Previous research has demonstrated that low social dominance orientation (social equality orientation) promotes empathy with disadvantaged group members. In three studies, we tested a model relating preference for egalitarianism to positive attitudes towards immigrants through emotional experiences (pride, guilt, moral anger/ anger, disgust). Studies 1 and 2 showed that social equality orientation was positively related to proimmigrant attitudes through increased pride in helping immigrants, controlling for participants’ gender, age, and political orientation. Such a preference for egalitarianism was unrelated to proimmigrant attitudes through guilt for not helping immigrants and moral anger concerning mistreatment of immigrants. By focusing on emotional experience concerning proimmigrant national initiatives (e.g., integrating immigrants into the labor market), Study 3 corroborated the indirect effect of social equality orientation on proimmigrant attitudes through increased pride, controlling for participants’ gender, age, political orientation, as well as competitive jungle and dangerous world beliefs. Although much weaker, we also found a positive association between social equality orientation and proimmigrant attitudes through reduced anger, while no significant association through guilt and disgust was found. Results suggest that, relative to guilt, anger, and disgust, pride is the key channel through which preference for egalitarianism is related to positive attitudes towards immigrants. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.
AmbrosiniM. (2013). “We are against a multi-ethnic society”: Policies of exclusion at the urban level in Italy. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36, 136–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.644312
2.
AsbrockF.SibleyC. G.DuckittJ. (2010). Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation and the dimensions of generalized prejudice: A longitudinal test. European Journal of Personality, 24, 324–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.746
3.
BasileB.ManciniF. (2011). Eliciting guilty feelings: A preliminary study differentiating deontological and altruistic guilt. Psychology, 2, 98–102. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2011.22016
4.
BeckerJ. C.TauschN. (2015). A dynamic model of engagement in normative and non-normative collective action: Psychological antecedents, consequences, and barriers. European Review of Social Psychology, 26, 43–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2015.1094265
5.
BloomP. (2004). Descartes’ baby: How the science of child development explains what makes us human. Basic Books.
6.
BrennerC. J.InbarY. (2015). Disgust sensitivity predicts political ideology and policy attitudes in the Netherlands. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2072
7.
ChirumboloA.LeoneL.DesimoniM. (2016). The interpersonal roots of politics: Social value orientation, socio-political attitudes and prejudice. Personality and Individual Differences, 91, 144–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.001
8.
CostelloK.HodsonG. (2011). Social dominance-based threat reactions to immigrants in need of assistance. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 220–231. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.769
9.
CotterillS.SidaniusJ.BhardwajA.KumarV. (2014). Ideological support for the Indian caste system: Social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism and karma. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2, 98–116. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.171
10.
CoxM. G.Kisbu-SakaryaY.MiočevićM.MacKinnonD. P. (2013). Sensitivity plots for confounder bias in the single mediator model. Evaluation Review, 37, 405–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X14524576
11.
CraigM. A.RichesonJ. A. (2014). On the precipice of a “majority-minority” America: Perceived status threat from the racial demographic shift affects White Americans’ political ideology. Psychological Science, 25, 1189–1197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614527113
12.
De CristofaroV.PellegriniV.BaldnerC.van ZomerenM.LiviS.PierroA. (2019). Need for closure effect on collective action intentions and behavior toward immigrants in Italy: The mediation of binding foundations and political conservatism. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 49, 611–622. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12620
13.
DeStenoD.PettyR. E.RuckerD. D.WegenerD. T.BravermanJ. (2004). Discrete emotions and persuasion: The role of emotion-induced expectancies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 43–56. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.43
14.
DuckittJ. (2001). A dual-process cognitive-motivational theory of ideology and prejudice. In ZannaM. P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 33, pp. 41–113). Academic Press.
15.
DuckittJ.SibleyC. G. (2010). Personality, ideology, prejudice, and politics: A dual-process motivational model. Journal of Personality, 78, 1861–1894. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00672.x
16.
DuckittJ.WagnerC.du PlessisI.BirumI. (2002). The psychological bases of ideology and prejudice: Testing a dual-process model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 75–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.1.75
17.
