Felicia Pratto

University of Connecticut | UConn · Department of Psychological Sciences

Societies have constant competition between progressive forces that would reduce group-based inequality and regressive forces that would maintain it. As groups vie for superiority or equality, people on all sides can feel that their group is not being accorded as much status as it deserves, the feeling of status indignity. Further, political contes...

Political psychology has greatly benefited from work that together addresses the enormous variety of political problems faced by people around the world, including those that are universal (e.g., how one gains access to basic needs, how power should be governed) and problems that confront people in particular situations (e.g., transitions of govern...

The impact of adverse experiences on clinical symptoms has been consistently demonstrated, but their impact on ideologies and worldviews has been rarely tested empirically. It has been long assumed that threatening experiences increase Dangerous World Beliefs (DWB) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), whereas scarcity experiences increase Competi...

We experimentally investigated psychological responses of bystanders to violations of moral codes to find out why divinity violations may be more effective for gaining victimhood status than autonomy violations in real-world intergroup conflicts. In particular, we considered how anger versus disgust responses are differentially invoked by violation...

With increasing complexity in the evolving structure of work in organizations, employees’ preferences for working from home (WFH) relative to working on-site can lead to systematic differences in perceived career implications. An emerging tension associated with WFH versus work-at-work is whether this locational divide is associated with concerns o...

Interweaving Social Dominance theory with Person-Environment (P-E) fit theory, the present study examines how people higher on social dominance orientation (SDO, i.e., those who generally favor group hierarchies and inequalities) can deal with belonging to institutions that culturally sustain group equality (i.e., hierarchy-attenuating institutions...

We tested whether the political climate in each U.S. state and Washington, DC determined the nature of the spread of COVID-19 cases and deaths in those polities during 2020. Political climate for each polity was indexed as a weighted average of the proportion of Republicans in legislatures in 2018 and the degree of public trust in both the White Ho...

The present study was conducted to gain an insight to correlate homophobia with personality, social desirability, aggression and social dominance among male and female heterosexuals of urban and rural livelihood of Ambala. Homophobia is traditionally defined as "fear, disgust, anger, discomfort and aversion that individuals experience in dealing wi...

In three surveys of adults in five nations, we investigated how shared beliefs about the political system motivate individuals' political engagement. Specifically, we tested whether individuals' beliefs that the political context is fair, noncorrupt, and their belief that they could influence politics motivates political engagement to a higher exte...

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Understanding human societies requires knowing how they develop gender hierarchies, which are ubiquitous. We test whether a simple agent-based dynamic process could create gender inequality. Relying on evidence of gendered status concerns, self-construals, and cognitive habits, our model included a gender difference in how responsive male-like and...

Understanding human societies requires knowing how they develop gender hierarchies which are ubiquitous. We test whether a simple agent-based dynamic process could create gender inequality. Relying on evidence of gendered status concerns, self-construals, and cognitive habits, our model included a gender difference in how responsive male-like and f...

We examined, in different work organizations, how subordinates high in social dominance orientation (SDO; individual desire to sustain group-based hierarchies) and in need for cognitive closure (NFCC, an individual’s epistemic motivation to avoid uncertainty) comply with harsh power tactics as means to sustain asymmetrical intergroup relationships....

Power and intergroup relations are complex, multilevel, and dynamic. Using Power Basis Theory, we explain our criteria for deciding whether theory or research addresses intergroup power dynamics: it must (a) address power and not authority or other topics, (b) involve attempted or real change regarding groups and power, or the prevention of change,...

This study presents the psychometric proprieties of the Italian version of the Social Dominance Orientation7 (SDO7) Scale, originally developed by Ho et al. (2015). We recruited a convenience sample (N = 497) to answer an online self-report questionnaire, including the SDO7 Scale and other relevant convergent and divergent measures. The confirmator...

The present study examined the asymmetry hypothesis of social dominance theory (SDT) in a work organization. The asymmetry hypothesis posits that members of subordinate groups who are high in social dominance orientation (SDO; desire for group-based hierarchy) can contribute to maintaining hierarchies by conforming with hierarchy-enhancing legitimi...

Social dominance theory (SDT; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999) hypothesizes that members of subordinate groups who are higher on social dominance orientation (SDO; desire for maintaining status hierarchies) coordinate with dominant ones in maintaining asymmetrical relationships. The present research tests this hypothesis in a higher education setting by ex...

Power in Close Relationships - edited by Christopher R. Agnew February 2019

L’orientamento alla dominanza sociale (SDO) è stato definito come il desiderio personale di supporto alle gerarchie intergruppi. Il bisogno di chiusura cognitiva (BCC) è definito come una motivazione individuale ad evitare l’incertezza preferendo una stabile e ben precisata conoscenza del mondo. Aiello, Tesi, Pratto, & Pierro (2018) hanno messo in...

Research has shown that the perceived morality of the ingroup is a primary source of group pride and ingroup identification. The present research examined whether this is true even when a group has a poor reputation for morality in terms of dishonesty and corruption, such as in the case of Italians. To address this issue, two studies analyzed the r...

