Go With the Flow or Fight the Power? The Interactive Effects of Social Dominance Orientation and Perceived Injustice on Support for the Status Quo

• Published in: Political psychology Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Author: Rabinowitz, Joshua L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, USA and Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishers Inc 01-03-1999; Blackwell Publishing
• Subjects: African Americans; Attitudes; Authoritarianism; Comparison; Conservatism; ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC GROUPS; Factors; Favoritism; group status; Hierarchical models; Ideological asymmetry; Ideologies; Ideology; Injustice; JUSTICE; MINORITY GROUPS; Perceptions; Political attitudes; Political ideology; Political power; Political psychology; POLITICAL THEORY; social dominance; Social domination; Social interaction; Social psychology; Social Status; Social systems; Social theories; Social theory; Support; Theory; USA; We they distinction
• ISSN: 0162-895X; 1467-9221
• DOI: 10.1111/0162-895X.00135

Previous research in social dominance theory has found an asymmetry in the relationship between social dominance orientation (SDO) and various hierarchy-enhancing ideologies, such that the relationship between the two variables is significantly more positive among high-status group members than among low-status group members (Sidanius, Pratto, & Rabinowitz, 1994; Sidanius, Levin, & Pratto, 1996). Perceptions of systemic injustice toward one's ingroup may help to explain this ideological asymmetry. The hypothesis of a three-way interaction among group status, SDO, and perceived injustice was tested by using survey responses from American university students to predict opposition to hierarchy-attenuating policies as well as levels of patriotism. Analyses revealed the presence of a three-way interaction (ps < .05). Ethnic minority students who scored high on SDO did not always maintain conservative policy stances or strong patriotic attachments-it depends on their level of perceived injustice. Implications for social dominance theory and system-justification theory are discussed.