EssesV. M.DovidioJ. F.JacksonL. M.ArmstrongT. L. (2001). The immigration dilemma: The role of perceived group competition, ethnic prejudice, and national identity. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 389–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00220
FiskeS. T. (2011). Envy up, scorn down: How status divides us. Sage Foundation.
20.
FredricksonB. L.TugadeM. M.WaughC. E.LarkinG. R. (2003). What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 365–376. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.84.2.365
21.
FrijdaN. H. (1986). The emotions. Cambridge University Press.
22.
GrantP. R.RobertsonD. W. (2014). Predicting immigrants’ attitudes toward multiculturalism using a measure of its perceived benefits. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 36, 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2014.890622
23.
GutiérrezA. S.UnzuetaM. M. (2013). Are admissions decisions based on family ties fairer than those that consider race? Social dominance orientation and attitudes toward legacy vs. Affirmative action policies. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 554–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.10.011
24.
HalperinE. (2014). Collective emotions and emotion regulation in intractable conflicts. In ScheveC. V.SalmelaM. (Eds.), Collective emotions. Oxford University Press.
25.
HarderD. H.ZalmaA. (1990). Two promising shame and guilt scales: A construct validity comparison. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 729–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.1990.9674108
26.
HarthN. S.KesslerT.LeachC. W. (2008). Advantaged group’s emotional reactions to intergroup inequality: The dynamics of pride, guilt, and sympathy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207309193
27.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.
HodsonG.CostelloK. (2007). Interpersonal disgust, ideological orientations, and dehumanization as predictors of intergroup attitudes. Psychological Science, 18, 691–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01962.x
30.
HodsonG.RushJ.MacinnisC. C. (2010). A joke is just a joke (except when it isn’t): Cavalier humor beliefs facilitate the expression of group dominance motives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 660–682. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019627
31.
HorbergE. J.KrausM. W.KeltnerD. (2013). Pride displays communicate self-interest and support for meritocracy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032849
32.
HorbergE. J.OveisC.KeltnerD. (2011). Emotions as moral amplifiers: An appraisal-tendency approach to the influences of distinct emotions upon moral judgment. Emotion Review, 5, 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073911402384
33.
HudsonS. K. T. J.CikaraM.SidaniusJ. (2019). Preference for hierarchy is associated with reduced empathy and increased counter-empathy towards others, especially out-group targets. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 85, Article 103871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103871
34.
ImaiK.KeeleL.YamamotoT. (2010). Identification, inference and sensitivity analysis for causal mediation effects. Statistical Science, 25, 51–71. https://doi.org/10.1214/10-STS321
KesslerT.MummendeyA. (2001). Is there any scapegoat around? Determinants of intergroup conflicts at different categorization levels. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1090–1102. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1090
38.
KitayamaS.MarkusH. R.MatsumotoH. (1995). Culture, self, and emotion: A cultural perspective on “self-conscious” emotions. In TangneyJ. P.FischerK. W. (Eds.), Self-conscious emotions: The psychology of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and pride (pp. 439–464). Guilford Press.
39.
KitayamaS.MesquitaB.KarasawaM. (2006). Cultural affordances and emotional experience: Socially engaging and disengaging emotions in Japan and the United States. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 890–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.5.890
40.
KteilyN.CotterillS.SidaniusJ.Sheehy-SkeffingtonJ.BerghR. (2014). “Not one of us”: Predictors and consequences of denying ingroup characteristics to ambiguous targets. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 1231–1247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214539708
41.
KteilyN.HoA. K.SidaniusJ. (2012). Hierarchy in the mind: The predictive power of social dominance orientation across social contexts and domains. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 543–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.11.007
42.
KteilyN. S.SidaniusJ.LevinS. (2011). Social dominance orientation: Cause or “mere effect”?: Evidence for SDO as a causal predictor of prejudice and discrimination against ethnic and racial outgroups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 208–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.09.009
43.
KuppensT.YzerbytV. (2012). Group-based emotions: The impact of social identity on appraisals, emotions, and behaviors. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 34, 20–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2011.637474
44.
KuppensT.YzerbytV. (2014). When are emotions related to group-based appraisals? A comparison between group-based emotions and general group emotions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 1574–1588. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214551542
LeachC. W.IyerA.PedersenA. (2006). Anger and guilt about ingroup advantage explain the willingness for political action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1232–1245. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206289729
47.
