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Symbolic threat and social dominance among liberals and conservatives: SDO reflects conformity to political values
Author(s) -
Morrison Kimberly Rios,
Ybarra Oscar
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.606
Subject(s) - social dominance orientation , ingroups and outgroups , threatened species , psychology , social psychology , politics , conformity , social identity theory , dominance (genetics) , group identification , social group , political science , authoritarianism , law , democracy , ecology , biochemistry , chemistry , habitat , gene , biology
Three studies tested the effects of symbolic threat to group values and strength of ingroup (political party) identification on social dominance orientation (SDO), a measure of tolerance for social hierarchies. In Studies 1 and 3, conservative participants were made to feel as though their group's values were either threatened or not threatened by liberals prior to completing the SDO measure. In Studies 2 and 3, liberal participants were made to feel as though their group's values were either threatened or not threatened by conservatives prior to completing the SDO measure. Results demonstrated that high ingroup (political party) identification was associated with high SDO scores for threatened conservatives, and with low SDO for threatened liberals. These findings suggest that in response to symbolic threat, SDO can shift in directions consistent with protecting the ingroup's identity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.