Judging Without Knowing: How people evaluate others based on phenotype and country of origin - Technical Report

This report describes the design, data, and main results of an online survey (i.e., the "Judging Without Knowing" survey) that was conducted between October 2017 and June 2018 with more than 2,000 registered members on Clickworker (a commercial survey company in Germany). The survey was conducted in order to provide a post-hoc test of the stimulus material (photos) that was used in two correspondence tests on labor market discrimination (i.e., the ADIS and GEMM studies) and to enable further analyses on the role of ethnic stereotypes for ethnic discrimination in hiring. The survey consisted of two parts. The first part of the survey was a post-hoc validation study that aimed at providing an empirical test of the comparability of the photos (phenotype stimuli) from the ADIS and GEMM studies with regard to attractiveness, (ascribed) competence, and sympathy. The second part of the survey studied the stereotypes Germans have about different immigrant groups in Germany. In contrast to previous studies, we asked respondents to rate in how far a range of bipolar adjectives that belong to different stereotype content models (i.e., SCM, 2d-ABC model, and facet model) fit for 38 different ethnic origin groups. In addition, we randomly varied whether respondents had to provide their personal view ("I think …") or their view of the nationally shared stereotype ("Germans think …"). Overall, our findings show that respondents evaluated the photos from the ADIS and GEMM studies differently - but most differences were not substantial. Evaluations differed more strongly between respondents than between photos, and more strongly between photos of males and females and photos series (i.e., original photos and photos that were adjusted with image processing software) than between phenotype groups. The stereotype survey suggests that instruction matters. Respondents rate the different origin groups more positively when asked to express their own opinion than when asked to state the opinion of the Germans. Second, our results raise doubts as for whether Communion is the primary dimension when it comes to stereotypes about immigrant groups in Germany. Ascribed Capacity, Beliefs, and Power seem more important than ascribed Communion. Finally, there seems to be a main divide between the (poor) global south and the (wealthy) global north. Stereotypes about immigrant groups from the global south are generally more negative than stereotypes about immigrants from the global north

Almost identical but still treated differently: hiring discrimination against foreign-born and domestic-born minorities

Focusing on birthplace (foreign vs. domestic) and origin group (European vs. Middle Eastern or African), this article examines the effects of cultural distance signals on discrimination against ethnic minority job applicants. Drawing on a cross-nationally harmonised correspondence test (N = 5780), we investigate how employers in five Western European destination countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the U.K.) respond to job applications from majority and minority group members, with minority job applicants being either very similar (domestic-born and/or European origin) to the majority population or rather different (foreign-born and/or Middle Eastern/African). Our results are generally consistent with taste-based discrimination theory. Employers pay attention to signals of cultural distance, which results in particularly high levels of discrimination against foreign-born minorities and against minorities originating from Middle Eastern and African countries. Although origin group has a stronger effect on employer responses than birthplace, they jointly exert an additive effect. This results in particularly low labour market chances for foreign-born minorities of Middle Eastern and African origin. Separate country analyses, however, reveal important country differences, both with respect to the size of the minority penalty and the joint effect of birthplace and origin group

The ADIS study: a large-scale correspondence test on labor market discrimination in Germany - Technical Report

The Arbeitsmarktdiskriminierung "ADIS" project is a large scale correspondence study that was conducted in Germany between October 2014 and April 2016 with the aim to study labor market discrimination against second generation immigrants. In particular, the experiment was designed for two purposes: First, to decompose drivers of ethnic discrimination in the labor market and to understand the role of phenotype, country of origin, and religion in order to explain ethnic hierarchies; and second, to test economic theories of taste-based and statistical discrimination models, in order to explain discriminatory hiring decisions. Previous studies on ethnic labor market discrimination have provided strong evidence of its occurrence, but provide limited insight into the mechanisms behind it and the causes of variation in rates of discrimination against different ethnic, racial, and religious groups. In this report we describe our multidimensional design that tests rates of discrimination across 35 ethnic groups, for which we vary productivity relevant information (such as grades and reference letters) as well as phenotype and religious background of the applicants. The study is based on applications to 7,557 job vacancies with male and female applicants in eight professions across Germany. In this technical report we will discuss our research design in depth and give detailed insight into the implementation of the study and the challenges during data collection, with a main focus on the choice of the individual treatments and how they were operationalized.Das Arbeitsmarktdiskriminierung "ADIS" Projekt ist eine großangelegte Korrespondenzteststudie, die deutschlandweit zwischen Oktober 2014 und April 2016 durchgeführt wurde. Während in der Vergangenheit mit Hilfe von Korrespondenzteststudien bereits eindrücklich nachgewiesen werden konnte, dass Bewerber mit Migrationshintergrund auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt benachteiligt werden, geben diese Studien wenig Einblick in die zugrundeliegenden Ursachen und Mechanismen. Ziel der Studie war es daher, das Auftreten und das Ausmaß von Diskriminierung gegenüber qualifizierten Migranten zweiter Generation zu untersuchen und hierbei insbesondere zwei Fragestellungen tiefergehend zu erforschen: Erstens sollen zugrundeliegende Mechanismen ethnischer Diskriminierung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt betrachtet werden. Hierbei wird die Rolle von Faktoren wie ethnischer Gruppe, Religion oder Phänotyp beleuchtet, die eventuell ethnische Hierarchien erklären können. Zum anderen sollen Annahmen zweier unterschiedlicher ökonomischer Erklärungsmodelle für diskriminierende Entscheidungen (präferenzbasierte und statistische Diskriminierung) untersucht werden. Für die ADIS-Studie nutzen wir ein multidimensionales Forschungsdesign und messen das Ausmaß von Diskriminierung für insgesamt 35 verschiedene ethnische Gruppen, für die sowohl der Phänotyp und die Religionszugehörigkeit, als auch produktivitätsrelevante Indikatoren wie Zeugnisnoten und Referenzschreiben variiert werden. Die Studie basiert auf rund 7,557 Beobachtungen von männlichen und weiblichen Kandidaten, die sich deutschlandweit auf insgesamt acht verschiedene Berufe beworben haben. Im folgenden Bericht diskutieren wir das Forschungsdesign und geben eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Studienumsetzung sowie der Herausforderungen bei der Datenerhebung und der Operationalisierung der einzelnen Treatments

