Social Dominance Orientation Scale Research Articles

A Social Dominance Theory Perspective on Attitudes Toward Girl Child Marriages in Turkey: The Legitimizing Role of Ambivalent Sexism

The girl child marriage practice (a forced marriage involving a young woman under age 18) is a serious problem in Turkey as it is in many developing countries. It is important to investigate the reasons behind individuals’ support for girl child marriages. The aim of the present study is to examine attitudes toward girl child marriages in Turkey within the perspective of social dominance theory (Sidanius and Pratto 1999). Namely, we investigate the relationship between social dominance orientation and attitudes toward girl child marriages. We also examine the mediating role of ambivalent sexism (both hostile and benevolent) in this association. Students (N = 388) from two universities in Ankara completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) Scale, and our Attitudes toward Girl Child Marriages Scale. Results indicate that men have more positive attitudes toward girl child marriages than women do. In addition, SDO predicts positive attitudes toward girl child marriages. Also, hostile, but not benevolent, sexism mediates the relationship between SDO and attitudes toward girl child marriages. The present study shows that those who endorse male dominance and gender inequality also have more positive attitudes toward girl child marriages. It also shows that these people draw on their hostile attitudes toward women in order to legitimize these kinds of marriages.

The Big Five's relation with the facets of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation

Recent research suggests that Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) constructs are actually multifaceted. We studied the underlying personality structure of both RWA and SDO by examining their facet correlates with the Big Five personality dimensions. In a sample of 406 participants, Openness and Conscientiousness appear to be the most important personality correlates for all RWA facets, thus supporting findings conducted with the RWA total measure. Unexpectedly, for the two SDO facets and SDO total scale, Openness was the most important correlate, followed by the anticipated significant relation with Agreeableness. The SDO and RWA facets were differentially correlated with the Big Five, suggesting that they may not have the same latent structure. These results suggest that some accuracy may be lost when using only the total RWA and SDO scales and that research should explore the similarity and differences in which the facets correlate and predict other variables.

Antecedents to Inequality: Exploring Links between Ideology and Maintenance of Social Hierarchy

Inter- and intra-group inequality is common to the point of ubiquity in our world. This symposium will explore the antecedents to such inequality, namely, the subtle ways in which ideological belief systems legitimize and propagate existing hierarchical relations between social groups. Our first presenter, Dr. Arnold Ho, will discuss a cutting-edge conceptualization of the social dominance orientation scale and how its underlying constructs differentially relate to explicit and implicit indicators of a preference for inter-group inequality. Next, our second and third presenters, Safiya Castel and Taylor Phillips, will discuss how ideology can affect our attention to and support for members of disadvantaged groups. Finally, our fourth and fifth presenters, Dr. Nour Kteily and Sean Fath, will explore how ideology can affect our attitudes toward disadvantaged groups as a whole and perceptions of social inequality more broadly. Theorizing and Measuring Preferences for Intergroup Inequality Using the New SDO7 Scale Presenter: Arnold K. Ho; U. of Michigan Presenter: Jim Sidanius; Harvard U. Presenter: Nour Kteily; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Presenter: Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington; London School of Economics Presenter: Felicia Pratto; U. of Connecticut Presenter: Kristin Henkel; U. of Saint Joseph Presenter: Rob Foels; Stockton U. Presenter: Andrew Stewart; Clark U. Rise of the Social Underdog: Antecedents to Support for Successful Low Status Group Members Presenter: Safiya E Castel; UCLA Presenter: Miguel M. Unzueta; U. of California, Los Angeles Effective to a Fault: Organizational Structure Predicts Attitudes toward Minority Organizations Presenter: Sean Fath; Duke U. Presenter: Devon Proudfoot; Duke U. Presenter: Aaron C. Kay; Duke U. Social Dominance Orientation Drives Motivated Perceptions of Inequality Presenter: Nour Kteily; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Presenter: Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington; London School of Economics Presenter: Arnold K. Ho; U. of Michigan How Blind is Colorblind? Ideologically-Motivated Attention to Diverse Group Members Presenter: L Taylor Phillips; NYU Stern Presenter: Brian S. Lowery; Stanford U. Presenter: Nalini Ambady; Stanford U.

