Linguistics

Philosophy

Attribution

Neuroscience

Biology

Identification (biology)

German

Ethnic group

Social psychology

Botany

Anthropology

Disadvantaged

Psychology

Political science

Sociology

Salient

Perception

KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie

Based on longitudinal data from Germany, we analyze how perceptions of discrimination change once migrants’ integration evolves. Individuals who identify more strongly with the host country, speak the language, have native friends, and are adequately employed report less discrimination overall. However, group-specific analyses reveal that German-born Turks feel more rather than less discriminated against after their language skills and their identification increase. For this group, we find evidence for the “integration paradox”, i.e., the finding that better educated migrants have more rather than less negative attitudes about the host society. Results suggest that attributional processes rather than rising exposure to discrimination might be the main mechanism linking integration to higher levels of perceived discrimination. Obviously, discrimination does not disappear for groups facing salient ethnic boundaries and is met with growing awareness and sensitivity among individuals that have become more similar to the majority of members. This, in turn, by no means implies that perceived discrimination is detached from reality.

How Often Have You Felt Disadvantaged? Explaining Perceived Discrimination