Group-based Relative Deprivation Research Articles

Perceived Relative Deprivation Across the Adult Lifespan: An Examination of Aging and Cohort Effects.

Despite being a core psychological construct for over 70 years, research has yet to examine how perceptions of deprivation relative to other individuals and/or groups develop across adulthood. As such, this preregistered study uses cohort-sequential latent growth modeling to examine changes in individual- and group-based relative deprivation (IRD and GRD, respectively) across the adult lifespan. Across 10 annual assessments of a nationwide random sample of adults (Ntotal = 58,878; ethnic minority n = 11,927; 62.7% women; ages 21-80), mean levels of IRD trended downward across the lifespan, whereas mean levels of GRD generally increased from young-to-middle adulthood before declining across late adulthood. Subtle cohort effects emerged for both constructs, although both IRD and GRD largely followed a normative aging process. Critically, the development of GRD-but not IRD-differed between ethnic groups, providing insights into how one's objective status may shape subjective (dis)advantage over time.

Asymmetries in responses to group-based relative deprivation: The moderating effects of group status on endorsement of right-wing ideology

Feelings of group-based relative deprivation (GRD) motivate collective responses to defend the ingroup. As such, there may be status-based asymmetries in the associations GRD has with ideologies that perpetuate inequality—namely, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). Study 1 examined this hypothesis using a national sample of adults ( N = 41,007) and revealed that the correlations GRD had with RWA and SDO were positive among members of a high-status group but negative among members of low-status groups. Study 2 examined these associations longitudinally ( N = 22,083) across eight annual assessments. Although a traditional cross-lagged panel analysis identified status-based asymmetries in the longitudinal associations between our variables of interest, analyses partitioning between-person stability from within-person change found no evidence that GRD leads to differences in RWA or SDO (or vice versa). The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Status-Based Asymmetries in Relative Deprivation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified existing inequalities by disproportionately affecting marginalized groups, which should differentially affect perceptions of, and responses to, inequality. Accordingly, the present study examines the effects of the pandemic on feelings of individual- and group-based relative deprivation (IRD and GRD, respectively), as well as whether these effects differ by ethnicity. By comparing matched samples of participants assessed before and during the first 6 months of the pandemic (Ntotal = 21,131), our results demonstrate the unique impacts of the pandemic on IRD and GRD among ethnic minorities and majorities. Moreover, our results reveal the status-based indirect effects of the pandemic on support for both collective action and income redistribution via IRD and GRD. As the pandemic rages on, these results foreshadow long-term, status-specific consequences for political mobilization and support for social change.

Low modesty linked to feeling deprived within advantaged (but not disadvantaged) groups

There is growing recognition that members of structurally advantaged groups experience group-based relative deprivation. We consider the idea that personality may explain these “entitlement-based” feelings of deprivation. Specifically, we predicted that modesty would be negatively associated with group-based relative deprivation among members of advantaged groups, but not amongst disadvantaged groups. Two studies focusing on White and Black Americans (N = 334), and Men and Women (N = 309) showed that modesty interacted with group membership. Modesty was negatively related to group-based relative deprivation amongst White Americans and men, but not amongst Black Americans and women. The findings help explain why some individuals espouse rhetoric that their group is being disfavored, even when group statistics and history suggest otherwise.

Violated entitlement and the nation: How feelings of relative deprivation shape nationalism and constructive patriotism

Perceptions of violated entitlement resulting from group-based relative deprivation shape attitudes and behaviors decisively. Drawing on social identity theory, I hypothesize that nationalism and constructive patriotism portray divergent relationships with subjective feelings of being disadvantaged due to different coping strategies to overcome status inferiority. Employing an original, large-scale survey from six European countries, the results clearly show that group-based relative deprivation is positively linked to nationalism, whereas the reverse holds for constructive patriotism. These results hold irrespective of a wide array of robustness checks. Thus, the present study adds to extant literature by identifying feelings of disadvantage as crucial for predicting nationalism and constructive patriotism, two key manifestations of group membership and in-group identification.

Individual Differences in Personality Moderate the Effects of Perceived Group Deprivation on Violent Extremism: Evidence From a United Kingdom Nationally Representative Survey.

