Social dominance orientation and the political psychology of gender: A case of invariance?

1994/12/01 by Jim Sidanius, Felicia Pratto, Lawrence D. Bobo · 442 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Cultural Differences and Values #Social and Cultural Dynamics #Social dominance orientation #Psychology #Social psychology #Dominance (genetics) #Biology and political orientation #Politics #Political psychology #Measurement invariance #Structural equation modeling #Confirmatory factor analysis #Political science #Statistics #Authoritarianism

paper · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.998

published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67(6), 998-1011 (American Psychological Association)

openalex publication_date 1994/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/04

Abstract

Social dominance theory assumes transsituational and transcultural differences between men and women in social dominance orientation (SDO), with men showing higher levels of SDO than women. SDO is a general individual-difference variable expressing preference for superordinate in-group status, hierarchical relationships between social groups, and a view of group relations as inherently 0-sum. Data from a random sample of 1,897 respondents from Los Angeles County confirmed the notion that men have significantly higher social dominance scores than women and that these differences were consistent across cultural, demographic, and situational factors such as age, social class, religion, educational level, political ideology, ethnicity, racism, region of national origin, and gender-role relevant opinion. The theoretical implications are discussed.

Citations

• Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures
• Social dominance orientation: A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes.

Cited by

• Investigating the origins of partisanship: What motivates children to preferentially endorse their ingroups' claims?
• Symbolic threat and social dominance among liberals and conservatives: SDO reflects conformity to political values
• Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism: Additive and Interactive Effects
• The Effects of Race and Social Dominance Orientation in Simulated Juror Decision Making1
• The Political Psychology of Reproductive Strategies
• The gender gap: Differences in political attitudes and social dominance orientation
• Social Identity, System Justification, and Social Dominance: Commentary on Reicher, Jost et al., and Sidanius et al.
• Criminalization as a justification for violence against the homeless in Hungary
• Social dominance orientation [wikipedia]