---
title: "Social Dominance Theory | Intro to Psychology"
description: "Social Dominance Theory explains how group hierarchies, legitimizing myths, and social dominance orientation sustain prejudice and discrimination in Intro to Psychology."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/intro-psychology/key-terms/social-dominance-theory"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Intro to Psychology"
unit: "Unit 12"
---

# Social Dominance Theory | Intro to Psychology

## Definition

Social Dominance Theory says societies often organize themselves into group-based hierarchies, with dominant groups keeping power through prejudice, discrimination, and legitimizing myths. In Intro to Psychology, it explains why inequality can feel normal.

## What It Is

Social Dominance Theory is a psychology framework for explaining why group-based hierarchies keep showing up and staying in place. In Intro to Psychology, it is used to show that prejudice and discrimination are not just individual bad attitudes, they can be part of a larger system that gives some groups more power than others.

The core idea is that societies tend to sort people into groups with unequal status. Some groups get more money, safety, influence, and respect, while other groups are pushed into lower-status positions. The theory says this pattern is not random. It is maintained by social beliefs, institutions, and everyday behavior that protect the hierarchy.

One major part of the theory is legitimizing myths. These are ideas that make inequality seem fair, natural, or deserved. For example, people might say a group is poor because it is lazy, or that certain jobs belong to certain groups because that is just the way things are. Those beliefs can sound ordinary, but they help explain why unequal treatment continues even when people can clearly see harm.

Social dominance theory also includes social dominance orientation, which is a person's preference for group inequality. Someone high in social dominance orientation is more likely to support hierarchy, accept unequal treatment, and resist policies that reduce gaps between groups. Someone lower in social dominance orientation is more likely to favor equality and social change.

In class, you can think of the theory as a lens for connecting prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. A stereotype is a belief, prejudice is an attitude, and discrimination is behavior, but social dominance theory asks a bigger question: why does a society keep producing these patterns in the first place? The answer, in this framework, is that hierarchy benefits some groups, so it gets defended through culture, institutions, and socialization.

## Why It Matters

Social Dominance Theory matters in Intro to Psychology because it ties together individual attitudes and larger social patterns. Instead of treating prejudice as only a personal bias, it shows how bias can be built into group relationships and supported by shared beliefs.

That makes it useful anytime you are studying prejudice, discrimination, or intergroup conflict. If a question asks why unequal treatment keeps happening even when people say they believe in fairness, this theory gives you one explanation: the system is being protected by myths and by people who prefer hierarchy.

It also helps with real examples from everyday life. You can use it to think about workplace discrimination, unequal access to healthcare, or school tracking systems that sort students into higher and lower status groups. The key move is to ask who benefits from the hierarchy, who is harmed by it, and what beliefs make the arrangement seem normal.

In class discussions and short answer responses, the theory gives you more than a label. It gives you a cause-and-effect story. That story connects socialization, beliefs about groups, and the maintenance of inequality.

## Connections

### Social Hierarchy

Social Dominance Theory is built around the idea that groups are arranged into ranks. Social hierarchy is the structure itself, while the theory explains how that structure forms and stays stable. When you see unequal access to power, status, or resources, social hierarchy is the pattern you are naming. The theory asks what keeps that pattern going.

### Legitimizing Myths

Legitimizing myths are the beliefs that make inequality seem acceptable or deserved. Social Dominance Theory says these myths are one of the main tools used to protect hierarchy. A myth might blame a lower-status group for its own disadvantage or present unequal treatment as tradition. That belief system helps discrimination feel normal instead of unfair.

### [Social Identity Theory](/intro-psychology/key-terms/social-identity-theory)

Social Identity Theory focuses on how people define themselves through group membership and why in-group favoritism happens. Social Dominance Theory overlaps with it, but the emphasis is different. Social Identity Theory explains group pride and comparison, while Social Dominance Theory focuses more on hierarchy, inequality, and the desire to keep one group above another.

### [Workplace Discrimination](/intro-psychology/key-terms/workplace-discrimination)

Workplace discrimination is one place where Social Dominance Theory becomes easy to spot. Hiring, pay, promotion, and who gets respected at work can all reflect group-based hierarchy. The theory helps you explain why unequal treatment may persist even when a workplace claims to be fair, because policies and stereotypes can protect existing power differences.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz item or short-answer prompt may give you a scenario about unequal treatment between groups and ask you to identify the social pattern behind it. Your job is to connect the example to group-based hierarchy, not just say "prejudice." Look for clues like unequal power, stereotypes that justify the inequality, or rules that keep one group on top.

If you get a case study, explain how legitimizing myths or social dominance orientation might be keeping the hierarchy in place. In an essay response, use the term to show that discrimination can be supported by institutions and social beliefs, not only by one person's feelings.

## Social Dominance Theory vs Social Identity Theory

These two terms are related, but they focus on different pieces of group behavior. Social Identity Theory explains how people form in-groups, compare themselves to out-groups, and build self-esteem through group membership. Social Dominance Theory is more about inequality and why some groups stay on top. If the question is about hierarchy and power, use Social Dominance Theory.

## Key Takeaways

- Social Dominance Theory explains how group-based hierarchies form and stay in place in society.
- The theory says prejudice and discrimination are often supported by legitimizing myths that make inequality seem fair or natural.
- Social dominance orientation describes a person's preference for hierarchy between groups.
- The theory is useful for explaining patterns like workplace discrimination, healthcare disparities, and unequal access to power.
- In Intro to Psychology, the big idea is that bias is not just individual, it can be built into social systems.

## FAQs

### What is Social Dominance Theory in Intro to Psychology?

Social Dominance Theory is a framework saying that societies often organize people into group hierarchies, with some groups holding more power and status than others. It explains how prejudice, discrimination, and cultural beliefs can help maintain those unequal relationships.

### How is Social Dominance Theory different from Social Identity Theory?

Social Identity Theory focuses on in-groups, out-groups, and how group membership shapes self-esteem and favoritism. Social Dominance Theory focuses more on hierarchy, inequality, and why dominant groups keep their position. They overlap, but they are not the same explanation.

### What are legitimizing myths in Social Dominance Theory?

Legitimizing myths are beliefs that justify inequality, like saying one group is naturally better or that a lower-status group's problems are its own fault. In Social Dominance Theory, these myths help make discrimination seem normal and deserved instead of unfair.

### How do you use Social Dominance Theory in a psychology example?

Look for unequal treatment between groups and ask what beliefs support it. For example, if a workplace keeps promoting one group over another and people defend it with stereotypes, Social Dominance Theory helps explain how hierarchy is being preserved.

## Related Study Guides

- [12.5 Prejudice and Discrimination](/intro-psychology/unit-12/5-prejudice-discrimination/study-guide/NApHL1YkahYpOHGb)

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