Social Dominance Theory (SDT) posits that high-power groups often push to maintain their dominant position and that low-power groups sometimes act in self-debilitating ways, and these complementary actions contribute to the same result: the maintenance of stable group hierarchies. We incorporated the Interpersonal Power Interaction Model (IPIM; Rav...

This study tests specific competing hypotheses from social dominance theory/realistic conflict theory (RCT) versus system justification theory about the role of social status. In particular, it examines whether system justification belief and effects are stronger among people with low socioeconomic status, and in less socially developed and unequal...

We studied whether high-social dominant employees sustain hierarchies in different hierarchy-enhancing and hierarchy-attenuating organizations endorsing harsh and soft power tactics. We found that social dominance orientation was positively associated with harsh power tactics, and negatively associated with soft power tactics. Employees higher in s...

This book examines the identities of young adults in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. With research drawn from a large multidisciplinary project exploring a potential for reconciliation in post-conflict societies, the authors discuss the interplay between ethnic, religious and national identities that have been the source of recen...

The post-conflict generation experiences ethno-religious identity as being thrust upon them, regardless of how much they care about belonging to such groups. Language and physical barriers segregate groups; in addition, one ethnic group in each nation is promoted above others in constitutions and political rhetoric. Because religious groups and eth...

Multiple and counterstereotypic categorization of outgroup members reduces prejudice towards them. The present research addresses, for the first time, the role of political orientation in moderating the impact of these strategies on prejudice reduction. Given that right-wingers have very likely a higher need for cognitive closure compared to left-w...

Social Dominance Orientation captures people’s support for or opposition to group-based hierarchy (Pratto et al., 1994). Ho et al. (2015) developed the new SDO7 measure that theoretically broadens social dominance orientation, now depicted as a clear double-faceted construct composed of SDO-Dominance (SDO-D) and SDO-Egalitarianism (SDO-E). The SDO-...

We argue that political psychology would benefit from an ecological approach to complement other approaches. After detailing what adopting an ecological approach would entail, we provide examples of how this can enrich political psychological questions. We exemplify this by using the notion of repeated assemblies (Caporael, 1997) to illustrate seve...

We examine objective socio-political conditions for Arab nations and then discuss Arab publics' political beliefs and attitudes within that context. Using national indicators to illustrate our points, we argue that fragile states are complex, with numerous political actors at many levels, little adherence to official law and practices, tenuous econ...

The SDO6 measure (Pratto et al., 1994) evaluates the degree to which people support group-based hierarchy. The release of SDO7 measure by Ho and coll. (Ho et al. 2015; see also 2012) has theoretically broadened the study perspective on social dominance, depicted now as a clear double-faceted construct, composed of SDO-Dominance (SDO-D) and SDO-Egal...

Health disparities between groups remain even after accounting for established causes such as structural and economic factors. The present research tested, for the first time, whether multiple social categorization processes can explain enhanced support for immigrant health (measured by respondents’ behavioral intention to support immigrants’ vacci...

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is an individual's preference for group-based inequality and dominance versus equality and inclusion. SDO has multiple origins, including status, gender, socialization, and temperament and personality. SDO is a strong predictor of intergroup ideologies and behaviors, making it indispensable for studying intergroup...

This study presents a conceptual analysis of social power. The most common theories of power are social-relational, an approach instantiated in a range of contemporary experiments that give participants the chance to control other people's outcomes. The relational approach is also reflected in various analyses of international relations. In compari...

Using random samples of approximately 200 Lebanese and 200 Syrian citizens, we examined the antecedents and consequences of individuals' desires to maintain the honor of different groups to which they belong. As expected, the importance of group honor was positively associated with the conservation values of conformity and tradition, negatively ass...

A new conceptualization and measurement of social dominance orientation—individual differences in the preference for group based hierarchy and inequality—is introduced. In contrast to previous measures of social dominance orientation that were designed to be unidimensional, the new measure (SDO7) embeds two theoretically-grounded subdimensions of S...

I want to acknowledge how terrific Karen Douglas and Nick Hopkins were as editors. I believe BJSP is going to call for commentaries on this article so watch their announcements if you might be interested in doing so.

Using a random sample of 243 Muslims in Lebanon and Syria, we examined whether support for Hezbollah or for Al Qaeda is predicted by functionally-relevant emotional responses to specific threats perceived to be posed by Americans. In line with the sociofunctional approach, perceived resource domination threat from Americans elicited anger, and perc...

The present study extends previous research on the influence of social dominance orientation (SDO) in international affairs by investigating the role of sociocognitive processes such as social identity complexity (SIC) and intergroup dehumanization in explaining the relationship between SDO and support for Arabs' autonomy. An Italian heterogeneous...

Using a random sample of 383 Muslims and Christians in Lebanon and Syria, we explored the degree of public support for two distinct kinds of asymmetric violence—“fundamentalist violence” and “resistance violence”—against the United States as a function of three explanatory narratives: a clash of cultures narrative, social identity/self-categorizati...

Inspired by the popular Arab protests against oppressive regimes that began in 2010, people around the world protested in sympathy with the Arab peoples. The present research draws on two major theories of intergroup relations to develop an initial integrative model of sympathetic collective action. We incorporate social dominance theory’s (SDT...

