Twin study of the self- and peer- assessments of generalized prejudice: genetic and environmental overlap between prejudice, personality, and ideological variables

Prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling toward members of other groups prior to, or not based, on actual experience. Different groups may be target of prejudices. However, a person who is anti-homosexual is likely to be anti-immigrant or anti-atheist, leading to the concept of generalized prejudice. Generalized prejudice is relatively stable in time and may be considered as disposition. Dispositional approach to prejudice situates individual differences in generalized prejudice into the frame of other dispositions, e.g. personality. If we use Five-factor model of personality as theoretical frame than dimensions of openness and agreeableness are likely to correlate with prejudice. These correlations may be mediated via ideological variables of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO), as Duckitt’s and Sibley’s (2009) dual-process model predicts. In a study that we are planning to conduct, we will use the twin design in order to examine the etiology of generalized prejudice and its relations with personality and ideological variables. We will use HEXACO model as a theoretical framework for personality and the measures of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation as theoretical framework for ideological variables derived from the dual-process model. We are planning to collect all data in a form of self- and peer- reports and therefore all hypotheses will be tested through the both methods of data collection. Thus, the main topics of our study are: 1) Examination of the etiology of prejudices toward specific groups and generalized prejudice (gP); 2) The phenotypic and genetic/environmental overlap between prejudices toward different groups; 3) Bivariate behavioral genetic relations of the generalized prejudice with personality and ideological variables; 3) Multivariate behavioral relations of the personality, ideological variables and generalized prejudice.