On the relationship between right-wing attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, and intergroup threat: Introducing an indirect measure for intergroup threat

Abstract

Recent theoretical models stress the importance of both personal and contextual factors in the development of political extremism. One such theory is the Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT) that suggests a relationship between extremism and intergroup threat (i.e., the perception that one's ingroup is threatened by a particular social outgroup). Using an adaptation of the Semantic Misattribution Procedure (SMP), the present research aimed at replicating the results of previous studies using a novel measure. In a first study (N = 88, 77% female), self-reported intergroup threat was significantly and positively related to two types of extreme political attitudes, namely, right-wing authoritarianism and generic conspiracy beliefs. The SMP score, in contrast, was only significantly correlated to right-wing authoritarianism. In a second study, these results were replicated in a larger sample (N = 243, 68% female). Moreover, both self-reported and indirectly measured intergroup threat were related to hostile attitudes and stereotypes against immigrants. When compared to explicit intergroup threat, however, the SMP score was not incremental in the prediction of hostile attitudes against immigrants. These results support the validity of the SMP for the assessment of intergroup threat. Replications should explore the practical utility of the SMP in other samples using additional validation criteria.