A wolf in sheep's clothing? The interplay of perceived threat and social norms in hierarchy-maintaining action tendencies towards disadvantaged groups

Abstract

Almost inherently, helping occurs between people with disparate resources. Consequently, the helping dynamic can reinforce power hierarchies, particularly regarding dependency-oriented helping (that preserves the power hierarchy) rather than autonomy-oriented helping (that may level power hierarchies). We posit that perceived social norms regarding helping disadvantaged groups affect the tendencies to help versus discriminate. Specifically, individuals who feel threatened by disadvantaged groups may conform to social norms by offering dependency-oriented help, thus preserving hierarchy while ostensibly adhering to societal expectations. Data from three correlational studies and one longitudinal study conducted in Germany (Studies 1a, 2a and 2b) and Israel (Study 1b) (combined N = 960) show that dependency-oriented help towards refugees is higher when participants perceive strong norms to help but feel threatened at the same time. This interaction was not visible for autonomy-oriented help. The finding is extended to a different intergroup setting (Study 3; N = 365) in which Jewish Israelis indicate higher intention to offer dependency-oriented help to Arab Israelis when there is a high threat and strong norms perceptions (in contrast to weak norms). The results have theoretical and practical implications for understanding factors that influence hierarchy-maintaining action tendencies and thereby intergroup inequality.