Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Predict Annual Increases in Generalized Prejudice

Abstract

Although right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are the two most studied individual difference correlates of prejudice, debate remains over their status as enduring constructs that precede generalized prejudice. We contribute to this discussion using 10 annual waves of longitudinal data from a nationwide random sample of adults to investigate the stability and temporal precedence of RWA, SDO, and prejudice among members of an ethnic majority group ( Ns = 23,383–47,217). Results reveal high wave-to-wave rank-order stability for RWA, SDO, and generalized prejudice. Adjusting for their between-person stability, RWA and SDO predicted within-person increases in generalized prejudice. Results replicated when predicting (a) prejudice toward three specific minority groups (namely, Māori, Pacific Islanders, and Asians) and (b) anti-minority beliefs. These findings demonstrate that RWA and SDO are highly stable over 10 consecutive years and that they independently precede within-person annual increases in generalized prejudice and anti-minority beliefs.

Re-examining the EU Referendum vote: right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation as indirect trait-level motivation

“…Finally, the sample we use here is not representative of those in the British public who voted in the referendum. Nevertheless, our suggested causal pathway is reasonable given previous research and the relative stability of these orientations (e.g., Osborne et al 2020;Ludeke and Krueger 2013). As this particular event has now passed into history, it will remain for future research to see whether these relationships hold for similar future events.…”

The Political Psychology of COVID‐19

“…Attempts to foster national unity, especially when driven by threat of a pandemic can, however, undermine tolerance and inclusiveness (Foran et al, in press). This is because collective action often relies on amplifying the need for order, compliance, and national unity, and this is often associated with authoritarianism (Osborne, Satherley, Little, & Sibley, 2020). Even in pandemic times, authoritative (or authoritarian) actions by governments can align with preexisting political projects and hierarchical tendencies.…”

Cyber-aggression towards women: Measurement and psychological predictors in gaming communities

“…In general, RWA captures preferences for social tradition over progressiveness and SDO captures preferences for intergroup inequality over equality (Duckitt, 2001;Jost et al, 2003). Longitudinal research has shown that RWA and SDO, independently, predict year-to-year increases in prejudice (Osborne et al, 2020).…”