McNair Scholars Research Journal
Abstract
Prior work has examined how racial prejudice can lead to the acceptance of unjust pay toward women and minorities. Other work has found that people who highly believe in a just world (BJW) often accept the outcome of events and situations despite differences in outcomes for certain individuals or groups. This study examined whether BJW and social dominance orientation (SDO) contribute to the acceptance of pay discrimination toward African Americans. Participants read a description of a job applicant and an offer of employment toward that applicant. For the description, participants received explicit information that the applicant is either Black or White. Additionally, as part of the job offer, participants received explicit information that the applicant is be- ing offered 20% less, or 20% more than the median salary for their posi- tion. Assignment to applicant race and pay offered was conducted with random assignment resulting in four groups of participants (those who read of a Black applicant with higher pay, those who read of a Black ap- plicant with lower pay, those who read of a White applicant with higher pay, and those who read of a White applicant with lower pay). Afterward, participants were required to evaluate if they would advise the applicant to accept or reject the job offer, or if they themselves would accept/reject it, on Likert scales. Participants then completed two scales that correlated with differential treatment of people and groups, the social dominance orientation scale and the belief in a just world scale. The results of this study found that SDO and BJW had no effect on data, meaning social dominance orientation and belief in a just world largely did not correlate with the outcomes.