Social Dominance Orientation and Acceptance of Political Elections: the Role of Support for Democracy and Perceived Political Justice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v49i3.1334Keywords:
support for democracy, Dominance orientation, support for democracypolitical justice, acceptance of elections.Abstract
This study investigates the psychological mechanisms underpinning voter division regarding the 2012 Egyptian political elections. The 2012 Egyptian presidential elections saw a division emerge between those who described the election as free and fair and their results must be accepted; and those who described it as being dishonest. No in-depth psychological study has examined such divisions using a social dominance orientation perspective. This study used an online 29-item self-report questionnaire for Egyptian residents in the State of Qatar (n = 370). The results showed that the extent to which individuals accepted or rejected the election outcomes was negatively correlated to both the social dominance orientation (r = -26, p <.001, Mean = 2.12, SD = .50), the perceived political justice (r = - .37, p <.001, Mean = 1.60, SD = .67); and positively correlated with the attitude towards support for democracy (r = .40, p <.001, Mean = 3.93, SD = .55). Multiple regression analysis showed that both perceived political justice and attitudes toward support for democracy predicted the degree to which people will accept election results. A discussion is offered with respect to how social dominance orientation affects the extent to which individuals accept or reject election outcomes through both perceived political justice and adherence to democratic attitudes.
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