Authoritarianism, Social Dominance, and Prejudice Among Junior Police Officers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the respective impact of group socialization and social projection to explain prejudice among newly recruited police officers (N = 301). The first approach predicts that both right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO), two fundamental determinants of prejudice, should be driven by specific norms. The second approach predicts that the perceived norms of the reference group reflect the social projection of our own attitudes and norms. These two models were tested with structural equation modeling. Emphasizing the determinant role of social norms and social influence, the results provide stronger support for the group socialization model (GSM) than the social projection model (SPM).