Right‐Wing Ideology as a Predictor of Collective Action: A Test Across Four Political Issue Domains

• DOI: 10.1111/pops.12615
• Publication Date: 2019-08-19T04:08:47Z
• Authors: Becky Choma; Gordon Hodson; Arvin Jagayat; Mark R. Hoffarth
• Keywords: Social dominance orientation; Collective Action; Dominance (genetics)

Despite a vast literature documenting motivations for collective action, the role of sociopolitical ideologies, including right‐wing in predicting action is underresearched. Literature on ideological beliefs suggests that those higher authoritarianism (RWA) or social dominance orientation (SDO) hold specific attitudes endorse policies, part, because factors such as perceived fear‐based threat empathy. In present research, structural equation modeling (SEM) was run pooled data from diverse Canadian university sample and two American adult samples (total N = 1,469). Participants completed measures RWA, SDO, threat, empathy, domain‐specific action. Results showed RWA SDO both related positively to targeting societal moral breakdown but negatively aimed at equalizing race relations fighting climate change. Whereas indirect effects ideologies via empathy were significant all four domains effect only change domain. Implications are discussed.