White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model
Prior research indicates that far-right political groups tend to be disproportionately composed of and supported by white people. Drawing off the group identity and developmental literature, we add theoretical clarity to this relationship. We argue that a salient white racial identity motivates peop...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/369 |
| _version_ | 1797587470061142016 |
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| author | Matthew Grindal Kristin Haltinner |
| author_facet | Matthew Grindal Kristin Haltinner |
| author_sort | Matthew Grindal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prior research indicates that far-right political groups tend to be disproportionately composed of and supported by white people. Drawing off the group identity and developmental literature, we add theoretical clarity to this relationship. We argue that a salient white racial identity motivates people to explore social contexts that affirm the value of being white. Many of these contexts (e.g., conservative media) reinforce and instill beliefs in conspiracies, perceptions of racial threat, and a legitimization of group hierarchies, which are defining features of far-right ideologies. As people develop a strong white racial identity, they should thus view far-right groups more favorably. Drawing off survey data from a national US sample of 903 white young adults, we tested a mediation model positing that the effects of a strong white racial identity with support for four far-right groups (the January 6 protesters, QAnon, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers) would be mediated by enhanced levels of conspiratorial ideation, perceived racial threat, and social dominance orientation. We found that the effects of white racial identity with support for all four groups were mostly or completely accounted for by these three mediating factors. We discuss the implications of this research for the racial identity and far-right groups literatures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:39:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b8ddc623bb224d43bcc735710edd2184 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:39:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-b8ddc623bb224d43bcc735710edd21842023-11-18T21:21:52ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-06-0112736910.3390/socsci12070369White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological ModelMatthew Grindal0Kristin Haltinner1Department of Culture, Society, and Justice, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1110, Moscow, ID 83844-1110, USADepartment of Culture, Society, and Justice, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1110, Moscow, ID 83844-1110, USAPrior research indicates that far-right political groups tend to be disproportionately composed of and supported by white people. Drawing off the group identity and developmental literature, we add theoretical clarity to this relationship. We argue that a salient white racial identity motivates people to explore social contexts that affirm the value of being white. Many of these contexts (e.g., conservative media) reinforce and instill beliefs in conspiracies, perceptions of racial threat, and a legitimization of group hierarchies, which are defining features of far-right ideologies. As people develop a strong white racial identity, they should thus view far-right groups more favorably. Drawing off survey data from a national US sample of 903 white young adults, we tested a mediation model positing that the effects of a strong white racial identity with support for four far-right groups (the January 6 protesters, QAnon, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers) would be mediated by enhanced levels of conspiratorial ideation, perceived racial threat, and social dominance orientation. We found that the effects of white racial identity with support for all four groups were mostly or completely accounted for by these three mediating factors. We discuss the implications of this research for the racial identity and far-right groups literatures.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/369white identityracial identitysocial dominance orientationconspiratorial ideationracial threatfar-right groups |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Grindal Kristin Haltinner White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model Social Sciences white identity racial identity social dominance orientation conspiratorial ideation racial threat far-right groups |
| title | White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model |
| title_full | White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model |
| title_fullStr | White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model |
| title_full_unstemmed | White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model |
| title_short | White Racial Identity and Its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model |
| title_sort | white racial identity and its link to support for far right groups a test of a social psychological model |
| topic | white identity racial identity social dominance orientation conspiratorial ideation racial threat far-right groups |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/369 |
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