Understanding Anti-Arab Reactions Post-9/11: The Role of Threats, Social Categories, and Personal Ideologies1

Abstract

This study examined social psychological processes associated with anti-Arab reactions (prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination) following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Participants (N= 201) responded to an online survey. Perceived threats, self-categorization, social dominance orientation, and just-world beliefs were tested for their effectiveness in predicting anti-Arab reactions. The results reveal that self-categorization and social dominance orientation each individually accounted for a substantial percentage of the variance, while perceived threats accounted for a relatively small amount of the variance in anti-Arab responses. However, an integrated model demonstrated that social dominance orientation, threats, self-categorization, and a threat by self-categorization interaction provided the best prediction of anti-Arab reactions. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical applications for understanding out-group derogation following political-cultural world events.