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Social dominance and the disassociation between explicit and implicit representations of equality
Author(s) -
Harding Jessica F.,
Sibley Chris G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of community and applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.042
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1099-1298
pISSN - 1052-9284
DOI - 10.1002/casp.1083
Subject(s) - meritocracy , dominance (genetics) , framing (construction) , social dominance orientation , social psychology , ethnic group , ideology , psychology , sociology , attractiveness , politics , political science , law , authoritarianism , biochemistry , chemistry , structural engineering , anthropology , democracy , gene , engineering , psychoanalysis
This study tested whether social dominance orientation (SDO) predicted a conceptual disassociation between explicit (declarative or propositional) attitudes about equality and implicit (automatic or associative) views of how representative New Zealand Europeans and Maori are of the New Zealand nation ( N = 48 Europeans). Explicitly stated attitudes framing equality in terms of procedural justice or meritocratic treatment were positively correlated with individual differences in the implicit tendency to view New Zealand Europeans as exclusively representative of New Zealand. This tendency to explicitly frame equality as based on individual merit and to implicitly favour the dominant (European) ethnic group as representative of the nation was observed only among people high in SDO. Our analysis provides novel support for the position that meritocratic ideology is malleable and may be employed by those high in SDO to frame concepts of equality and justice in ways that suit their desire for group‐based dominance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.