both parents born in Germany.
2: Born abroad or at least one parent born abroad.

8 / 45

10 Trust games per participant

Mainstream¹ participants:
- 3 games with mainstream players.
- 7 games with immigrant origin players.

Immigrant origin² participants:
- 7 games with mainstream players.
- 3 games with immigrant origin players.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent to others.

1: Born in Germany and both parents born in Germany.
2: Born abroad or at least one parent born abroad.

9 / 45

Sample

1 Pre-game survey Jul-Oct '21 $\to$ 2 Trust games Nov-Dec '21 $\to$ 3 Pay-out experiment Mar '22

10 / 45

Sample

1 Pre-game survey Jul-Oct '21 $\to$ 2 Trust games Nov-Dec '21 $\to$ 3 Pay-out experiment Mar '22

Stratified random sample from German registers.
Invitation via postal mail.
Online surveys/games in German.
Response rate approx. 12%-4%.

imor		Hamburg	Köln	Frankfurt am Main	München	Berlin	All
Mainstream	N	198	222	204	184	243	1051
	% row	18.8	21.1	19.4	17.5	23.1	100.0
Immigrant	N	118	90	113	153	101	575
	% row	20.5	15.7	19.7	26.6	17.6	100.0
Child of immigrant	N	66	100	61	84	72	383
	% row	17.2	26.1	15.9	21.9	18.8	100.0
All	N	382	412	378	421	416	2009
	% row	19.0	20.5	18.8	21.0	20.7	100.0

10 / 45

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

${Act Discr}_{i j} = €_{i j} - {\bar{€}}_{j (Germ. name)}$

Name	N	%
Name not distinct from German	2699	36.2
Distinct Non-German name	4760	63.8

11 / 45

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

${Act Discr}_{i j} = €_{i j} - {\bar{€}}_{j (Germ. name)}$

Name	N	%
Name not distinct from German	2699	36.2
Distinct Non-German name	4760	63.8

11 / 45

Actual trust discrimination avg. by person

${\bar{Act Discr}}_{i} = \frac{\sum_{j = 1}^{n_{j}} {Act Discr}_{i j}}{n_{j}}$

Name	N	%
Name not distinct from German	348	36.3
Distinct Non-German name	610	63.7

12 / 45

After the 10 games Expectations

13 / 45

Actual & expected discrimination

14 / 45

Actual & expected discrimination

15 / 45

Actual & expected discrimination

16 / 45

Alternative measure

17 / 45

Actual selection

18 / 45

Actual & expected selection

19 / 45

Actual & expected selection

20 / 45

Actual & expected selection

21 / 45

Intermediate conclusion

On average, immigrant minorities do not (mis-)expect to be discriminated.

Discrimination is not a lens through which immigrant minorities frame any random interaction.

22 / 45

Expected $\neq$ perceived discrimination

Do immigrant minorities (mis-)perceive discrimination when they asked to frame a cue of ethnic inequality?

23 / 45

Follow-up experiment Disadvantage cue

On average, your ten game partners sent and thereby entrusted 6 € to you.

In addition, your ten game partners played trust games with other 68 more participants. 25 of these other participants had names that sound typically German.

Below you see a selection of three of these participants with names that sound typically German.

On average, your game partners sent and thereby entrusted 8 € to these three persons:

Annegret from Hamburg

Klaus from Berlin

Hartmut from München

The three have thus received 2 € more than you. How do you rate this result?

24 / 45

Follow-up experiment Advantage cue

On average, your ten game partners sent and thereby entrusted 8 € to you.

In addition, your ten game partners played trust games with other 68 more participants. 25 of these other participants had names that sound typically German.

Below you see a selection of three of these participants with names that sound typically German.

On average, your game partners sent and thereby entrusted 6 € to these three persons:

Annegret from Hamburg

Klaus from Berlin

Hartmut from München

The three have thus received 2 € less than you. How do you rate this result?

25 / 45

Follow-up experiment Equality cue

On average, your ten game partners sent and thereby entrusted 7 € to you.

In addition, your ten game partners played trust games with other 68 more participants. 25 of these other participants had names that sound typically German.

Below you see a selection of three of these participants with names that sound typically German.

