The multi-group composition of diverse societies is associated with conflict and general outgroup intolerance. The intergroup literature has thus been committed to searching for variables that accentuate and alleviate negative outgroup attitudes. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between an orientation towards social inequality and outgroup intolerance among a sample of participants drawn from a culturally diverse society. An aspect of spirituality, transcendence, was also examined for its role in improving tolerance for outgroups. The study participants were from a university environment characterized by diversity in ethnic affiliations. The study outcomes show that a bias for social inequality leads to more intolerance of outgroups. Furthermore, transcendence was associated with increased tolerance for outgroups. The implications of systemic social inequalities of most societies for continued negative outgroup attitudes were emphasized. The role of transcendence in appealing to the humaneness of individuals and encouraging openness to diversity was discussed. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.
As societies become increasingly diverse or multi-cultural, attitude towards outgroups has become a topical issue in the intergroup literature (
Motivation for outgroup intolerance has been linked to social/political attitudes that emphasize and justify group domination, societal hierarchy, and social inequality. Social dominance orientation (SDO) is one prominent social/political attitude that underscores group dominance and group inequality (
With the attending negative consequences of outgroup intolerance in multicultural societies comes the broad search for ways to make groups amenable towards each other (
One aspect of spirituality that has received empirical support for its relationship to prosociality is transcendence (
Based on the preceding outline for the nature of the study variables, the objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between SDO, transcendence, and outgroup intolerance. In addition, transcendence as a moderator of the relationship between SDO and outgroup intolerance was examined. These objectives were accomplished by testing the following hypotheses: (1) SDO would be positively related to outgroup intolerance. (2) Transcendence would have an inverse relationship with outgroup intolerance. (3) Transcendence would moderate the relationship between SDO and outgroup intolerance by weakening the relationship between the two variables.
This study is a survey research with 331 participants purposefully sampled from one of the public academic institutions in Nigeria. Nigeria is a multi-cultural country whose ethnic groups contend for power, relevance, and inclusion. Its public universities are usually a mesh of people of different ethnic backgrounds. They provide the appropriate setting for investigating social/political attitudes and social relations with outgroups because everyday social realities of the broader society with regards to ethnic competition, resentment, and rivalry play out in this setting.
The participants comprised 37.2% males and 62.8% females with an average age of 21.51 years and were of Yoruba (87.9%), Igbo (9.7%), and unnamed (2.4%) ethnic groups. In terms of religion, participants comprised 92.1% Christians and 7.9% Muslims. The research was approved by the Research Committee of the institution of the authors. Participants were informed of the nature of the study. Participation was voluntary. The survey instrument was administered directly to participants who indicated their interest and consented to the research.
Three standardized scales put together as a questionnaire were utilized to collect data on the study variables. The questionnaire was organized into different sections capturing demographic information, SDO, transcendence, and outgroup intolerance. Data were collected on participants’ age, sex, religion, and ethnic group. Age and sex are related to outgroup attitudes (
SDO was measured with the SDO7 scale developed by
Transcendence was measured with items drawn from the Universality subscale of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale by
Data on outgroup intolerance were collected with the Outgroup Intolerance subscale of the Ethnocentrism scale developed by
Tests for univariate and multivariate outliers and normal distribution were conducted on the data set from an initial sample of 345 participants. Among them, 14 cases were excluded, thereby reducing the number of participants to 331. First, a correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the study variables.
Means, standard deviations, and correlations between study variables
Variables |
SD |
Skew |
Kurt |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
||||||
1. SDO |
1 |
9.75 |
6.01 |
0.97 |
0.09 |
0.81 |
||||
2. OI |
0.29 |
1 |
17.20 |
6.97 |
1.48 |
2.49 |
0.89 |
|||
3. Transcendence |
–0.29 |
–0.28 |
1 |
25.55 |
4.79 |
–0.22 |
–0.22 |
0.72 |
||
4.Age |
0.09 |
0.04 |
–0.04 |
1 |
21.57 |
2.62 |
||||
5.Sex |
0.06 |
0.05 |
0.03 |
– |
– |
**
SDO and transcendence were entered into the first step of a hierarchical regression model as predictors of outgroup intolerance to test hypotheses one and two. The result of the analysis shows that the model was significant (
SDO and transcendence were mean-centered to test the moderating effect of transcendence in the relationship between SDO and outgroup intolerance, and their interaction was entered into the second step of the regression model. The inclusion of the interaction led to an increase in the variance accounted for in outgroup intolerance (△
Hierarchical multiple regression analysis predicting outgroup intolerance from SDO and transcendence
Variable |
Model 1 |
Outgroup intolerance Model 2 |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
sr2 |
95% CI |
|||
SDO |
0.24 |
0.21 |
0.04 |
[0.75, 2.22] |
Transcendence |
−0.21 |
−0.19 |
0.04 |
[−2.11, −0.64] |
SDO |
−0.16 |
0.02 |
[−1.79, −0.38] |
|
0.13 |
0.16 |
|||
24.67 |
19.93 |
|||
Δ |
0.02 |
|||
Δ |
9.21 |
|||
331 |
**
*
The moderating effect of transcendence on the relationship between SDO and outgroup intolerance. Transcendence dampens the positive relationship between SDO and outgroup intolerance.
The study outcomes show that outgroup intolerance is significantly associated with SDO. A support for social hierarchy or social inequality is likely to promote intolerance for diversity and lower concern for the welfare of outgroups. This suggests that a preference for social hierarchy can motivate people to discriminate against, avoid interaction with and be unconcerned about those considered as outgroups. This finding is in line with studies that have linked SDO with prejudice and discrimination (
On the other hand, transcendence emerged as a significant mitigator of outgroup intolerance. This variable predicted less outgroup intolerance. Also, with transcendence, the relationship between SDO and outgroup intolerance is negative. This shows that transcendence can help to reduce or moderate discriminatory attitudes. It can be surmised from these results that transcendence would encourage tolerance and concern for outgroups and appreciation of diversity. This finding attests to the nature of transcendence as a variable that increases prosociality. Belief in the interconnectedness of humankind stimulates mindfulness of others’ welfare and the awareness that actions and inactions have a ripple effect beyond time and space. This finding, therefore, contributes to the existing body of knowledge that has found spirituality in its different dimensions to improve social relations through increased concern for others (
In multi-cultural societies, citizens have myriad social identities on which there is perceived superiority. It is conceivable that such societies would be froth with intolerance for outgroups along so many social groupings. Groups may perceive each other as a threat to the values, power, and other resources considered important and/or limited in supply. Consequently, conflicts, violence, and social mistrust which are antithetic to societal growth and development are likely to be prevalent in such societies. Given that group inequality is a feature of most societies, it is, therefore, important to address social processes or structures that legitimize, justify, or “naturalize” social inequality as they may continue to reinforce the belief in social hierarchy and the resolution to maintain the status quo (
This study utilized a single group of participants, that is, undergraduate students in the university. It would be pivotal to have participants across different ages, educational, ethnic groups, and other population characteristics. Subsequent studies should aim for a broader sample and explore more intervening variables that could attenuate outgroup intolerance.
The authors appreciate the students who participated in the data collection phase of this study.
Olonisakin Tosin Tunrayo PhD is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa. Idemudia Erhabor Sunday PhD is a Professor of Psychology at Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa.