Go with the flow or fight the power? The interactive effects of social dominance orientation and perceived injustice on support for the status quo

Previous research in social dominance theory has found an asymmetry in the relationship between social dominance orientation (SDO) and various hierarc hy-enhancing ideologies, such that the relationship between the two variabl es is significantly move positive among high-status group members than amon g low-status group members (Sidanius, Pratto, & Rabinowitz, 1994; Sidanius, Levin & Pratto, 1996). Perceptions of systemic injustice toward one's ingr oup may help to explain this ideological asymmetry. The hypothesis of a thr ee-way interaction among group status, SDO, and perceived injustice was tes ted by using survey responses from American university students to predict opposition to hierarchy-attenuating policies as well as levels of patriotis m. Analyses revealed the presence of a three-way interaction (ps < .05). Et hnic minority students who scored high on SDO did not always maintain conse rvative policy stances or strong patriotic attachments-it depends on their level of perceived injustice. Implications for social dominance theory and system-justification theory are discussed.