Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation, and Prejudice

Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation have been proposed as 2 major individualdifference variables underlying prejudice. This study examined the relationships of these variables to 3 forms of prejudice—affective responses, stereotyping, and attitudes toward equality enhancement— directed at 2 social groups—African Americans and homosexuals. Canonical correlation analyses showed that social dominance orientation was related to most forms of prejudice directed toward both groups and that right-wing authoritarianism was related to affective responses to and stereotyping of homosexuals. In addition, it was found that, as predicted by the social dominance model, stereotyping mediated the relationships between social dominance orientation and other forms of prejudice and that social dominance orientation mediated gender differences in expressions of prejudice.