Uloga orijentacije ka socijalnoj dominaciji, efekata kolektivne traume i regulatornog fokusa u predikciji izraženosti nacionalnog identiteta

Osnovni cilj ovog rada bio je ispitati odnos orijentacije ka socijalnoj dominaciji, efekata kolektivne traume, regulatornog fokusa i identifikacije sa nacionalnom grupom. Istraživanje je sprovedeno na uzorku od 201 ispitanika srpske etničke pripadnosti. Za potrebe ovog rada korišćeno je nekoliko skala: Skala identifikacije sa grupom (dve subskale: Solidarnost sa grupom i Centralnost nacionalnog identiteta), Predstava o sopstvenoj grupi kao ugroženoj, Strah od viktimiziranja, Skala orijentacije ka socijalnoj dominaciji, Upitnik regulatornog fokusa (dve subskale: Orijentacija ka promociji i Orijentacija ka prevenciji) i Upitnik opaženog regulatornog fokusa grupe (dve subskale: Orijentacija ka promociji i Orijentacija ka prevenciji). Rezultati dobijeni primenom višestruke regresione analize ukazuju da varijable Predstava o sopstvenoj grupi kao ugroženoj, Strah od viktimiziranja, Percepcija orijentisanosti sopstvene nacionalne grupe ka promociji i Orijentacija ka socijalnoj dominaciji objašnjavaju 24.7% varijanse identifikacije sa nacionalnom grupom. Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na značaj opažanja istorijskog konteksta i potrebe za održavanjem pozitivne distinktivnosti sopstvene grupe za identifikaciju sa nacionalnom grupom.

Social distance towards female sex workers and its relations to authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and self-respect

In this paper, we explored the in-group and outer-group social distance towards sex workers and its relations to authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and self-respect. The sample consisted of 92 participants from the general population and 45 female sex workers (age 18-50). The instruments used were the Bogardus social distance scale, the Authoritarianism scale UPA-S, the Social dominance orientation scale and the Rosenberg self-respect scale. The results indicate a rather high social distance towards sex workers, including the distance by the general population being higher than the distance of the sex workers towards their own group. The correlation of authoritarianism and social distance was significant, as was the correlation between authoritarian aggressiveness and stoicism and social distance. The relationship between social dominance orientation and self-respect and social distance in our research has been statistically insignificant, however it demonstrates the expected trends.

Validación argentina de la Escala de Orientación a la Dominancia Social

The Social Dominance Theory explains individuals’ desire to establish and maintain social hierarchies by subordination of certain groups upon others. The Social Dominance Orientation Scale was constructed so as to evaluate individual differences in this construct. Originally, the first version of the scales had a unidimensional structure; however, subsequent research studies have reported the existence of a two-factor structure: Opposition to Equality and Dominance group. The main objective of this paper is that of adapting and validating the Social Dominance Orientation Scale, in order to analyze its dimensionality and thus verifydifferences in accordance with the gender of participants. To this end, we collected a non-probabilistic sample of college students from Buenos Aires (N=1201), with different gender and age. According to the results, the two correlated factor model fit to databetter than the unidimensional approach did, and presents adequate levels of reliability (.74 < α < .85). Besides, we provide of convergent validity with right-wing authoritarianism and with the gender of participants.

Social Dominance in Context and in Individuals

We tested the internal reliability and predictive validity of a new 4-item Short Social Dominance Orientation (SSDO) scale among adults in 20 countries, using 15 languages (N = 2,130). Low scores indicate preferring group inclusion and equality to dominance. As expected, cross-nationally, the lower people were on SSDO, the more they endorsed more women in leadership positions, protecting minorities, and aid to the poor. Multilevel moderation models showed that each effect was stronger in nations where a relevant kind of group power differentiation was more salient. Distributions of SSDO were positively skewed, despite use of an extended response scale; results show rejecting group hierarchy is normative. The short scale is effective. Challenges regarding translations, use of short scales, and intersections between individual and collective levels in social dominance theory are discussed.

