Abstract

UNGARETTI, Joaquín; ETCHEZAHAR, Edgardo  and  BRUSSINO, Silvina. The perception of danger and competence as predictors of prejudice towards different social groups. Escritos de Psicología [online]. 2015, vol.8, n.1, pp.30-37. ISSN 1989-3809.  https://dx.doi.org/10.5231/psy.writ.2015.0912.

Prejudice has been described as a generalized phenomenon because individuals who express prejudice towards certain social groups also tend to express prejudice toward other groups. However, recent studies indicate that the perception of danger expressed by right-wing authoritarians and the perception of intergroup competence expressed by individuals with a social dominance orientation could be distinguishing factors in explaining the generalized prejudice. The main aim of this study was to analyse the dimensionality of generalized prejudice and then investigate if right-wing authoritarianism and a social dominance orientation were predictors of various forms of prejudice. The sample comprised 376 college students from Buenos Aires aged between 18 and 42 years (M = 23.17, SD = 3.1), of whom 42.1% were male. The main results suggest that there are three dimensions that distinguish different social groups, which are differentially explained by a social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism. These findings reinforce the notion of generalized prejudice as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, differentially explained by the perception of danger and competence that manifests through individual levels of authoritarianism and social dominance.

Keywords : Prejudice; Right-wing authoritarianism; Social Dominance Orientation; Danger; Competence.

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