Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation Their Roots in Big-Five Personality Factors and Facets

Extending previous research on the relation of Big-Five personality with right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, we examined the relationships of Big-Five facet scores rather than factor scores. The results (N = 332) of stepwise regression analyses showed that Openness to Experience was the only significant predictor of right-wing authoritarianism at the factor level, whereas Values and Ideas were significant predictors at the facet level. A similar analysis of social dominance orientation showed that Agreeableness and Openness to Experience contributed significantly to the prediction at the factor level, whereas Tender-Mindedness and Values were the best significant predictors at the facet level. The prediction based on facet scores was more accurate than the prediction based on factor scores. A random split of the sample confirmed the robustness of the findings. The results are discussed against the background of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining individual differences in prejudice.