Majority Grievance in Germany: the Role of Entitlement Beliefs and Ingroup Threat

Abstract

Group-based grievance has mainly been studied from the perspective of disadvantaged and minority groups. Following the refugee crisis and corresponding sociopolitical changes, there has also been an increase in perceived grievance among majority groups in many European countries. The present studies examined the role of perceived threat in the relationship between autochthony-based entitlement and group grievances among members of the German majority. Across three correlational studies, we tested whether threat moderates versus mediates this relationship. In Study 1, using a nationally representative sample, we found support for threat serving as a mediator of the relationship between autochthony-based entitlement and majority grievance. We replicated this finding in Studies 2 (N = 380) and 3 (N = 614) using convenience samples. We discuss the diverse roles played by perceived threat in predicting defensive reactions by majority groups and the importance of studying perceived entitlement in majority groups' grievance claims.