Psychological Essentialism and System Justification in the Face of Social Change

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.12804/apl33.01.2015.11

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Published: Oct 22, 2014
Issue: Vol. 33 No. 01 (2015)
Section Artículos


Keywords: Essentialism sexual orientation lay theories prejudice.

Main Article Content

Authors

  Luisa Ramírez
Universidad del Rosario
Diana Carolina Camargo Camargo
Universidad del Rosario
Valentina Charry
Universidad del Rosario
María Fernanda Osorio
Universidad del Rosario
Angie Dayana Ramírez
Universidad del Rosario
María Sighinolfi
Universidad del Rosario

Abstract

Recent empirical evidence suggests that essentialist beliefs about social groups are often associated with prejudice and discrimination against them. This relation is moderated by social status and beliefs about system stability. This study aimed at: first, evaluating the factorial structure of beliefs about sexual orientation. Second, evaluating the effect of beliefs in system stability and the use of essentialist arguments within a normative social category (heterosexuals) and a non-normative one (homosexuals) in a community sample in Colombia. To test this relationship we created a multifactorial design of 3 (belief in system stability: imminent change, stability and control) x 2 (sexual orientation), introducing essentialist beliefs about sexual orientation as a dependent variable. Findings suggest that beliefs about sexual orientation load on two essentialist dimensions: immutability and fundamentality. Also, findings suggest that beliefs in the immutability of sexual orientation are unrelated, whereas the beliefs about the fundamentality of sexual orientation significantly relate to prejudice and discrimination among heterosexual but not among homosexual people. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Author Biography

Luisa Ramírez, Universidad del Rosario

Psicología, Universidad de los Andes
Maestría, Ciecia Política, Universidad de los Andes
Maestría y Ph.D., Psicologia Social y de la Salud, State University of New York, Stony Brook

 

 

How to Cite
Ramírez, L., Camargo Camargo, D. C., Charry, V., Osorio, M. F., Ramírez, A. D., & Sighinolfi, M. (2014). Psychological Essentialism and System Justification in the Face of Social Change. Avances En Psicología Latinoamericana, 33(01), 157–174. https://doi.org/10.12804/apl33.01.2015.11
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