The effect of the perception of threat and social identity on discrimination and collective action

The purpose of this study is to examine firstly how different forms of identity (separate identity, common identity) and perceived cnditional threats affect discrimination processes. In addition, it is among the aims of this study to test differences in perceptions of injustice in individuals with differing identity conditions in situations of explicit and implicit prejudice, the tendency towards collective action against injustice, and changes in prejudice levels. To these aims, this study was carried out as two experimental studies with the participation of students from Abant Izzet Baysal University in Bolu. The first study consisted of 54 women (40%) and 82 men (60%) for a total of 136 participants; the second study consisted of 21 women (33%) and 42 men (67%) for a total of 63 participants. In the experiments, identity (common identity, separate identity), threat perception (negative condition, positive condition, control) and discrimination (explicit discrimination, implicit discrimination) manipulations were developed and measured the attitudes of participants toward homosexuals. In the first experiment, the type of identity (separate, common) and the threat status (negative condition, positive condition, control) were examined with the Discriminatory Attitudes toward Homosexuals in Workplace (DATHW) and the Perception of Discrimination against Homosexuals (PDAH) scales. There was a main effect of both identification and the threat condition on perception of discrimination, but there was no interaction on the perception of discrimination. On the other hand, there was both a main effect and interaction of identification and threat condition on discriminatory attitudes toward homosexuals. In the first experiment, the discriminatory attitude was found to mediate the relationship between threat condition and the perception of discrimination. Identity was also shown to be a mediating factor between discriminatory attitude and perception of discrimination. Finally, threat condition moderated the relationship between discriminatory attitudes and identification. In the second experiment of the study, identification (separate, common, control) and the form of discrimination (explicit discrimination, implicit discrimination) were examined for the Perception of Injustice towards Homosexuals (PITH), Collective Action Orientation (CAO) and for Prejudice towards Homosexuals (PTH) scales. As a result, a main effects of both discrimination and identification on perception of injustice were observed. It was also found that there was a significant effect of discrimination on the perception of injustice. While the main effect of form of discrimination on collective action was not observed, it was observed that identification had a main effect on collective action. On the other hand, identification and discrimination had an interaction effect on collective action. Finally, the main effect of identification on prejudice against homosexuals is seen to have a main effect. One of the results obtained from the analyses is that there is a moderating effect of discrimination between the perception of injustice and the identification. Results were discussed in light of the relevant literature.