Numerous studies argue that perceived group deprivation is a risk factor for radicalization and violent extremism. Yet, the vast majority of individuals, who experience such circumstances do not become radicalized. By utilizing models with several interacting risk and protective factors, the present analysis specifies this relationship more concretely. In a large United Kingdom nationally representative survey (n = 1,500), we examine the effects of group-based relative deprivation on violent extremist attitudes and violent extremist intentions, and we test whether this relationship is contingent upon several individual differences in personality. The results show that stronger group-based injustices lead to increased support for and intentions to engage in violent extremism. However, some of the effects are much stronger for individuals who exhibit a stronger need for uniqueness and for status and who demonstrate higher levels of trait entitlement. Conversely, several effects are lessened for those individuals high in trait forgiveness, demonstrating a strong capacity for self-control and for those who are exerting critical as well as open-minded thinking styles, thus constituting buffering protective factors, which dampen the adverse effects of perceived group injustice on violent extremism. The results highlight the importance of considering (a) the interaction between individual dispositions and perceptions of contextual factors (b) the conditional and cumulative effects of various risk and protective factors and (c) the functional role of protective factors when risk factors are present. Collectively, these findings bring us one step closer to understanding who might be more vulnerable to violent extremism as well as how. Overall, the study suggests that preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) programs must take account of the constellation of multiple factors that interact with (and sometimes enable or disable) one another and which can be targeted in preventions strategies.

Chicken or the egg? A cross-lagged panel analysis of group identification and group-based relative deprivation

Group identification and group-based relative deprivation (GRD) are critical predictors of numerous group-oriented attitudes and behaviours. While social-identity-based approaches suggest that salient group identities increase social comparisons, empirical data bearing on the causal direction of the relationship between group identification and GRD are mixed. To resolve this inconsistency, we examined the cross-lagged effects of group identification on GRD—as well as the potential reverse causal pathway—using three annual waves of data from a nationally representative sample of ethnic minorities in New Zealand ( N = 5,115). Although we found evidence of a reciprocal relationship between variables, ethnic group identification had a stronger positive cross-lagged effect on ethnic GRD than vice versa, suggesting that social identity is an important antecedent to invidious group-based comparisons. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Group-Based Relative Deprivation Explains Endorsement of Extremism Among Western-Born Muslims

Although jihadist threats are regarded as foreign, most Islamist terror attacks in Europe and the United States have been orchestrated by Muslims born and raised in Western societies. In the present research, we explored a link between perceived deprivation of Western Muslims and endorsement of extremism. We suggest that Western-born Muslims are particularly vulnerable to the impact of perceived relative deprivation because comparisons with majority groups’ peers are more salient for them than for individuals born elsewhere. Thus, we hypothesized that Western-born, compared with foreign-born, Muslims would score higher on four predictors of extremism (e.g., violent intentions), and group-based deprivation would explain these differences. Studies 1 to 6 (Ns = 59, 232, 259, 243, 104, and 366, respectively) confirmed that Western-born Muslims scored higher on all examined predictors of extremism. Mediation and meta-analysis showed that group-based relative deprivation accounted for these differences. Study 7 (N = 60) showed that these findings are not generalizable to non-Muslims.

On the Psychological Function of Nationalistic “Whitelash”

A noticeable feature of the political discourse accompanying the rise of nationalism in white‐majority countries is that white people fare worse than other ethnic groups in their societies. However, it is unclear based on the extant literature why group‐based relative deprivation (GRD) would correlate with majority‐group nationalism. Here, we propose that the psychological function of nationalism for majority‐group members lies in its ability to assuage the negative feelings arising from GRD. Accordingly, in a New Zealand national probability sample (N = 15,607), we found that GRD among whites was negatively associated with well‐being. However, we also found an opposing indirect association mediated by nationalism. GRD was associated with higher nationalism, which was in turn associated with higher well‐being. These findings suggest that endorsing beliefs about national superiority is one way a nation’s dominant ethnic group can cope with the negative psychological consequences of perceiving that their group is deprived.

Cultural Values Moderate the Impact of Relative Deprivation

Relative deprivation (RD) is the judgment that one or one’s ingroup is worse off compared with some relevant standard coupled with feelings of dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment. RD predicts a wide range of outcomes, but it is unclear whether this relationship is moderated by national cultural differences. Therefore, in the first study, we used national assessments of individual-collectivism and power distance to code 303 effect sizes from 31 different countries with 200,578 participants. RD predicted outcomes ranging from life satisfaction to collective action more strongly within individualistic nations. A second survey of 6,112 undergraduate university students from 28 different countries confirmed the predictive value of RD. Again, the relationship between individual RD and different outcomes was stronger for students who lived in more individualistic countries. Group-based RD also predicted political trust more strongly for students who lived in countries marked by lower power distance. RD effects, although consistent predictors, are culturally bounded. In particular, RD is more likely to motivate reactions within individualistic countries that emphasize individual agency and achievement as a source of self-worth.