Taste or statistics? A correspondence study of ethnic, racial and religious labour market discrimination in Germany

In this study we compare rates of discrimination across German-born applicants from thirty-five ethnic groups in which various racial and religious treatment groups are embedded, this study allows us to better distinguish taste and statistical sources of discrimination, and to assess the relative importance of ethnicity, phenotype and religious affiliation as signals triggering discrimination. The study is based on applications to almost 6,000 job vacancies with male and female applicants in eight occupations across Germany. We test taste discrimination based on cultural value distance between groups against statistical discrimination based on average education levels and find that discrimination is mostly driven by the former. Based on this pattern, ethnic, racial and religious groups whose average values are relatively distant from the German average face the strongest discrimination. By contrast, employers do not treat minority groups with value patterns closer to Germany’s different from ethnic German applicants without a migration background

Pflanzen- und ackerbauliche Maßnahmen zur Ampferbekämpfung auf Acker- und Grünlandflächen unter den Produktionsbedingungen des Ökologischen Landbaus

In Ökologisch wirtschaftenden Betrieben stellen Ampferarten, vor allen Dingen Rumex crispus und R. obtusifolius, weit verbreitete und hartnäckige Unkräuter sowohl im Acker als auch im Grünland dar. In diesem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse zur vegetativen und generativen Vermehrung von Ampfer vorgestellt, die auf der Versuchsstation für Ökologischen Landbau Kleinhohenheim der Universität Hohenheim im Jahr 2000 erhoben wurden. In Keimtests wurde die Keimbereitschaft von Ampfersamen unterschiedlichen Alters (Zeiternten in wöchentlichen Abständen von Mitte Mai bis Ende Juni) untersucht, um so einen Anhaltspunkt über den Einfluß des Schnittzeitpunkts von Grünland auf die generative Verbreitung von Ampfer zu erhalten. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, daß die Keimbereitschaft der Samen zur Heureife nur gering war. Mit zunehmender Reife der Pflanzen stieg jedoch die Keimbereitschaft auf Werte über 80 % an (Prüfung bei Dauerlicht und Wechseltemperatur). In einem zweiten Versuch wurden auf einer Ackerfläche etablierte Ampferpflanzen durch teilweises Entfernen von Sproß- und Wurzelmasse beschädigt und nach sechs Wochen Sproß- und Wurzelmasse erhoben. Hierbei zeigte sich, daß eine nachhaltige Bekämpfung um so eher möglich war, je mehr Biomasse von den Pflanzen entfernt wurde. Die Beschädigung der Pflanzen mit dem Ampferstecher erwies sich hierbei als eine besonders effektive Methode. Die Ergebnisse der beiden Versuche zeigen somit, daß es wirkungsvolle nicht chemische Kontrollmaßnahmen gibt, um die Verbreitung von Ampfer einzuschränken. In dem Beitrag wird die Frage diskutiert, warum Ampferarten im Ökologischen Landbau dennoch ein weit verbreitetes Problem darstellen. Pekrun, Carola und Jund, Dorothea und Hofrichter, Veit und Wagner, Susanne und Thumm, Ulrich und Claupein, Wilhelm (2002) Pflanzen- und ackerbauliche Maßnahmen zur Ampferbekämpfung auf Acker- und Grünlandflächen unter den Produktionsbedingungen des Ökologischen Landbaus [Indirect means of weed control against Rumex spec. on arable fields and grassland in organic farming]. Zeitschrift Pflanzenkrankheiten Pflanzenschutz, Sonderheft XVIII:533-540

