18 Double Highs
HIGH RWA AND SDO – IS THERE HOPE?
Altemeyer (1994) conducted an intriguing study where he got introductory psychology students who were low / high on RWA to play a world simulation game. In this game, each individual was in charge of a given territory. At different times, the “world” would face various challenges. The goal of the study was to see if and how the low / high RWAs would work. On the first night the “world” was populated by low RWAs. The different “countries” engaged in lots of interregional cooperation which resulted in “a relatively stable, prosperous, environmentally friendly future” (Altemeyer, 2004, p. 443). On the second night, people high in RWA were placed as the leaders of the different countries. By the end of the simulation, famine and disease ravaged the earth and the game ended in a nuclear holocaust, wiping out the entire population. This helps demonstrate how people high in authoritarianism see the world as a threatening place and are as unwilling to cooperate as they are willing aggress.
Given that authoritarianism and SDO account for so much of our prejudice, the question remains, can intergroup contact reduce prejudice for those who are ideologically intolerant (i.e., people high in RWA and SDO)? As seen in class, Allport and Williams believe not. Early evidence indeed shows that attempts to target the validity (rather, the lack therefore) of the core beliefs of SDO (zero-sum) and RWA (blind obedience to authority) often backfire, increasing prejudice towards the target outgroup. For instance, Esses, Dovidio, Jackson, and Armstrong (2001) had people high in SDO read an editorial about immigrants. For half of the participants, the editorial was neutral in that it described general and benign immigration issues. For the other half of the participants, the editorial challenged zero-sum beliefs. For instance, the editorial described immigrants who achieve gainful employment does not affect the employment status of Canadians or Americans and that immigrants actually benefit the economy. High SDOs who read the neutral message held significantly more favourable attitudes towards immigrants than did those High SDOs who had their core, zero-sum beliefs challenged.
The question is, then, can intergroup contact reduce prejudice for those whose prejudice is “deeply rooted in the personality structure”? Was Allport and Williams correct, is it hopeless? Come to class to find out!
