Journal of Applied Social Psychology | 2019
The interplay between social dominance orientation and intergroup contact in explaining support for multiculturalism
Abstract
In contemporary societies, rights of ethnic and immigrant minorities are often questioned by national majorities. Indeed, majorities may strive to preserve their advantages, and frequently prefer that minorities pri‐ oritize local customs, language, and culture over their culture of origin (e.g., Verkuyten, 2006). In this research, we analyze factors underlying majorities’ support of multiculturalism, operationalized as support for a culturally diverse society where minority groups are allowed and en‐ couraged to preserve their culture, and where civic, social, and politi‐ cal rights are equal between citizens and immigrants (see Breugelmans & van de Vijver, 2004; Green & Staerklé, 2013; Verkuyten, 2006). Specifically, we examine whether social dominance orientation (SDO, Sidanius & Pratto, 1999)—an ideology which legitimizes group‐based hierarchies and inequalities—and intergroup contact with immigrants (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) jointly impact support for multicultural‐ ism in Switzerland. With two studies, we extend previous research in three ways. First, we focus on support for multiculturalism, instead of intergroup attitudes, as past research has mostly done. This is crucial because societies implementing multicultural policies strive for equal rights between nationals and immigrants, whereas high‐SDO indi‐ viduals generally reject intergroup equality. Second, we examine the interplay between SDO and intergroup contact in a specific, underex‐ plored intergroup context, Switzerland, where immigrants do not uni‐ vocally have lower status compared to Swiss nationals, but part of the immigrant population has high status and thus can represent a chal‐ lenge to the societal hierarchy. Third, we test the predicted effects both by measuring and experimentally manipulating intergroup contact.