On average, your game partners sent and thereby entrusted 7 € to these three persons:

Annegret from Hamburg

Klaus from Berlin

Hartmut from München

The three have thus received the same amount as. How do you rate this result?

26 / 45

May name played a role ...

27 / 45

May name played a role ...

28 / 45

May name played a role ...

29 / 45

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

30 / 45

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

31 / 45

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

32 / 45

Intermediate conclusion

On average, people expect no discrimination, but perceive it once ethnicity is made salient.
- ... even under the equal cue!

Immigrant minorities with a German-sounding name are perceiving advantage similar to those with a non-German name perceiving disadvantage.

People generalize their personal experience to equivalent others $\approx$ 1:1.

33 / 45

But how accurate are these perceptions about ...

whether their name did (not) play a role?
whether Merlins were generally:
(today focus on) disadvantaged?

34 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

35 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

36 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

37 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

38 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

39 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

40 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

41 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

42 / 45

Complex data and no blueprint ...

43 / 45

Conclusion for now ...On average, people expect no discrimination, but perceive it once ethnicity is made salient.... even under the equal cue!

Persons with a German-sounding name are perceiving advantage at least as much as those with a non-German name are perceiving disadvantage.

People generalize their personal experience to equivalent others close to 1:1.

People seem somewhat better than random at perceiving ethnic discrimination.Especially the absence of it!
(... in the absence of obvious racial slurs etc.)

44 / 45

Conclusion for now ...

On average, people expect no discrimination, but perceive it once ethnicity is made salient.
- ... even under the equal cue!

Persons with a German-sounding name are perceiving advantage at least as much as those with a non-German name are perceiving disadvantage.

People generalize their personal experience to equivalent others close to 1:1.

People seem somewhat better than random at perceiving ethnic discrimination.
- Especially the absence of it!
- (... in the absence of obvious racial slurs etc.)

Thank you for your attention!

Please contact me,
if you have alternative ideas on how these data can be used and would like to team-up

44 / 45

References

Fundamental Rights, E. U. A. for (2014). Violence against women :an EU wide survey : results at a glance. LU: Publications Office.

Portes, A., R. N. Parker, and J. A. Cobas (1980). "Assimilation or Consciousness". In: Social Forces, pp. 200-224.

Schaeffer, M. and J. Kas (2021). "The Integration Paradox: A Theoretical Synthesis and Meta-Analysis". In: Unpublished manuscript, p. 0.

45 / 45

Misperceived DiscriminationHow accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive discrimination?Merlin Schaeffer & Judith Kas2022-05-301 / 45

Perceived grievances are often puzzling

Source: for Fundamental Rights (2014)

2 / 45

Another such puzzle:

The integration paradox

Source: Schaeffer and Kas (2021)

3 / 45

Another such puzzle:

The integration paradox

[...] greater familiarity with the culture and language and economic advancement can lead to greater consciousness of the reality of discrimination.

-- Portes, Parker, and Cobas (1980)

Source: Schaeffer and Kas (2021)

4 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?5 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Challenges

No aggregate analysis: Measure actual and perceived discrimination for individuals.

5 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Challenges

No aggregate analysis: Measure actual and perceived discrimination for individuals.
Mis-perceptions $\neq$ correlation: Measure actual and perceived discrimination on the same scale.

5 / 45

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Challenges

No aggregate analysis: Measure actual and perceived discrimination for individuals.
Mis-perceptions $\neq$ correlation: Measure actual and perceived discrimination on the same scale.
Ethics: Researchers must not discriminate participants.

5 / 45

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

Two players' mutual evaluation.
Clear metric: €.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent.

$\to$ Survey expected € received.

6 / 45

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

Two players' mutual evaluation.
Clear metric: €.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent.

$\to$ Survey expected € received.

7 / 45

10 Trust games per participant

Mainstream¹ participants:
- 3 games with mainstream players.
- 7 games with immigrant origin players.

Immigrant origin² participants:
- 7 games with mainstream players.
- 3 games with immigrant origin players.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent to others.

1: Born in Germany and both parents born in Germany.
2: Born abroad or at least one parent born abroad.

8 / 45

10 Trust games per participant

Mainstream¹ participants:
- 3 games with mainstream players.
- 7 games with immigrant origin players.

