Discrimination experiences and support for policies helping marginalized groups: Mediation by ethnocultural empathy and moderation by race/ethnicity

Abstract The current study explores whether personal experiences with discrimination are associated with greater ethnocultural empathy, whether greater ethnocultural empathy is then associated with greater support for policies helping marginalized groups, and whether these relationships are moderated by racial or ethnic identity or by resilience. Participants, 384 adult students recruited from introductory psychology courses at a large university in the southern region of the United States, completed an online Qualtrics survey that included measures assessing the variables of interest. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that for racial or ethnic minorities, discrimination experiences were positively related to ethnocultural empathy, which was positively related to support for Black‐targeted affirmative action policies and for policies helping stigmatized groups (e.g., sexual or gender minorities, homeless individuals). Resilience did not moderate any of the relationships. This study's findings suggest that by fostering ethnocultural empathy, we have the potential to build a more harmonious and socially engaged society of people wanting to help others who are most in need.