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Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation have been proposed as 2 major individual-difference variables underlying prejudice. This study examined the relationships of these variables to 3 forms of prejudice—affective responses, stereotyping, and attitudes toward equality enhancement—directed at 2 social groups—African Americans and homosexuals. Canonical correlation analyses showed that social dominance orientation was related to most forms of prejudice directed toward both groups and that right-wing authoritarianism was related to affective responses to and stereotyping of homosexuals. In addition, it was found that, as predicted by the social dominance model, stereotyping mediated the relationships between social dominance orientation and other forms of prejudice and that social dominance orientation mediated gender differences in expressions of prejudice.

The whole world is festering with unhappy souls: The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles; Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch; And I don't like anybody very much!

—Sheldon Harnick, The Merry Little Minuet

Are there people who “don't like anybody very much,” who are, in Altemeyer's (1998) words, “equal opportunity bigots” (p. 52)? Two personality-based perspectives—right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation—suggest that the answer is yes.

Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford (1950) proposed the concept of an authoritarian personality as one explanation for the rise of fascism during the 1930s. People high in authoritarianism exhibit high degrees of deference to established authority, aggression toward out-groups when authorities permit that aggression, and support for traditional values when those values are endorsed by authorities. Although the definition and measures of authoritarianism have evolved during the 50 years since the construct was first proposed (e.g., Christie, 1991), the construct, which is now...