Symbolic threats can translate into material competition over political resources

Evidence

The emerging legality of same-sex marriage in Canada provides an example of these dynamics. Canadians who value the preservation of tradition and those who value social progress have responded differently to same-sex marriage, and may consequently view one another as rivals for political representation. Although the majority heterosexual population stands neither to gain nor lose materially as a function of same-sex marriage, the perceived threat to value dominance among critics of same-sex marriage may translate into real competition for a resource (e.g., votes for politicians with a relevant stance), thereby generating animosity among critics and supporters of change. Moreover, in the context of competition for the real resource of political representation, opponents may exaggerate value differences. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1515

Categorization

• SEED: This cycle — threatened values generating real resource competition — is a cleanly explainable mechanism for a general-interest essay on why culture-war issues turn into material stakes.
• XREF: Echoes the social identity theory reading of symbolic events matching material outcomes; parallels policy feedback literature. — connects to: Realistic and symbolic threats are distinct, defined by harm versus meaning-system concerns. — Walter G. Stephan and Oscar Ybarra and Kimberly Rios Morrison, Intergroup Threat Theory, 32; Symbolic threat outperformed realistic threat in predicting mayoral vote choice — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 34
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1515