Were they joking? Depends on social dominance orientation

Abstract

This investigation was conducted to determine how social dominance orientation (SDO) influences perceptions of race related comments. We discovered that individuals that were high in SDO perceive that a White authority figure was joking when a derogatory race related comment was made about White students, but they did not believe that a Black authority figure was joking when the same comment was made toward White students. This study further demonstrates that SDO plays a vital role in how individuals perceive interactions that involve race related bias.