Social dominance orientation and acculturation strategies: the role of realistic and symbolic threat

Psychological research has identified a number of factors potentially related to the acculturation strategies preferred by majority and minority group members. Some authors recently found that, for members of the host community, social dominance orientation (SDO; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999) positively influences the endorsement of rejection strategies, such as segregation, and negatively affects strategies of acceptance, such as integration (e.g., Trifiletti, Dazzi, Hichy, & Capozza, 2007). However, the empirical evidence concerning the processes driving the effect of SDO on acculturation strategies is limited (for an exception, see, e.g., Andrighetto, Trifiletti, Pasin, & Capozza, 2008). Given the importance of threat in influencing the relations between groups (Stephan & Stephan, 2000), we reasoned that threat perceptions might explain the relationship between SDO and acculturation. In particular, we examined if the effects of SDO on acculturation strategies and on intergroup attitudes and emotions were mediated by symbolic and realistic threat, and if these effects depended by the target group and by the domain considered. Participants were Italian university students, who were asked to complete a questionnaire with respect to three target groups: immigrants in general, Chinese immigrants (valued group), Moroccan immigrants (devalued group). Main predictions were that realistic threat would mediate the effects of SDO on acculturation strategies in the domain of employment, whereas symbolic threat would mediate the SDO-acculturation strategies relationship in the domain of culture; both types of threat were expected to mediate the relation between SDO and intergroup attitudes and emotions. Results supported only partially our hypotheses.