A dual‐process perspective on classism. Right‐wing authoritarianism buffers the relationship between social dominance orientation and classism in Poland

Abstract Rising global and local inequalities make prejudice based on social class an increasingly pressing issue, yet it remains underexplored in psychological literature. Across three studies run in Poland, we apply the Dual‐Process Model of Ideology and Prejudice and find that Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)—a preference for social hierarchy—predicts classism positively, but Right‐Wing Authoritarianism (RWA)—a preference for social order—serves as a negative predictor and a buffer to the effects of SDO. In Study 1 ( N = 529), RWA and SDO differentially and interactively predicted social distance toward the poor in a nationwide Polish sample. In Study 2 ( N = 382), an affective measure of prejudice was applied in a longitudinal design to show that stable levels of RWA and SDO, rather than their fluctuations, are responsible for this interactive effect. In Study 3 ( N = 468), SDO predicted social distance via affective classism, and RWA moderated this indirect effect. Results of three studies suggest that authoritarianism may not only be associated with lower classism but also limit the hostile potential of social dominance.