Immigrant origin² participants:
- 7 games with mainstream players.
- 3 games with immigrant origin players.

$\to$ Observe actual € sent to others.

1: Born in Germany and both parents born in Germany.
2: Born abroad or at least one parent born abroad.

9 / 45

Sample

1 Pre-game survey Jul-Oct '21 $\to$ 2 Trust games Nov-Dec '21 $\to$ 3 Pay-out experiment Mar '22

10 / 45

Sample

1 Pre-game survey Jul-Oct '21 $\to$ 2 Trust games Nov-Dec '21 $\to$ 3 Pay-out experiment Mar '22

Stratified random sample from German registers.
Invitation via postal mail.
Online surveys/games in German.
Response rate approx. 12%-4%.

imor		Hamburg	Köln	Frankfurt am Main	München	Berlin	All
Mainstream	N	198	222	204	184	243	1051
	% row	18.8	21.1	19.4	17.5	23.1	100.0
Immigrant	N	118	90	113	153	101	575
	% row	20.5	15.7	19.7	26.6	17.6	100.0
Child of immigrant	N	66	100	61	84	72	383
	% row	17.2	26.1	15.9	21.9	18.8	100.0
All	N	382	412	378	421	416	2009
	% row	19.0	20.5	18.8	21.0	20.7	100.0

10 / 45

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

${Act Discr}_{i j} = €_{i j} - {\bar{€}}_{j (Germ. name)}$

Name	N	%
Name not distinct from German	2699	36.2
Distinct Non-German name	4760	63.8

11 / 45

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

${Act Discr}_{i j} = €_{i j} - {\bar{€}}_{j (Germ. name)}$

Name	N	%
Name not distinct from German	2699	36.2
Distinct Non-German name	4760	63.8

11 / 45

Actual trust discrimination avg. by person

${\bar{Act Discr}}_{i} = \frac{\sum_{j = 1}^{n_{j}} {Act Discr}_{i j}}{n_{j}}$

Name	N	%
Name not distinct from German	348	36.3
Distinct Non-German name	610	63.7

12 / 45

After the 10 games Expectations

13 / 45

Actual & expected discrimination

14 / 45

Actual & expected discrimination

15 / 45

Actual & expected discrimination

16 / 45

Alternative measure

17 / 45

Actual selection

18 / 45

Actual & expected selection

19 / 45

Actual & expected selection

20 / 45

Actual & expected selection

21 / 45

Intermediate conclusion

On average, immigrant minorities do not (mis-)expect to be discriminated.

Discrimination is not a lens through which immigrant minorities frame any random interaction.

22 / 45

Expected $\neq$ perceived discrimination

Do immigrant minorities (mis-)perceive discrimination when they asked to frame a cue of ethnic inequality?

23 / 45

Follow-up experiment Disadvantage cue

On average, your ten game partners sent and thereby entrusted 6 € to you.

In addition, your ten game partners played trust games with other 68 more participants. 25 of these other participants had names that sound typically German.

Below you see a selection of three of these participants with names that sound typically German.

On average, your game partners sent and thereby entrusted 8 € to these three persons:

Annegret from Hamburg

Klaus from Berlin

Hartmut from München

The three have thus received 2 € more than you. How do you rate this result?

24 / 45

Follow-up experiment Advantage cue

On average, your ten game partners sent and thereby entrusted 8 € to you.

In addition, your ten game partners played trust games with other 68 more participants. 25 of these other participants had names that sound typically German.

Below you see a selection of three of these participants with names that sound typically German.

On average, your game partners sent and thereby entrusted 6 € to these three persons:

Annegret from Hamburg

Klaus from Berlin

Hartmut from München

The three have thus received 2 € less than you. How do you rate this result?

25 / 45

Follow-up experiment Equality cue

On average, your ten game partners sent and thereby entrusted 7 € to you.

In addition, your ten game partners played trust games with other 68 more participants. 25 of these other participants had names that sound typically German.

Below you see a selection of three of these participants with names that sound typically German.

On average, your game partners sent and thereby entrusted 7 € to these three persons:

Annegret from Hamburg

Klaus from Berlin

Hartmut from München

The three have thus received the same amount as. How do you rate this result?

26 / 45

May name played a role ...

27 / 45

May name played a role ...

