The Role of Stereotypes in Political Ideology, Social Dominance Orientation, and Affirmative Action

This study explores the relationship between Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and support for affirmative action by considering the moderation effect of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). Its key contribution is integrating SDO with SCM to explain target-specific support for affirmative action across multiple ethnic groups in Indonesia. The study focuses on the two main dimensions of SCM: warmth and competence, to understand how perceptions of recipient groups influence individual attitudes toward affirmative policies. A total of 219 participants from various ethnic backgrounds in Indonesia participated in an online survey. The results indicate that under low warmth perception, an increase in SDO tends to reduce support for affirmative action, particularly for groups perceived as competent. Conversely, under high warmth perception, an increase in SDO actually enhances support for affirmative action for groups perceived as incompetent. Meanwhile, support for groups perceived as competent remains high and stable even as SDO increases. These findings suggest that stereotypical perceptions of recipient groups play a role in shaping support for affirmative policies, particularly in the context of social ideologies that favor hierarchy.