Social Dominance Orientation: A Student's Brief Introduction To Understanding Intergroup Attitudes In Mauritius

Intergroup research often concludes on the premise that prediction of intergroup attitudes in changing social and political contexts can be accounted for by simply observing the perceived normative diversity policy in place in a particular country. The current study aims to show that such predictions might not hold true in hierarchically based societies, where groups within the same country might not share the same personal support for the dominant policy of integration. Using a sample of 178 Hindus (majority) and 179 Creoles (minority), the current study tested (i) whether the association between social dominance orientation (SDO) and in-group bias could differ between Creoles and Hindus in Mauritius, given that both groups are subjected to the same cultural norm, and if so (ii) whether the differing relationship between SDO and intergroup bias might be explained by Hindus and Creoles’ conflicting support for the dominant culture norm of integration in Mauritius (multiculturalism). Our findings indicated that personal support for multiculturalism mediated the link between SDO and in-group bias for Hindus only, while personal support for colourblindness was a stronger mediator of the link between SDO and in-group bias for Creoles. These mediations were significantly attributed to the fact that Hindus (majority) showed more support for multiculturalism (dominant culture norm) as compared to Creoles, while the opposite was true for Creoles (minority). The significance of exploring majority and minority groups when debating the effectiveness of diversity policies is discussed. [The research outcome and findings presented also represent an original empirical contribution to the field of social psychology and ethnic studies in multicultural contexts.]