Relative deprivation and gratification elicit prejudice: research on the V-curve hypothesis

We review research related to the role of social comparison in intergroup relations focusing on the effect of collective relative deprivation (when we are worse off than them) and relative gratification (when we are better off than them). As predicted by the V-curve model, there is increasing evidence to suggest that being worse-off than others (RD) and being better-off (RG) trigger similar consequences: an increase in intergroup prejudice and...