LeachC. W.IyerA.PedersenA. (2007). Angry opposition to government redress: When the structurally advantaged perceive themselves as relatively deprived. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 191–204. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466606X99360
48.
LucasB. J.KteilyN. S. (2018). (Anti-)egalitarianism differentially predicts empathy for members of advantaged versus disadvantaged groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 665–692. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000112
49.
MackieD. M.DevosT.SmithE. R. (2000). Intergroup emotions: Explaining offensive action tendencies in an intergroup context. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 602–616. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.4.602
50.
MaltiT.KrettenauerT. (2013). The relation of moral emotion attributions to prosocial and antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 84, 397–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01851.x
51.
MariS.AndrighettoL.GabbiadiniA.DuranteF.VolpatoC. (2010). The shadow of the Italian colonial experience: The impact of collective emotions on intentions to help the victims’ descendants. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 4, 58–74. https://doi.org/10.4119/ijcv-2815
52.
MatsumotoD.HwangH. C.FrankM. G. (2017). Emotion and aggressive intergroup cognitions: The ANCODI hypothesis. Aggressive Behavior, 43, 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21666
53.
McLarenL. M. (2003). Anti-immigrant prejudice in Europe: Contact, threat perception, and preferences for the exclusion of migrants. Social Forces, 81, 909–936. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2003.0038
54.
MirandaD.CastilloJ. C. (2018). Measurement model and invariance testing of scales measuring egalitarian values in ICCS 2009. In Sandoval-HernandezA.IsacM. M.MirandaD. (Eds.), Teaching tolerance in a globalized world (pp. 19–31). Springer.
55.
MoghaddamF. M. (2008). Multiculturalism and intergroup relations: Psychological implications for democracy in the global context. American Psychological Association.
56.
MoralesA.IonescuO.GueganJ.TavaniJ. L. (2020). The importance of negative emotions toward the French government in the Yellow Vest Movement. International Review of Social Psychology, 33, 8. https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.373
57.
NelisD.QuoidbachJ.MikolajczakM.HansenneM. (2009). Increasing emotional intelligence: (How) is it possible?Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 36–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.046
58.
NussbaumM. C. (2001). Upheavals of thought: The intelligence of emotions. Cambridge University Press.
59.
PannoA. (2018). Social dominance and attitude towards immigrants: The key role of happiness. Social Sciences, 7, 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7080126
60.
PannoA.GiacomantonioM.CarrusG.MaricchioloF.PirchioS.MannettiL. (2018). Mindfulness, pro-environmental behavior, and belief in climate change: The mediating role of social dominance. Environment and Behavior, 50, 864–888. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916517718887
61.
PannoA.PellegriniV.De CristofaroV.DonatiM. A. (In Preparation). A measure of positive and negative perception of migration: Development and psychometric properties of the Positive and Negative Perception of Immigrants Scale (PANPIS).
62.
PellegriniV.De CristofaroV.SalvatiM.GiacomantonioM.LeoneL. (2021). Social exclusion and anti-immigration attitudes in Europe: The mediating role of interpersonal trust. Social Indicators Research, 155, 697–724. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02618-6
63.
PettigrewT. F.WagnerU.ChristO. (2007). WHO OPPOSES IMMIGRATION? Comparing German with North American findings. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 4, 19–39https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742058X07070038
64.
PiumattiG.RussoS. (2019). Moderators of linear and nonlinear associations between religiosity, xenophobia, and tolerance toward immigrants in Italy. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 11, 399–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000223
65.
PrattoF.GlasfordD. E. (2008). Ethnocentrism and the value of a human life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1411–1428. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012636
66.
PrattoF.SidaniusJ.LevinS. (2006). Social dominance theory and the dynamics of intergroup relations: Taking stock and looking forward. European Review of Social Psychology, 17, 271–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463280601055772
67.
PrattoF.SidaniusJ.StallworthL. M.MalleB. F. (1994). Social dominance orientation: A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 741–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.4.741
68.
QuoidbachJ.MikolajczakM.GrossJ. J. (2015). Positive interventions: An emotion regulation perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 141, 655–693. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038648
69.
