Uncertainty Threat, Integrated Threat, and Self-Esteem: A Mediation Model Predicting Ethnocentrism- Piper Cottingham

Uncertainty Threat, Integrated Threat, and Self-Esteem: A Mediation Model Predicting Ethnocentrism
Piper Cottingham- Washburn University
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jericho Hockett
The “lethal union” of the Uncertainty Threat Model (UTM) and Integrated Threat Theory (ITT) are significant predictors of ethnocentrism (generalized prejudice; (McFarland, 2010). Although discriminatory acts against minorities increase perpetrator self-esteem (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994), less is known about the prediction of generalized prejudice by self-esteem. This prediction, mediated by UTM and ITT, was examined among 331 Amazon Mechanical Turk participants. Participants completed six surveys addressing self-esteem, generalized prejudice, social dominance orientation, uncertainty threat, right wing authoritarianism, and intergroup anxiety. Self-esteem significantly predicted generalized prejudice, but this relationship was mediated by neither UTM nor ITT. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future research directions are addressed.