Social dominance orientation underlies social valuation in a competitive social hierarchy.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Humans are constantly evaluating whether they are in a fair situation. However, perceptions of fairness vary widely across individuals. What governs this individual variability in fairness perception remains poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesized that individual sensitivity to social dominance hierarchies influences fairness perception and therefore tested whether social dominance orientation (SDO) accounts for such individual preferences.

Method

We first assessed SDO scores in 29 participants using a standard SDO questionnaire. Participants then completed two competitive tasks. In the first task, they engaged in repeated competitions to establish a social hierarchy among opponents. In the second (main) task, participants played against opponents whos

SUBMITTER: Qiang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12477826 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature