Reactions to Supporters and Opponents of Uranium Mining in Relation to Status, Attitude Similarity, and Right‐Wing Authoritarianism1

Abstract

This research investigated participants' responses to a scenario involving either a high‐status elected senator or a public citizen either supporting or opposing uranium mining near a heritage‐listed national park in Australia, followed by the subsequent arrest and punishment of the stimulus person for failing to obey a police order. Results show that low authoritarians perceived the low‐status offender relative to the high‐status offender as less responsible for the offense, and they reported less positive affect about the penalty for the low‐status offender. Participants showed more leniency toward offenders whose position on uranium mining was congruent with participants' own attitudes. Relationships between right‐wing authoritarianism, own attitudes toward uranium mining, and participants' reactions to the offense were associated with different but somewhat overlapping sets of value priorities.