Social Dominance Orientation and Perceived Attractiveness of Occupations: Evidence from Japanese University Students

This study examined whether the self-selection process proposed by Social Dominance Theory (SDT) applies to Japanese university students, addressing the limited research in non-Western contexts. A total of 234 students evaluated the attractiveness of two occupations—police officer (hierarchy-enhancing) and counselor (hierarchy-attenuating)—and completed measures of social dominance orientation (SDO-Dominance and SDO-Egalitarianism), support for harsher punishment, and support for rehabilitation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the perceived attractiveness of the police officer occupation was negatively associated with SDO-Egalitarianism and positively with support for rehabilitation. This suggests that students with stronger egalitarian values and a preference for offender reintegration viewed police work more favorably, which contradicts SDT predictions. These findings indicate that the self-selection mechanisms described by SDT may not fully operate in the Japanese context and highlight the role of cultural factors.