Social Dominance Theory

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Social Dominance Theory
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Social Dominance Theory

• even superficial and seemingly
  meaningless distinctions
  between individuals can become the basis for
  collective identity and dominance.
• Taifel (1970)

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Minimal Group Paradigm
Human beings tend to demonstrate discriminatory
in-group and out-group dynamics even there is an
extremely limited basis for drawing distinctions
between members of the groups. L. Howard and
Rothbart (1980)
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Minimal Group Theory cont.

• The LESSONS
• People tend to draw distinctions between
  themselves as individuals and groups.
• People ascribe value of superiority and
  inferiority to the various in-groups and
  out-groups.
• If a visible marker, such as race, is added, we
  are left with patterns of inter-group relations
  that are extremely resistance to change.

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Social Dominance Theory(Sidanius Pratto, 1993)

• Human social systems are predisposed to form
  social hierarchies.
• Hegemonic groups tend to be male dominant.
• Most forms of social oppression (racism, sexism,
  classism, etc.) can be viewed as manifestations
  of group-based social hierarchy.
• Social hierarchy is a survival strategy that has
  been selected by many species of primates,
  including Homo sapiens.

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The Stratification

• 3 Factors elaborated
• A) Age - Where adults and middle age adults have
  significant power over children and young adults.
• B) Gender Where males have disproportionate
  power over females.
• C) Arbiturary Where social constructed highly
  salient groups base on characteristics, such as
  ethnicity, nation, race, clan, caste, religious
  sect, regional grouping or any other human group
  distinction.

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Assumptions

• 3 Basic Assumptions of SDT
• Even though age and gender hierarchies exists
  within all, arbiturary will eventually rise up in
  systems with economic/material surplus.
• Most forms of oppression are different
  manifestations of the human tendency to form
  group based social hierarchies.
• Human social systems are subject to
  counterbalancing influences of hierarchy enhanced
  forces. These produce and maintain every higher
  levels of groups based social inequality and
  hierarchy-attenuating forces, producing greater
  levels of group based social equality.

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(McIntosh, 1988 Neito, 2005 Weinberg, 1991)
Privilege and Penalty

• Social arrangements of dominance cause privileges
  to flow to certain groups whether or not those
  privileges are earned.
• Penalties, punishments, and inequities flow to
  other groups through no fault of their own other
  than their group membership.

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