Date

12-11-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Hierarchical social structures are embedded in U.S. society that allow certain social groups to be positioned above others, granting them unearned advantages. Attitudes that maintain such conditions thereby warrant attention, as they contribute to the maintenance of inequality. This study used secondary data analysis to investigate how social dominance orientation (SDO), White supremacy ideologies (WSI), and conservative political ideologies were influenced by the intersection of gender (i.e., men vs. women) and race (i.e., White vs. BIPOC). The primary study used crowdsourcing to recruit a nationally represented sample of participants based on political affiliation. The present study consisted of 359 total participants. Correlational analysis was conducted on SDO, WSI, political conservatism (SECS), and Marlowe-Crowne social desirability (MCSDS) to examine the relationships between each variable. Independent samples t-tests were also conducted to compare the two gender and racial groups on the total scales and subscales for SDO, WSI, and SECS. Lastly, separate univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted for SDO, WSI, and SECS using both gender and race as independent variables to examine the main effects and interaction effects. Results revealed men to endorse higher SDO and believe more in White supremacist ideologies compared to women. White people were found to endorse political conservatism more compared to BIPOC individuals. However, no interaction effects were observed between gender and race, suggesting that intersectionality was not as influential in shaping attitudes as anticipated. Future research is needed that investigates how intersecting social identities can uniquely shape attitudes that maintain inequality.

Department

Psychology

Thesis Committee

Dr. Alice Cheng, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Melissa Singer, Committee Member
Dr. Waleed Jami, Committee Member

Copyright and Permissions

Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.

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