Although recent social psychological objectification research has focused on men sexually objectifying women, there are numerous other domains and methods by which people treat others as objects. This paper incorporates Nussbaum's (1995) delineation of seven ways to objectify a person with Holland and Has lam's (2013) conceptualization of objectifi...

Although bystanders can play an integral role in the process of social change, relatively few studies have examined the factors that influence bystander collective action. The present research explores the effect of perpetrator power on bystander efficacy and collective action, as well as the moderating role of impact of the injustice event. Across...

Most people in the world today can expect to eat better, learn more, and live longer than any of their known ancestors. Yet for many, especially for members of disadvantaged groups and states, trust in domestic political leadership and institutions are low. This irony—that greater material empowerment is accompanied by greater distrust—can be expla...

Research emphasises the role that social structures play in shaping national HIV prevalence. This study examined how social, economic, and political contexts that may represent the confluence of individual capabilities and environmental affordances or constraints are associated with national HIV prevalence. Based on social-ecological perspectives,...

This paper applies a social-ecological theory of power to posit that individual HIV-related vulnerability stems from how power is leveraged across situations over time. The current study identified six power domains and explored how the interchangeability of power shapes HIV-related vulnerability among men who have sex with men of colour. Data were...

To date, there is little in the way of theorizing or empirical work on the imagined endpoint of political action aimed at social change – the type of “dream” those engaged in action are attempting to bring into fruition. We suggest that previous approaches have focused narrowly on one type of social change – amelioration of collective grievances. I...

Social dominance theory was developed to account for why societies producing surplus take and maintain the form of group-based dominance hierarchies, in which at least one socially-constructed group has more power than another, and in which men are more powerful than women and adults more powerful than children. Although the theory has always allow...

Arab nations are decades behind many other previously colonized nations in developing stronger economies, more democratic institutions, and more autonomy and self-government, in part as a result of external interference. The year 2011 brought the potential for greater Arab autonomy through popular uprisings against autocratic governments in Tunisia...

The present research incorporates both intergroup and interpersonal approaches to power to examine influence tactics in organizations. Both approaches suggest that there should be coordination between supervisors and subordinates in the workplace for the smooth functioning of organizations. Study 1 tested how employees’ social dominance orientation...

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 w...

Using social dominance theory and structural balance theory to analyze the political and psychological perspectives of subordinated peoples, we argue that struggles between dominant and subordinated polities are embedded in layered power structures. In such contexts, it is important to examine publics' political desires and interests in relation to...

For gay men in the United States, race/ethnicity has been demonstrated to factor importantly into sexual preferences, and race-based beliefs regarding certain racial groups are prevalent within the gay male community. For gay men of color, such beliefs may differentially influence their sexual preferences. Yet, little is known about the social-psyc...

In contrast to authors of previous single-nation studies, we propose that supporting multiculturalism (MC) or assimilation (AS) is likely to have different effects in different countries, depending on the diversity policy in place in a particular country and the associated norms. A causal model of intergroup attitudes and behaviors, integrating bot...

The current study aimed to investigate value projection between Palestinians, Israelis, Americans, and Swiss as a function of their group's stance toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Drawing on image theory, we assumed that images—operationalized by value projection—would be a function not just of features of the target group, but of the rater...

Background: Among Asian/Pacific Islander (API) men who have sex with men (MSM), an epidemiological conundrum exists whereby various levels of sexual risk-taking are matched with consistently low prevalence rates. The current study highlights how dimensions of racial and sexual identity made contentious by the gay male culture and degrading stereoty...

Using a stratified random sampling procedure, we interviewed 200 residents of Beirut, Lebanon and surrounding areas in order to test predictions of a dual process model of prejudice. We examined the role of social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) in predicting prejudice toward Americans, mediating the relationships...

Two psychological reasons that powerful groups are socially privileged are (1) powerful groups are culturally and mentally normalized, which disguises their privilege as “normal” while highlighting inferiority and stereotypes about other groups, and (2) affiliating with own‐groups and promoting their power are more psychologically compatible for do...

Using correlational and experimental data, we examined the degree to which personal and perceived normative support for the acculturation ideologies of assimilation, multiculturalism, and colorblindness mediated and moderated the relationship between social dominance orientation (SDO) and prejudice among 299 White students at three American college...

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is one of the most powerful predictors of intergroup attitudes and behavior. Although SDO works well as a unitary construct, some analyses suggest it might consist of two complementary dimensions--SDO-Dominance (SDO-D), or the preference for some groups to dominate others, and SDO-Egalitarianism (SDO-E), a prefere...

Social dominance theory This chapter outlines the intellectual and personal influences on the development of social dominance theory (SDT). SDT examines how societies organize themselves as group-based social hierarchies. SDT assumes that processes at different but intersecting levels of social organization, from prejudice to cultural legitimizing...

Social dominance theory is a multi-level theory of how societies maintain group-based dominance. Nearly all stable societies can be considered group-based dominance hierarchies, in which one social group – often an ethnic, religious, national, or racial one – holds disproportionate power and enjoys special privileges, and at least one other group h...