Does the third culture kid experience predict levels of prejudice?

The study sought to explore whether levels of exposure (as measured by number of years spent abroad and number of countries lived in) predicted levels of prejudice (as measured by the Quick Discrimination Index and the Social Dominance Orientation Scale) in Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCKs), as well as whether there was a significant difference in levels of prejudice between American ATCKs and non-American ATCKs.One hundred and ninety-six ATCKs completed a web-based survey including measures of discrimination and social dominance, as well as demographic information. Only number of countries lived in significantly predicted scores on the Affective subscale of the Quick Discrimination Index (QDI). American ATCKs reported significantly higher levels of prejudice than non-American ATCKs on the Cognitive subscale of the QDI and the Social Dominance Orientation scale (SDO).

Of Paradigms and Preferences

Brian Rathbun wonders if “the political beliefs of those who study international relations affect their beliefs about international relations and the way they are studied.” In his search for an answer, he turns to a body of literature in social psychology called social dominance theory (SDT) and a psychometric construct called social dominance orientation (SDO). SDT is “a general theory of societal group-based inequality” (Pratto, Sidanius, and Levin 2006;:2 73; for overviews, see also Sidanius and Pratto 1999:31–57; Pratto et al. 2006:273–281). The two SDO scales in use purport to measure “the extent of individuals’ desires for group-based dominance and inequality” (Pratto et al. 2006: 281), on the assumption that individual desires, shared beliefs, and institutional arrangements all reinforce each other in making group-based inequality a pervasive feature of social life whenever there is surplus value to be extracted and distributed. As psychologists, social dominance theorists never tell us whether the groups in question are an institutionalized feature of any given individual's social reality and generally downplay institutional arrangements. Instead they talk a great deal about “psychological and ideological forces that help sustain group dominance” (Pratto et al. 2006:280) and underscore the importance of “legitimizing myths” (defined as “societal, consensually shared social ideologies.”Pratto et al. 2006:275). Rathbun starts with ideology. He wants to know how “political ideology might be associated with one's choice of international relations paradigms.” An ideology is “a configuration of ideas and attitudes” forming a “belief system,” and a paradigm consists of “beliefs about the nature of the world” (all quotations not otherwise identified are from Rathbun's piece). He says that ideologies and paradigms are similar in structure. I fail to see how this might be so, unless we stipulate that paradigms such as we have in the field of International Relations (IR) …

Invariance of a two-factor model of Social Dominance Orientation across gender

This research examined the measurement and structural invariance of the 16-item Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) scale across gender. The Social Dominance Theory (SDT) invariance hypothesis proposes that men are higher than women in SDO. Tests of this hypothesis have compared summary scores with t-tests, but there is no psychometric work of measurement invariance across gender, which makes interpretation of t-test comparisons problematic. Some research suggests the scale captures two distinct factors: support for group-based dominance (GBD) and general opposition to equality (OEQ). However, gender differences in GBD and OEQ have mixed findings. Results replicated the two-factor structure. Multiple-group CFA indicated that loadings, intercepts, factor variances, and factor covariance are equivalent across gender. Males demonstrated higher latent means of GBD and OEQ, supporting the SDT invariance hypothesis.

