Date of Graduation
8-2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Psychological Science
Advisor/Mentor
David A. Schroeder
Committee Member
Denise R. Beike
Second Committee Member
Scott Eidelman
Keywords
Psychology, Conflict, Intergroup relations, Intergroup threat, Moral exclusion, Prejudice, Social justice
Abstract
Moral exclusion refers to a psychological process that removes others from our moral community--those whom we treat with fairness and concern for their welfare. The present research is concerned with how perceived symbolic threats (threats to the ingroup's values, morals, and worldview) and realistic threats (threats to the ingroup's well-being and resources) are related to moral exclusion. Perceived symbolic and realistic threats from an outgroup (Mexican immigrants) were measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2) to discover their predictive and causal relationships with moral exclusion. It was found that both symbolic and realistic threats predicted moral exclusion and did so uniquely after controlling for prejudice, and that symbolic threat was a causal factor in moral exclusion. Implications of the current research for future studies of moral exclusion are discussed, as well as its implications for intergroup relations and reducing moral exclusion of outgroups.
Citation
Leighton, D. C. (2012). The Effects of Symbolic and Realistic Threats on Moral Exclusion From the Scope of Justice. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/496