28 / 45

May name played a role ...

29 / 45

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

30 / 45

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

31 / 45

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

32 / 45

Intermediate conclusion

On average, people expect no discrimination, but perceive it once ethnicity is made salient.
- ... even under the equal cue!

Immigrant minorities with a German-sounding name are perceiving advantage similar to those with a non-German name perceiving disadvantage.

People generalize their personal experience to equivalent others $\approx$ 1:1.

33 / 45

But how accurate are these perceptions about ...

whether their name did (not) play a role?
whether Merlins were generally:
(today focus on) disadvantaged?

34 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

35 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

36 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

37 / 45

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

38 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

39 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

40 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

41 / 45

Accurate perceptions People with my name

42 / 45

Complex data and no blueprint ...

43 / 45

Conclusion for now ...On average, people expect no discrimination, but perceive it once ethnicity is made salient.... even under the equal cue!

Persons with a German-sounding name are perceiving advantage at least as much as those with a non-German name are perceiving disadvantage.

People generalize their personal experience to equivalent others close to 1:1.

People seem somewhat better than random at perceiving ethnic discrimination.Especially the absence of it!
(... in the absence of obvious racial slurs etc.)

44 / 45

Conclusion for now ...

On average, people expect no discrimination, but perceive it once ethnicity is made salient.
- ... even under the equal cue!

Persons with a German-sounding name are perceiving advantage at least as much as those with a non-German name are perceiving disadvantage.

People generalize their personal experience to equivalent others close to 1:1.

People seem somewhat better than random at perceiving ethnic discrimination.
- Especially the absence of it!
- (... in the absence of obvious racial slurs etc.)

Thank you for your attention!

Please contact me,
if you have alternative ideas on how these data can be used and would like to team-up

44 / 45

References

Fundamental Rights, E. U. A. for (2014). Violence against women :an EU wide survey : results at a glance. LU: Publications Office.

Portes, A., R. N. Parker, and J. A. Cobas (1980). "Assimilation or Consciousness". In: Social Forces, pp. 200-224.

Schaeffer, M. and J. Kas (2021). "The Integration Paradox: A Theoretical Synthesis and Meta-Analysis". In: Unpublished manuscript, p. 0.

45 / 45

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Misperceived Discrimination

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive discrimination?

Merlin Schaeffer & Judith Kas

2022-05-30

Perceived grievances are often puzzling

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

10 Trust games per participant

10 Trust games per participant

Sample

Sample

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

Actual trust discrimination avg. by person

After the 10 games Expectations

Actual & expected discrimination

Actual & expected discrimination

Actual & expected discrimination

Alternative measure

Actual selection

Actual & expected selection

Actual & expected selection

Actual & expected selection

Intermediate conclusion

Expected ≠≠ perceived discrimination

Follow-up experiment Disadvantage cue

Follow-up experiment Advantage cue

Follow-up experiment Equality cue

May name played a role ...

May name played a role ...

May name played a role ...

"Were participants called Merlin generally advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

"Were participants called Merlin generally advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

"Were participants called Merlin generally advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

Intermediate conclusion

But how accurate are these perceptions about ...

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

Accurate perceptions My name played a role

Accurate perceptions People with my name

Accurate perceptions People with my name

Accurate perceptions People with my name

Accurate perceptions People with my name

Complex data and no blueprint ...

Conclusion for now ...

Conclusion for now ...

References

Perceived grievances are often puzzling

Help

Misperceived Discrimination

Misperceived Discrimination

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive discrimination?

Merlin Schaeffer & Judith Kas

2022-05-30

Perceived grievances are often puzzling

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

How accurate do persons of immigrant origin perceive ethnic discrimination?

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

Central idea Mutual evaulation in behavioral games

10 Trust games per participant

10 Trust games per participant

Sample

Sample

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

Actual trust discrimination by game partner

Actual trust discrimination avg. by person

After the 10 games Expectations

Actual & expected discrimination

Actual & expected discrimination

Actual & expected discrimination

Alternative measure

Actual selection

Actual & expected selection

Expected $\neq$ perceived discrimination

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

Expected $\neq$ perceived discrimination

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"

"Were participants called Merlin generally
advantaged, treated equally, or disadvantaged by their game partners?"