Social Dominance Orientation Moderates the Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Well-Being

Abstract In the current study we argue that social dominance orientation (SDO) has a moderating effect on the relationship between regional inequalities in socioeconomic status (SES) and subjective well-being (SWB). Specifically, we predicted that individuals high in SDO, from high-SES regions of the United States, would have higher levels of well-being than those from low-SES regions of the United States. This hypothesis was tested by administering a series of self-report measures of SDO, SES, and SWB to a sample of undergraduate psychology students (n = 409). The data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling software to explore the relationships between these variables. The results were consistent with the initial hypothesis: Participants in high-SES regions (i.e., wealthier and more educated), who also identified as high in SDO, possessed higher levels of well-being than the participants from low-SES regions. Implications of such regional inequalities are discussed.