People justify the social structure even at the cost of self-enhancement

Evidence

Preferring higher-status groups over one’s own (lower-status) ingroup, and self-stereotyping on negative group attributes, are consistent with theories that posit that people justify the existing social structure, even when so doing goes against self-enhancement or group-enhancement concerns (see Jost & Hamilton, ch. 13 this volume). — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 960

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: System justification can outweigh both ego- and group-interest defense. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 2905; the MOC “The Forge and the Other: How Power, Discourse, and Encounter Cast the Self”