Discrimination against Turkish minorities in Germany and the Netherlands: field experimental evidence on the effect of diagnostic information on labour market outcomes

Previous studies have found that the labour market outcomes of Turkish minorities are slightly better in Germany than in the Netherlands. In this paper we test one of the explanations: differences in ethnic discrimination in hiring. We use a harmonised field experiment to test whether discrimination against job candidates of Turkish origin (age 23-25) varies across Germany and the Netherlands, while holding individual characteristics of job seekers constant. We find that, compared to majority candidates, job candidates of Turkish origin are on average eleven percentage points less likely to receive a positive call-back. Moreover, we find that discrimination against Turkish minorities is significantly higher in the Netherlands than in Germany. In Germany, job candidates of Turkish origin are five percentage points less likely to receive a call-back than equally qualified majority candidates, whereas in the Netherlands this ethnic gap is fifteen percentage points. However, the presented evidence does not support the often-mentioned argument that the amount of diagnostic information in application materials explains why discrimination against Turkish minorities is lower in Germany. Overall, adding diagnostic information has little effect on the relative employment chances of job applicants of Turkish origin, both in Germany and the Netherlands

The impact of emotions on polarization. Anger polarizes attitudes towards vaccine mandates and increases affective polarization

When does anger lead to greater polarization? As societal polarization and political polarization increase so does academic interest in its antecedents. One important cause of polarization appears to be anger. However, existing research linking anger and political polarization has focused primarily on the context of partisanship and did not distinguish between different types of anger nor different forms of polarization. To address this gap in the literature, we analyze how generalized versus issue-specific anger amplify issue-based and affective polarization in the highly charged context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We test these relationships through a survey experiment embedded in a national German sample (n = 2857) and show that anger is linked to polarization. However, we also show that different forms of anger influence different aspects of polarization. Issue polarization is driven primarily by generalized anger, while corona-specific anger increases affective polarization. Together, these results underline the importance of understanding the emotional nuances of polarization. More generally, the results illustrate the problems policy makers face when navigating heavily contested and emotionally charged topics. While increased anger may be helpful for mobilizing support among already supportive citizens, it does little to convince skeptical citizens and carries the cost of increasing societal polarization

Muslim by default or religious discrimination? Results from a cross-national field experiment on hiring discrimination

We use data from a cross-nationally harmonised field experiment to examine discrimination towards Muslim job applicants in five European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom). We focus on job applicants originating from countries that have a substantial Muslim population: of these, some signalled closeness to Islam in their job application while others did not. With this design, we can empirically disentangle anti-Muslim discrimination (a ‘disclosed Muslim’ effect) from the possible stigma of originating from countries where Islam is prevalent (a ‘Muslim by default’ effect). Our double-comparative design allows us to compare the extent of anti-Muslim discrimination faced by different origin groups in destination countries characterised by a varying history of church-state relations and distinctive approaches to grant cultural and religious rights to minorities. We find alarming levels of discrimination, especially towards male applicants from more visible groups. Anti-Muslim discrimination and origin-based discrimination independently contribute to the severe disadvantage faced by ethnic and religious minorities, a disadvantage that is especially severe in the Norwegian labour market

Ethnic Differences in Context: Does Emotional Conflict Mediate the Effects of Both Team- and Individual-Level Ethnic Diversity on Emotional Strain?

Work teams are becoming increasingly heterogeneous with respect to their team members’ ethnic backgrounds. Two lines of research examine ethnic diversity in work teams: The compositional approach views team-level ethnic heterogeneity as a team characteristic, and relational demography views individual-level ethnic dissimilarity as an individual member’s relation to their team. This study compares and contrasts team-level ethnic heterogeneity and individual-level ethnic dissimilarity regarding their effects on impaired well-being (i.e., emotional strain) via team- and individual-level emotional conflict. Fifty teams of retail chain salespeople (n = 602) participated in our survey at two points of measurement. Based on the ethnic background of team members, we calculated team-level ethnic heterogeneity that applied to all members, and individual-level ethnic dissimilarity within the team that varied according to each member’s ethnic background. Multilevel path modeling showed that high levels of team-level ethnic heterogeneity were related to high levels of emotional strain via team-level emotional conflict. However, the opposite was found for individual-level ethnic dissimilarity. We discussed this difference by contextualizing individual-level ethnic dissimilarity in the team-level heterogeneity and social status of ethnic groups in society at large. Our findings suggest that the social status of the ethnic group to which team members belong may impact how ethnic diversity relates to team processes and well-being.Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (1034)Peer Reviewe