PERCEPTIONS OF DISADVANTAGE VERSUS CONVENTIONALITY - POLITICAL VALUESAND ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ELDERLY VERSUS BLACKS

This article examines the role of political ideology in social prejudi ce. In contrast to a simple bipolar conceptualization of liberalism an d conservatism, the authors present a framework stipulating that (a) l iberalism is associated with the desire to assist disadvantaged groups but (b) conservatism is associated with respect for conventional, old -fashioned values. Unlike Blacks (who are potentially viewed by White Americans as both unconventional and disadvantaged), the elderly are h ighly disadvantaged but relatively conventional. On the basis of these differences, the authors predicted that liberalism would be positivel y correlated with attitudes toward both groups, whereas conservatism w ould be negatively correlated with attitudes toward Blacks but positiv ely correlated with attitudes toward the elderly. This framework recei ved strong support and, moreover, successfully predicted reactions to other types of groups that varied in terms of their conventionality/di sadvantaged status. Implications for research on stereotypes and possi ble conceptualizations of political ideology are discussed.