Status- and foreignness-based discrimination experiences shape feelings of similarity among people of color

A sense of similar disadvantage is crucial to fostering solidarity between people of color. But although people of color share a general experience with racial discrimination, the specific nature of those experiences can vary. Using the Racial Position Model as a theoretical framework, four studies (N = 2107) examined how distinct outgroup discrimination experiences along the axes of perceived status and cultural foreignness impact perceptions of similarity between people of color. In Study 1, Asian, Black, and Latine Americans' perceptions of similarity with each other were predicted by their beliefs about outgroup discrimination. Exposure to outgroup experiences with foreignness-based discrimination increased Asian Americans' perceived similarity with Black and Latine Americans (Studies 2 & 4), while exposure to outgroup experiences with status-based discrimination increased Black Americans' perceived similarity with Asian and Latine Americans (Studies 3 & 4). Perceived similarity, in turn, predicted greater willingness to engage in collective action on behalf of the outgroup (Studies 2–4). Our findings suggest that perceptions of similarity between people of color are bolstered by the salience of outgroup experiences along the specific axis of discrimination most prominent in the ingroup's experiences. Group experiences along the dual axes of perceived status and cultural foreignness may thus be leveraged to forge stronger coalitions among people of color.