Social Dominance Orientation and the Legitimization of Inequality Across Cultures -- Pratto et al. 31 (3): 369 -- Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

Social Dominance Orientation and the Legitimization of Inequality Across Cultures -- Pratto et al. 31 (3): 369 -- Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology: "Social Dominance Orientation and the Legitimization of Inequality Across Cultures
Felicia Pratto

University of Connecticut, pratto@psych.psy.uconn.edu

James H. Liu

Victoria University of Wellington

Shana Levin

Claremont-McKenna College

Jim Sidanius

University of California, Los Angeles

Margaret Shih

Harvard University

Hagit Bachrach

San Francisco State University

Peter Hegarty

City University of New York College of Staten Island and Business Center

The authors tested three hypotheses from social dominance theory in four cultures: (a) that individual differences in social dominance orientation (SDO), or the preference for group-based inequality, can be reliably measured in societies that are group-based hegemonies; (b) that SDO correlates positively with attitudes supporting hegemonic groups and correlates negatively with attitudes supporting oppressed groups; and (c) that men are higher on SDO than women. For the most part, the results confirmed the hypotheses. SDO scales were internally reliable and were administered in English, Chinese, and Hebrew. SDO scores correlated with sexism, measured in culturally appropriate ways, in every culture, and with ethnic prejudice and other attitudes concerning the local hegemony except in China. Men were higher on SDO than women in most samples. Findings are discussed in terms of ideological and psychological facilitators of group dominance."