Can Ethical Ideologies Predict Prejudice?

Idealism and relativism were designed to assess different ethical ideological views. Their relation with attitudes toward a variety of outgroups has not been previously studied. Understanding how concerns over ethical principles and consequences are related to prejudiced attitudes could provide some...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethics & behavior 2018-11, Vol.28 (8), p.662-679
Main Authors: Nicol, Adelheid A. M., Rounding, Kevin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Authoritarianism
Codes of conduct
ethical ideology
Ethics
Group identity
Idealism
Ideology
Interpersonal problems
Medical ethics
Morality
Prejudice
Relativism
Right wing politics
right-wing authoritarianism
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Summary:Idealism and relativism were designed to assess different ethical ideological views. Their relation with attitudes toward a variety of outgroups has not been previously studied. Understanding how concerns over ethical principles and consequences are related to prejudiced attitudes could provide some insight into these constructs and into the nature of prejudice. In two studies totaling 311 participants, participants completed measures on ethical ideologies, right-wing authoritarianism, and attitudes toward various outgroups. The differential predictive validities of ethical ideologies, in comparison to right-wing authoritarianism, on prejudicial attitudes toward dangerous, derogated, and dissident outgroup members were examined. We found that both idealism and relativism contributed to predicting attitudes regarding outgroup members, over and above right-wing authoritarianism. As such, people's personal moral standards and code of conduct for dealing with interpersonal problems and transgressions can partly explain their negative attitudes toward outgroup members. More research is required to determine the unique influence of ethical ideologies over other constructs previously shown to predict prejudice.
ISSN:1050-8422
1532-7019
DOI:10.1080/10508422.2017.1416292