The role of ethnocentrism in the relationship between openness to experience and ethnic prejudice

Abstract

Many studies have found that openness to experience is a personality trait that strongly predicts prejudice against different social groups. Researchers, however, have failed to examine the role of ethnocentrism in the relationship between openness to experience and ethnic prejudice. We report a study that examined the relationship between openness to experience, ethnocentrism and ethnic prejudice. Overall, openness to experience was found to negatively predict ethnic prejudice, but as hypothesised, ethnocentrism fully mediated this relationship. The findings suggest that low openness to experience predisposes people to ethnocentric attitudes, which in turn predispose them to increased prejudice against ethnic outgroups.