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Decades of research have shown that social dominance orientation (SDO) is one of the most important predictors of anti‐immigrant attitudes. However, the mechanisms through which SDO can explain prejudice have been studied insufficiently. Using rich and diverse samples from France and from the province of Québec in Canada, the present research provides a cross‐national (N = 1,852) and prospective (N = 534) analysis of a theoretical model in which the dimensions of SDO are indirectly predicting anti‐immigrant prejudice via the intergroup ideologies of assimilation, multiculturalism, colour blindness and interculturalism. Results showed that interculturalism, a hierarchy‐attenuating ideology was found to be a robust mechanism to explain the subtle effects of SDO‐E on anti‐immigrant prejudice whereas assimilation, a hierarchy‐enhancing ideology was playing a more important role to explain direct and blatant effects of SDO‐D on prejudice. The two most studied diversity approaches, multiculturalism and colour blindness, were largely redundant once interculturalism was considered. This pattern occurred in both France and Québec hence, favouring the context‐independent pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Consistent with the theory of malleable ideology, research has shown that, under intergroup threat, antiegalitarian individuals will exploit the malleable character of color blindness and strategically claim to be strong supporters of it. In three studies conducted in France, we found no support for this theory when measuring color blindness but strong support when using measures of laïcité, an ideology of secularism. Indeed, those who score low on social dominance orientation (SDO) were more likely to support laïcité than antiegalitarian individuals. However, a situational threat (Study 1), a symbolic threat experimentally induced (Study 2), and a perceived symbolic threat (Study 3) were all related to increased support for laïcité by people high in SDO, without affecting those low in SDO. Thus, laïcité is a malleable ideology that can be adopted by individuals having contrasting motivations, as color blindness in the United States. Implications for the role of exact and conceptual replications in the development of a psychological science are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]