Rodriguez MosqueraP. M.MansteadA. S. R.FischerA. H. (2000). The role of honor-related values in the elicitation, experience, and communication of pride, shame, and anger: Spain and the Netherlands compared. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 833–844. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167200269008
70.
SaeriA. K.IyerA.LouisW. R. (2015). Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation predict outsiders’ responses to an external group conflict: Implications for identification, anger, and collective action. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 15, 303–332. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12081
71.
SalvatiM.BasiliE.CaroneN.GiacomantonioM. (2020). Italian adaptation and psychometric properties of the Prejudice Against Immigrants Scale (PAIS): Assessment of validity, reliability, and measure invariance. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article 1797. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01797
72.
SalvatiM.CaroneN.De CristofaroV.GiacomantonioM.BaioccoR. (2020). Support for discriminatory behaviours against immigrants in Italy: Perceived threat and positive beliefs mediate the effect of contact with immigrants. International Journal of Psychology, 55, 543–552. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12638
73.
SchoemannA. M.BoultonA. J.ShortS. D. (2017). Determining power and sample size for simple and complex mediation models. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8, 379–386. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617715068
74.
SibleyC. G.DuckittJ. (2010). The ideological legitimation of the status quo: Longitudinal tests of a social dominance model. Political Psychology, 31, 109–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2009.00747.x
75.
SidaniusJ.CotterillS.Sheehy-SkeffingtonJ.KteilyN.CarvachoH. (2017). Social dominance theory: Explorations in the psychology of oppression. In SibleyC. G.BarlowF. K. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of the psychology of prejudice (pp. 149–187). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316161579.008
76.
SidaniusJ.KteilyN.Sheehy-SkeffingtonJ.HoA. K.SibleyC.DuriezB. (2013). You’re inferior and not worth our concern: The interface between empathy and social dominance orientation. Journal of Personality, 81, 313–323. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12008
77.
SidaniusJ.PrattoF. (1999). Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge University Press.
78.
SimonB.KlandermansB. (2001). Politicized collective identity: A social psychological analysis. American Psychologist, 56, 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.4.319
79.
SmithC. A.LazarusR. S. (1990). Emotion and adaption. In PervinL. A. (Ed.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 609–637). Guilford Press.
80.
SnellmanA.EkehammarB. (2005). Ethnic hierarchies, ethnic prejudice, and social dominance orientation. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15, 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.812
81.
StevensF. G.PlautV. C.Sanchez-BurksJ. (2008). Unlocking the benefits of diversity: All-inclusive multiculturalism and positive organizational change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44, 116–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886308314460
82.
TerrizziJ. A.ShookN. J.VentisL. (2010). Disgust: A predictor of social conservatism and prejudicial attitudes toward homosexuals. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 587–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.05.024
83.
ThomasE. F.McGartyC.MavorK. I. (2009). Aligning identities, emotions, and beliefs to create commitment to sustainable social and political action. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 13, 194–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309341563
84.
ThomsenL.GreenE. G.SidaniusJ. (2008). We will hunt them down: How social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism fuel ethnic persecution of immigrants in fundamentally different ways. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1455–1464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.06.011
85.
TiedensL. Z.LeachC. W. (2004). The social life of emotions (Vol. 2). Cambridge University Press.
86.
TingleyD.YamamotoT.HiroseK.KeeleL.ImaiK. (2014). Mediation: R package for causal mediation analysis. Journal of Statistical Software, 59, 1–38. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v059.i05
87.
TracyJ. L.RobinsR. W. (2004). Putting the self into self-conscious emotions: A theoretical model. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 103–125. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1502_01
Van ZomerenM.PostmesT.SpearsR. (2008). Toward an integrative social identity model of collective action: A quantitative research synthesis of three socio-psychological perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 504–535. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.4.504
90.
VerkuytenM. (2005). The social psychology of ethnic identity. Psychology Press.
91.
VerkuytenM. (2006). Multicultural recognition and ethnic minority rights: A social identity perspective. European Review of Social Psychology, 17, 148–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463280600937418
92.
VezzaliL.GiovanniniD. (2011). Cross-group friendships, social dominance orientation and secondary transfer effect. TPM: Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 18, 181–194. https://www.tpmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/18.3.4.pdf
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
