ABSTRACT
Acts of discrimination necessarily involve two participants, the perpetrator and the victim. With a few important exceptions (e.g., Birt & Dion, 1987; Crocker & Major, 1989; Crosby, 1982, 1984a, 1984b; Crosby, Muehrer, & Loewenstein, 1986; Dibble, 1981; Dion, 1986; Dion & Earn, 1975; Lalonde & Cameron, in press; Major, Carrington, & Carnevale, 1984) the focus of most theory and research is on the persons or groups who hold prejudices and practice the discrimination. In this chapter, the emphasis is exclusively on persons who belong to groups that are potential targets for discrimination. Specifically, the question addressed here is to what extent such persons perceive or judge behavior directed at them personally or at their group to be discrimination, regardless of whether this perception reflects objective reality or not.
