Cultural self-awareness and outgroup attitudes : a moderated mediation model of social dominance orientation and information seeking

• Main Author: Teng, Shi Ying
• Other Authors: Wan Ching
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/154663
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Attitudes toward outgroup members tend to be negatively-valenced. These unfavourable perceptions arise due to perceived intergroup threat, or simply, favouritism toward the ingroup. However, a reversal of such attitudes appears to be possible if an individual is aware of how their values and beliefs have been influenced by their culture (i.e., cultural self-awareness). This paper investigated if cultural self-awareness is a path through which metacognitive self-processes could improve intergroup relations. The moderating effect of social dominance orientation, or an individual’s preference for hierarchical social relationships, on cultural self-awareness was also explored. Cultural self-awareness was expected to be associated with more positive outgroup attitudes as a result of increased information seeking. Additionally, social dominance orientation was expected to moderate the mediating effect of information seeking between cultural self-awareness and outgroup attitudes, with the mediating effect being stronger for low SDO individuals. To test the proposed hypotheses, 235 Singaporean undergraduates completed an online questionnaire administered in the laboratory. They first rated themselves on cultural self-awareness before being directed to a three-part task which assessed their tendency to seek out information about the target outgroup (i.e., migrant workers). Next, their feelings and acceptance toward the outgroup were measured. Lastly, they reported their social dominance orientation. While the study failed to find support for information seeking being a mediator between cultural self-awareness and outgroup attitudes, cultural self-awareness was shown to be related to lower levels of anxiety toward outgroup members. Additionally, social dominance orientation was found to moderate the relationship between cultural self-awareness and outgroup attitudes when it is high, rather than low, as predicted. Cultural self-awareness is thus suggested to be a protective factor for individuals with high social dominance orientation. Implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research were discussed.