scholarly journals Correlations between social dominance orientation and political attitudes reflect common genetic underpinnings

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (36) ◽  
pp. 17741-17746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Haarklau Kleppestø ◽  
Nikolai Olavi Czajkowski ◽  
Olav Vassend ◽  
Espen Røysamb ◽  
Nikolai Haahjem Eftedal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Correlation ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Environmental Correlation ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
Intergroup Inequality

A foundational question in the social sciences concerns the interplay of underlying causes in the formation of people’s political beliefs and prejudices. What role, if any, do genes, environmental influences, or personality dispositions play? Social dominance orientation (SDO), an influential index of people’s general attitudes toward intergroup hierarchy, correlates robustly with political beliefs. SDO consists of the subdimensions SDO-dominance (SDO-D), which is the desire people have for some groups to be actively oppressed by others, and SDO-egalitarianism (SDO-E), a preference for intergroup inequality. Using a twin design (n = 1,987), we investigate whether the desire for intergroup dominance and inequality makes up a genetically grounded behavioral syndrome. Specifically, we investigate the heritability of SDO, in addition to whether it genetically correlates with support for political policies concerning the distribution of power and resources to different social groups. In addition to moderate heritability estimates for SDO-D and SDO-E (37% and 24%, respectively), we find that the genetic correlation between these subdimensions and political attitudes was overall high (mean genetic correlation 0.51), while the environmental correlation was very low (mean environmental correlation 0.08). This suggests that the relationship between political attitudes and SDO-D and SDO-E is grounded in common genetics, such that the desire for (versus opposition to) intergroup inequality and support for political attitudes that serve to enhance (versus attenuate) societal disparities form convergent strategies for navigating group-based dominance hierarchies.

scholarly journals Correlations Between Social Dominance Orientation and Political Attitudes Reflect Common Genetic Underpinnings: A Twin Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Haarklau Kleppestø
Keyword(s):  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Environmental Correlation ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
Intergroup Inequality ◽  
The Relationship

A foundational question in the social sciences concerns the interplayof underlying causes in the formation of people’s politicalbeliefs and prejudices. What role, if any, do genes, environmentalinfluences, or personality dispositions play? Social DominanceOrientation (SDO), an influential index of people’s general attitudestoward intergroup hierarchy, correlates robustly with politicalbeliefs. SDO consists of the sub-dimensions SDO-Dominance(SDO-D), which is the desire people have for some groups to beactively oppressed by others, and SDO-Egalitarianism (SDO-E), apreference for intergroup inequality. Using a twin design (N =1987), we investigate if the desire for intergroup dominance andinequality makes up a genetically grounded behavioral syndrome.Specifically, we investigate the heritability of SDO, in addition towhether it genetically correlates with support for political policiesconcerning the distribution of power and resources to differentsocial groups. In addition to moderate heritability estimates forSDO-D and SDO-E (37% and 24%, respectively), we find that thegenetic correlation between these sub-dimensions and politicalattitudes was overall high (mean genetic correlation 0.51), whilethe environmental correlation was very low (mean environmentalcorrelation 0.08). This suggests that the relationship betweenpolitical attitudes and SDO-D and SDO-E is grounded in commongenetics, such that the desire for (versus opposition to) intergroupinequality and support for political attitudes that serve to enhance(versus attenuate) societal disparities form convergent strategiesfor navigating group-based dominance hierarchies.

scholarly journals Relation between College Students’ Conservatism and Negative Stereotypes about Social Groups

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Sylvia Beyer
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Just World ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Measures

This study examined the interrelations among political attitudes and negative stereotypes in U.S. undergraduates. Participants answered questions measuring conservatism, social dominance orientation, Global Belief in a Just World, and religiosity. This research employed two measures of stereotypes: modern sexism and feelings about 15 social groups. It was hypothesized that conservatives would show more evidence of negative stereotypes than liberals would. The study revealed that indeed conservatives show stronger evidence of negative stereotypes, but that liberals also harbor some biases. Importantly, the social groups against whom conservatives and liberals are stereotyped differed greatly. Conservatives showed considerably more negative stereotypes against racial and religious minorities, and particularly against those who do not identify with the cis-gender, heterosexual norm. Thus, the targets of conservatives’ stereotypes were groups that have traditionally been subject to discrimination. Liberals held stronger stereotypes against groups that are more politically powerful, such as Caucasians and Christians.

The Role of Intergroup Threat in Support of Punitive Policies Toward Mexican Immigrants

2021 ◽  
pp. 073998632110346
Author(s):  
Steffanie Guillermo ◽  
Jose Zuniga ◽  
Angela D. Quiroz
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Undocumented Immigrants ◽  
Mexican Immigrants ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Threat Perceptions ◽  
Detention Centers

The present research examined the degree to which symbolic and realistic threat perceptions of documented and undocumented Mexican immigrants predicted support for willingness to provide basic resources (e.g., food, water) in detention centers and agreement with policies that restrict Mexican immigration through detention and deportation. Our study recruited 191 participants online via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results showed that undocumented immigrants were more realistically, but not symbolically threatening than their documented counterparts. Intergroup threat predicted lower willingness to provide basic resources in detention centers and greater support of punitive policies. This finding was not moderated by whether participants evaluated documented or undocumented immigrants. Once we accounted for social dominance orientation (SDO), political attitudes, and contact with Mexican immigrants, only SDO remained a significant predictor of attitudes toward resources in detention centers, while all variables predicted more support for punitive policies. These findings highlight the roles of symbolic and realistic threats, SDO, political attitudes, and intergroup contact in endorsing punitive immigration policies.

scholarly journals The nature of social dominance orientation: Theorizing and measuring preferences for intergroup inequality using the new SDO₇ scale.

2015 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 1003-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold K. Ho ◽  
Jim Sidanius ◽  
Nour Kteily ◽  
Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington ◽  
Felicia Pratto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Intergroup Inequality

The Moderating Role of Alienation on the Relation between Social Dominance Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Person-Organization Fit

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 710-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelheid A. M. Nicol ◽  
Kevin Rounding
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Right Wing Authoritarianism ◽  
Person Organization Fit ◽  
Moderating Role

Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation have been found to be related with Person-Organization fit. This study examined whether alienation also plays a role in the relation between Person-Organization fit and these two socio-political attitudes. Measures of Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation, alienation, and Person-Organization fit were given to a sample of Officer Cadets ( N = 99; M age = 22.8 yr., SD = 5.4). The findings suggest that when individuals felt alienated, Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism were not related to Person-Organization fit. When alienation was low, Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism interacted to predict Person-Organization fit. Therefore, feelings of alienation can influence the perception of fit within an organization and the relation between perception of fit with Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism.

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