Believing in equal opportunity lets advantaged groups justify status inequality and avoid collective guilt.

Evidence

We measured participants’ beliefs about the extent to which there is equal opportunity for all with Kluegel and Smith’s (1986) six-item instrument (e.g., “In America, every person has an equal chance to rise up and prosper”). Consistent with the relations obtained with the social dominance measure, beliefs about equal opportunity were negatively correlated with acceptance of collective guilt. To the extent that opportunity and resulting outcomes are perceived as being not contingent on group membership, then collective guilt for one’s ingroup’s higher status position can be avoided; in that case, the status inequality can be seen as justified. Neither the assignment subscale nor the whole group accountability subscale was significantly correlated with equal opportunity beliefs. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 202

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Believing gender equality is possible but too costly suppresses men’s collective guilt. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 601; Advantaged groups avoid guilt by denying inequality or dodging responsibility — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1844; Advantaged groups manufacture prejudiced justifications to protect their gains — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1516 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Emphasis on equal opportunity increases the pressure to rationalize one’s social rank. #expands (0.88) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2266
• Sincere belief in equal treatment coexists with and masks biased allocation. #corroborates (0.85) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 820
• Advantaged groups avoid guilt by denying inequality or dodging responsibility #corroborates (0.82) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 1844
• Dominants invoke individualism to defend the status quo against group-based equality demands. #exemplifies (0.82)
• Ambiguity in harm perceptions lets dominant groups minimize inequality and ease their collective guilt. #expands (0.80) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 592
• Believing in equal opportunity coexists without felt conflict with blaming Blacks’ lack of effort #exemplifies (0.80) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2186
• Advantaged groups manufacture prejudiced justifications to protect their gains #expands (0.78) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1516
• Acknowledging group privilege triggers collective rather than individual guilt #qualifies (0.74) — Janet K. Swim and Deborah L. Miller, White Guilt, 25
• Illegitimacy of group inequality is a necessary precondition for collective guilt. #qualifies (0.72) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 572
• Societies promoting equal opportunity paradoxically generate more intergroup competition and animosity. #complicates (0.71)