A test of reliability and validity of the social dominance orientation scale in Japan

A test of reliability and validity of the social dominance orientation scale in Japan

Investigating Social Dominance in a Prison Population

This study using a prison sample to explore Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), socially dominant inmate behaviour, index offence, age and length of time served in secure environments. A sample of 397 adult male prisoners completed the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist‐ Scaled (prisoner behaviour towards other inmates and staff) and the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) Scale. It was predicted that prisoners would report higher SDO than non‐incarcerated populations and that among inmates those with approach orientated index offences would be higher in SDO than those whose offenses were more remote. It was also predicted that SDO would be related to younger age, higher lifetime rates of incarceration, more negative behaviour towards other inmates and staff, and more resource focused behaviour. The results broadly supported predictions, and possible implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Your Culture or Mine? Changes in Cultural Sensitivity in a Service-Learning Class

This study investigated patterns of attitudinal change in students following a service-learning experience. The data for this study was collected from psychology students in their third and fourth years of study at the University of the Free State. All these students were involved in the Study Buddy Service-Learning module. The sample consisted of 75 students: 9 male and 66 female students; 37 black and 38 white students. Change in student attitude was measured by various multi-item scales such as the Social Dominance (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994) and Universal Orientation Scale (Phillips & Ziller, 1997). Data were analysed using multiple analyses of variance. Results suggested differential racial effects: while the socially dominant attitudes of white students did not change, black students developed social dominance attitudes more congruent with those of the white students. For both black and white students, the collaborative nature of service-learning and interactive reflection enhanced a universal orientation to life.

Izraženost i korelati rodnih predrasuda kod stanovnika Vojvodine

Ovaj rad bavio se utvrđivanjem faktora koji doprinose nastanku i snazi negativnih stavova prema pripadnicima tuđih grupa, odnosno, konkretno, rodnih predrasuda. S obzirom na specifičnosti većeg istraživanja iz kojeg je ovaj rad i nastao, uzorak je bio donekle selekcionisan (u uzorak nisu ušli pripadnici romske nacionalne zajednice, kao ni ispitanici stariji od 51 godine). Ukupan uzorak činilo je 614 ispitanika sa teritorije Vojvodine, podeljenih po nekoliko bitnih varijabli, a na osnovu kvota iz popisa stanovništva 2002. godine. U istraživanju je korišćena baterija testova za ispitivanje različitih relevantnih varijabli i to: Rozenbergova skala samopoštovanja, Skala orijentacije ka društvenoj (socijalnoj) dominaciji, AutoritarNoSt, Skala predrasuda prema ženama i Skala predrasuda prema muškarcima. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u toku 2009. godine na teritoriji većih gradova Vojvodine (Novi Sad, Senta, Sombor, Subotica, Kikinda itd), kao i manjih gradova i sela (Bačka Palanka, Odžaci, Kljajićevo i sl). Rezultati pokazuju da postoji statistički značajna razlika u izraženosti rodnih predrasuda u odnosu na pol ispitanika, materijalno stanje, mesto odrastanja i obrazovanje, a takođe su utvrđene značajne povezanosti rodnih predrasuda i autoritarnosti, orijentacije ka socijalnoj dominaciji, samopoštovanja i snage socijalnog identiteta.

A regulatory fit perspective in majority versus minority support to attitudes toward homosexuals

Three studies examined the attitude toward homosexuals as a function of regulatory focus and social support for non-discrimination. Regulatory orientation toward non-discrimination was measured by differentiating promotion and prevention emotions when anticipating a non-discriminatory (studies 1 and 2) and a discriminatory interaction with homosexuals (study 2). Study 3 assessed attitude toward non-discrimination through a social dominance orientation (SDO) scale and manipulated experimentally regulatory focus. Across the three studies, social support was manipulated by informing participants that either a majority or a minority of the Swiss population supported non-discrimination in general (study 1), or specifically toward homosexuals (studies 2 and 3). Results showed more positive attitudes toward homosexuals when non-discriminatory participants were regulated in terms of prevention focus and non-discrimination was supported by a majority, and when non-discriminatory participants were regulated in terms of promotion focus and non-discrimination was supported by a minority. These findings are consistent with a regulatory fit perspective on the interplay between regulatory focus and social support.