Doubling‐down on deprivation: Using latent profile analysis to evaluate an age‐old assumption in relative deprivation theory

AbstractTheorists have long argued that two forms of relative deprivation exist: individual‐based relative deprivation (IRD) whereby a person feels deprived relative to other individuals and group‐based relative deprivation (GRD) whereby a person feels his/her ingroup is deprived relative to other groups. Combinations of IRD and GRD are therefore assumed to produce four response profiles: (i) high on IRD and GRD (i.e. ‘doubly deprived’); (ii) high on IRD, low on GRD; (iii) low on IRD, high on GRD; or (iv) low on IRD and GRD. The existence of these profiles, however, has never been assessed. We address this oversight by using latent profile analysis to identify distinct response patterns to measures of IRD and GRD. Across two studies, we found no support for this typology, nor the oft‐assumed doubly deprived profile. Rather, response patterns showed moderate levels of IRD across discrete profiles accompanied by considerable variability in GRD.

Opposing Paths to Ideology: Group-Based Relative Deprivation Predicts Conservatism Through Warmth Toward Ingroup and Outgroup Members

Group-based relative deprivation (GRD) is a critical predictor of support for social change. Because resistance to change and acceptance of inequality are core features of a conservative ideology, we predicted that GRD would negatively correlate with conservatism. Moreover, given the central role affect plays in bridging the association between experiences with inequality and group-based responses, we expected that this hypothesized relationship would be mediated by intergroup emotions. We tested these hypotheses in a large national sample of Māori (N = 685)—the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. As predicted, GRD was indirectly associated with conservatism through participants’ warmth toward the majority outgroup (i.e., New Zealand Europeans) and the minority ingroup (i.e., Māori): whereas GRD was negatively correlated with warmth toward outgroup members, GRD was positively correlated with warmth toward the ingroup. In turn, warmth toward the (a) outgroup and (b) ingroup was positively and negatively associated with conservatism, respectively. Similar results were obtained when replacing conservatism with participants’ (a) satisfaction with the government and (b) support for New Zealand’s main center-right political party. Our findings demonstrate the complex relationship between GRD and political beliefs, while also highlighting the crucial role of emotions in connecting GRD with group-based attitudes.

Organizational respect dampens the impact of group‐based relative deprivation on willingness to protest pay cuts

Although group-based relative deprivation predicts people's willingness to protest unfair outcomes, perceiving that one's subgroup is respected increases employees' support for organizations. An integration of these perspectives suggests that subgroup respect will dampen the impact of group-based relative deprivation on workers' responses to unfair organizational outcomes. We examined this hypothesis among university faculty (N=804) who underwent a system-wide pay cut. As expected, group-based relative deprivation predicted protest intentions. This relationship was, however, muted among those who believed university administrators treated their area of expertise (i.e., their subgroup) with a high (vs. low) level of respect. Moderated mediation analyses confirmed that group-based relative deprivation had a conditional indirect effect on protest intentions via participants' (dis)identification with their university at low to moderate, but not high, levels of subgroup respect. Our finding that satisfying relational needs can attenuate responses to group-based relative deprivation demonstrates the benefits of integrating insights from distinct research traditions.

Social change in South Africa: A historical approach to relative deprivation

Dramatic social change involves profound transformations that impact an entire group moving forward. Such is the reality for race relations in South Africa. Research has found that most people report a trajectory of group-based relative deprivation that appears to parallel actual historical events. However, a significant subset of respondents reported a trajectory in which the perceived status of their group remained stable despite dramatic social change. The first goal of our research was to assess whether both the historically 'assumed' and 'stable' group trajectories arise consistently among South Africans (N=2,989). The second and more important goal was to identify the factors that might account for this dichotomy in perceived trajectory building on both traditional and recent advances in relative deprivation theory as well as on social identity theory. We hypothesized that higher levels of in-group identification would be associated with the historically assumed group trajectory. Results supported this hypothesis. The third goal was to link the different group trajectories with important psychological outcomes such as personal well-being, group self-esteem, and interracial attitudes.