Education and the Paradox of Perceived Discrimination

We identify a paradox of perceived discrimination, whereby perceptions of discrimination among disadvantaged groups are lower when dominant group attitudes are more discriminatory. We put forward an explanation for this phenomenon based on the asymmetric effects that education, through the interplay of cognitive sophistication, intergroup contact and liberal instruction, exerts on dominant and disadvantaged group attitudinal development. Using individual and school-level European data, we find empirical support that education decreases discriminatory attitudes while increasing perceived discrimination according to our mechanisms. This is reflected in longitudinal patterns at the country level: as education levels have increased over time, discriminatory attitudes have become less prevalent but perceptions of discrimination among disadvantaged groups have increased. Our findings suggest that education increases awareness of existing discrimination among victims more than it decreases prejudice among perpetrators, challenging existing social hierarchies while simultaneously contributing to intergroup tensions.