How do stereotypes mediate the relationship between ideology and antisocial behaviour towards the out-group?

Political ideology has been at the center of social psychology research over the years. Researchers are trying to find out whether rightists and leftists have fundamental differences, or whether this can be attributed to context. I am researching if the relationship between ideology and anti-social behaviour towards the out-group is mediated by stereotypes about morality, warmth, competence, and aggression of that out-group. Research has confirmed higher support for aggressive measures by rightists over leftists. Therefore, I argued that there will be a difference in anti-social behaviour/tendencies between rightists and leftists. Furthermore, research regarding stereotypes also shows how these affect behaviour. Thus I hypothesised that both leftists and rightists will engage in anti-social behaviour when holding a negative stereotype about the target group. This was tested using an online-based experiment, where participants were asked to play two economic games (Joy of Destruction...Show morePolitical ideology has been at the center of social psychology research over the years. Researchers are trying to find out whether rightists and leftists have fundamental differences, or whether this can be attributed to context. I am researching if the relationship between ideology and anti-social behaviour towards the out-group is mediated by stereotypes about morality, warmth, competence, and aggression of that out-group. Research has confirmed higher support for aggressive measures by rightists over leftists. Therefore, I argued that there will be a difference in anti-social behaviour/tendencies between rightists and leftists. Furthermore, research regarding stereotypes also shows how these affect behaviour. Thus I hypothesised that both leftists and rightists will engage in anti-social behaviour when holding a negative stereotype about the target group. This was tested using an online-based experiment, where participants were asked to play two economic games (Joy of Destruction and Attacker-Defender game) and fill out a questionnaire. First, two logistic regression analyses were performed to test whether there are anti-social behaviour differences towards the out-group depending on ideology. This was significant. Second, several mediation analyses were performed to see whether the relationship between ideology and anti-social behaviour is mediated by stereotypes. Some of these mediation analyses were found to be significant, showing that anti-social behaviour can vary depending on ideology through stereotypes as a mediating variable.Show less

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How do stereotypes mediate the relationship between ideology and antisocial behaviour towards the out-group?