“Is this really a police station?”: Police department exteriors and judgments of authority, professionalism, and approachability

This study examined the relationship between exteriors of police department facilities and participants’ ratings of the buildings’ authority, professionalism, and approachability. After a pilot study, research was conducted with 122 participants who were undergraduate students from a small, liberal arts college in the Northeast. On each of three characteristics (authority, professionalism, and approachability), participants rated 16 color images of police departments located in the United States. The façade ratings for each characteristic were then categorized into factors through factor analyses. There were three factors for authority (Ineffectual, Strong, and Outdated); three for professionalism (Unskilled, Non-traditional, and Governmental); and four for approachability (Uninviting, Accessible, Public, and Impenetrable). The results were compared to participants’ scores on the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale ( Altemeyer, 1981) and the Social Dominance Orientation scale ( Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Although the primary goal for the study was to determine whether there are consistent responses to police department exteriors, it was hypothesized that the façade ratings would relate to the authoritarianism ratings, with more authoritarian people expected to rate the façades higher in authority. Although this hypothesis was not supported, significant findings were related to gender. Applications to architectural design are discussed.

Conservative Ideology, Economic Conservatism, and Causal Attributions for Poverty and Wealth

The purpose of the study is to analyze the effects of different features of Conservative Ideology, measured via the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Economic Conservatism (EC) scales, on Internal and External casual attributions for poverty and wealth. Participants were a group of 181 university students. Results of multiple regression analyses suggested that EC influenced Internal causal attributions for poverty and wealth positively but influenced the External ones negatively. Of the other measures, only SDO showed a negative effect on External causal attributions. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.

Wording Effect Leads to a Controversy over the Construct of the Social Dominance Orientation Scale

ABSTRACT Most investigations of individuals’ social dominance orientation (SDO) have used the 16-item SDO scale developed by F. Pratto, J. Sidanius, L. M. Stallworth, and B. F. Malle (1994). The scale's authors believed it to be a unidimensional scale, but other researchers have found the scale has 2 or more factors. The present authors proposed a new hypothesis: The controversy of the scale structure was related to the wording effect of the scale. Based on a sample of Americans, Canadians, and Chinese, the present study indicated that what the scale measured was not only 1 trait of SDO, but also a negative-wording effect factor and that the scale structure was invariant across the 3 cultural groups. The existence of a wording effect reminds us to be cautious of the construct validity of the scale and interpretations of results.

The personality bases of socio-political attitudes: The role of Honesty–Humility and Openness to Experience

We investigated the personality bases of two broad dimensions of socio-political attitudes—Hierarchy (versus Equality) Orientation and Social Conformity (versus Change) Orientation. In a US adult sample and in Canadian and Korean college student samples, we administered the HEXACO Personality Inventory—Revised, and we assessed the socio-political dimensions using the Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) scales and the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). As predicted, Hierarchy Orientation variables correlated primarily with low Honesty–Humility, whereas Social Conformity Orientation variables correlated primarily with low Openness to Experience. The findings suggest that the major dimensions of socio-political attitudes can be understood in part as expressions of the personality dimensions of Honesty–Humility and Openness to Experience.

Percepción de inseguridad ciudadana y su relación con la ideología política en una muestra de habitantes de la ciudad de Lima

El presente estudio analiza la relación entre la percepción de inseguridad ciudadana, el miedo al delito, la ideología política y la frecuencia de victimización; en una muestra de habitantes de la ciudad de Lima. Como medidas de ideología política se utilizaron las escalas de autoritartismo de ala derecha (RWA) y de orientación hacia la dominancia social (SDO). Para la medición de la percepción de inseguridad ciudadana se desarrolló una escala ad hoc. Se encontró una correlación positiva entre el autoritarismo, la orientación hacia la dominancia social y la percepción de inseguridad ciudadana. Se encontró además, una correlación positiva entre el autoritarismo y la intensidad con la que se percibe el peligro. Los resultados sugieren que una mayor tendencia hacia el autoritarismo está asociada con la creencia de que la inseguridad y la delincuencia están vinculadas con los grupos de menor estatus social.